Defining the Research Problem

UNIT-II
Research Problem
Selecting the Problem
Necessity of Defining the Problem
Technique Involved in Defining a Problem
Reviewing the literature
Place of the literature review in research
Bringing clarity and focus to your research problem
Improving research methodology
Broadening knowledge base in research area
Enabling contextual findings
How to review the literature searching the existing literature
reviewing the selected literature
Developing a theoretical framework
Developing a conceptual framework
Writing about the literature reviewed
 Defining the Research Problem
In research process, the first and foremost step happens to be
that of selecting and properly defining a research problem.
A researcher must find the problem and formulate it so that it
becomes susceptible to research.
WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM?
A research problem, in general, refers to some difficulty
which a researcher experiences in the context of either a
theoretical or practical situation and wants to obtain a
solution for the same.
• A research problem is one which requires a researcher to
find out the best solution for the given problem, i.e., to find
out by which course of action the objective can be attained
optimally in the context of a given environment
 SELECTING THE PROBLEM
• The research problem undertaken for study must be
carefully selected
• Help may be taken from a research guide in this
connection
• every researcher must find out his own salvation for
research problems cannot be borrowed.
• A problem must spring from the researcher’s mind like a
plant springing from its own seed
• a research guide can at the most only help a researcher
choose a Subject
 SELECTING THE PROBLEM
Following points may be observed by a researcher in selecting a
research problem or a subject for research:
• Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen, for it
will be a difficult task to throw any new light in such a case.
• Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average
researcher.
• Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.
• The subject selected for research should be familiar and feasible
so that the related research material or sources of research are
within one’s reach.
• The importance of the subject, the qualifications and the training
of a researcher, the costs
• involved, the time factor are few other criteria that must also be
considered in selecting a problem.
• The selection of a problem must be preceded by a preliminary
study
• If the subject for research is selected properly
by observing the above mentioned points, the
research will not be a boring drudgery, rather
it will be love’s labour.
• In fact, zest for work is a must. The subject or
the problem selected must involve the
researcher and must have an upper most place
in his mind so that he may undertake all pains
needed for the study.
 NECESSITY OF DEFINING THE PROBLEM
• Quite often we all hear that a problem clearly stated is a
problem half solved.
• This statement signifies the need for defining a research
problem.
• The problem to be investigated must be defined
unambiguously for that will help to discriminate relevant
data from the irrelevant ones.
• A proper definition of research problem will enable the
researcher to be on the track whereas an ill-defined
problem may create hurdles.
TECHNIQUE INVOLVED IN DEFINING A PROBLEM
• How to define a research problem is undoubtedly a
herculean task. However, it is a task that must be
tackled intelligently to avoid the perplexity
encountered in a research operation.
(i) Statement of the problem in a general way
• Researcher may undertake some sort of preliminary
survey or what is often called pilot survey.
• The problem stated in a broad general way may
contain various ambiguities which must be resolved by
cool thinking and rethinking over the problem. At the
same time the feasibility of a particular solution has to
be considered and the same should be kept in view
while stating the problem.
(ii) Understanding the nature of the problem
The next step in defining the problem is to understand its origin and
nature clearly.
(iii) Surveying the available literature
(iv) Developing the ideas through discussions
(v) Rephrasing the research problem

In addition to what has been stated above, the following points must also be
observed while defining a research problem:
(a)Technical terms and words or phrases, with special meanings used in the
statement of the problem, should be clearly defined.
(b) Basic assumptions or postulates (if any) relating to the research
problem should be clearly stated.
(c) A straight forward statement of the value of the investigation (i.e., the
criteria for the selection of the problem) should be provided.
(d) The suitability of the time-period and the sources of data available must
also be considered by the researcher in defining the problem.
(e) The scope of the investigation or the limits within which the problem is
to be studied must be mentioned explicitly in defining a research problem.
 AN ILLUSTRATION
The technique of defining a problem outlined above can be
illustrated for better understanding by taking an example as under:
Let us suppose that a research problem in a broad general way is as
follows:
“Why is productivity in Japan so much higher than in India”?
In this form the question has a number of ambiguities such as:
• What sort of productivity is being referred to?
• With what industries the same is related?
• With what period of time the productivity is being talked about?
• In view of all such ambiguities the given statement or the
question is much too general to be amenable to analysis.
Rethinking and discussions about the problem may result in
narrowing down the question to:
 AN ILLUSTRATION
• “What factors were responsible for the higher labour productivity of
Japan’s manufacturing industries during the decade 1971 to 1980
relative to India’s manufacturing industries?”
• This latter version of the problem is definitely an improvement over
its earlier version for the various ambiguities have been removed to
the extent possible. Further rethinking and rephrasing might place the
problem on a still better operational basis as shown below:
• “To what extent did labour productivity in 1971 to 1980 in Japan
exceed that of India in respect of 15 selected manufacturing
industries? What factors were responsible for the productivity
differentials between the two countries by industries?”
• The researcher must also see that the necessary data are available
• The suitability of the time-period must also be examined.
• Thus, all relevant factors must be considered by a researcher before
finally defining a research problem
 Reviewing the Literature
The functions of the literature review in
Research

• How to carry out a literature search

• How to review the selected literature
• How to develop theoretical and conceptual
frameworks
• How to write a literature review
 The place of the literature review in
research
• One of the essential preliminary tasks when you undertake a research
study is to go through the existing literature in order to acquaint
yourself with the available body of knowledge in your area of interest.
Reviewing the literature can be time consuming, daunting and
frustrating, but it is also rewarding
In summary, a literature review has the following functions:
• It provides a theoretical background to your study.
• It helps you establish the links between what you are proposing to
examine and what has already been studied.
• It enables you to show how your findings have contributed to the
existing body of knowledge in your profession. It helps you to
integrate your research findings into the existing body of knowledge.
In relation to your own study, the literature
review can help in four ways. It can:

1 Bring clarity and focus to your research problem

2 Improve your research methodology
3 Broaden your knowledge base in your research
area
4 Contextualize your findings.
 How to review the literature
You should try broadly to conceptualize your research
problem before undertaking your major literature review.
There are four steps involved in conducting a literature
review:
1 Searching for the existing literature in your area of study.
2 Reviewing the selected literature.
3 Developing a theoretical framework.
4 Developing a conceptual framework.
• Searching for the existing literature
• To search effectively for the literature in your field of
enquiry, it is imperative that you have at least some idea
of the broad subject area and of the problem you wish to
investigate, in order to set parameters for your search.
Next, compile a bibliography for this broad area. There
are three sources that you can use to prepare a
bibliography:
• (a) books;
• (b) journals;
• (c) the Internet.
• Use the subject catalogue or keywords option to search
for books in your area of interest. Narrow the subject
area searched by selecting the appropriate keywords
 Journals
• Journals provide you with the most up-to-date
information.
As with books, you need to prepare a list of the journals you
want to examine for identifying the literature relevant to
your study. This can be done in a number of ways. You
can:
• locate the hard copies of the journals that are appropriate
to your study;
• look at citation or abstract indices to identify and/or read
the abstracts of such articles;
• search electronic databases.
There are several sources designed to make your search for
journals easier and these can save you enormous time. They are:
• Indices of journals

• "Indices" is used when referring to mathematical, scientific

and statistical contexts. It is used to refer to a numbers,
symbols, and figures comparing a value to a standard.
"Indexes" is usually used in reference to written documents,
such as bibliographical or citation listings.

• abstracts of articles (Electronic database: ERIC,

ABI/INFORM A, HEALTHROM, MEDLINE )
• Citation indices

Each of these indexing, abstracting and citation services is

available in print, or accessible through the Internet.
 The Internet
• According to Gilbert (2008: 73), ‘Most search facilities
use Boolean logic, which allows three types of basic
search “AND”, “OR” and “NOT”.’ With practice you
will become more efficient and effective in using
keywords in combination with AND, OR and NOT, and
so learn to narrow your search to help you identify the
most relevant references.
 Reviewing the selected literature

Now that you have identified several books and articles as useful,
the next step is to start reading them critically to pull together
themes and issues that are of relevance to your study.

While going through the literature you should carefully and critically
examine it with respect to the following aspects:

• Note whether the knowledge relevant to your theoretical framework has

been confirmed beyond doubt.
• Note the theories put forward, the criticisms of these and their basis, the
methodologies adopted (study design, sample size and its characteristics,
measurement procedures, etc.) and the criticisms of them.
• Examine to what extent the findings can be generalised to other
situations.
• Notice where there are significant differences of opinion among
researchers and give your opinion about the validity of these differences.
• Ascertain the areas in which little or nothing is known – the gaps that
exist in the body of knowledge.
 Developing a theoretical framework
• Examining the literature can be a never-ending task, but as
you have limited time it is important to set parameters by
reviewing the literature in relation to some main themes
pertinent to your research topic.
• As you start reading the literature, you will soon discover
that the problem you wish to investigate has its roots in a
number of theories that have been developed from different
perspectives.
Literature pertinent to your study may deal with two types
of information:
1 universal
2 more specific (i.e. local trends or a specific programme).
In writing about such information you should start with the
general information, gradually narrowing it down to the
specific.
 Developing a conceptual framework

• The conceptual framework is the basis of your research

problem. It stems from the theoretical framework and
usually focuses on the section(s) which become the basis
of your study.

• The conceptual framework is focused on indicators to

measure the success or failure of the strategies to enhance
community responsiveness. Hence the conceptual
framework grows out of the theoretical framework and
relates to the specific research problem.
 Writing about the literature reviewed
Now, all that remains to be done is to write about the literature you have
reviewed. As mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, two of the broad
functions of a literature review are (1) to provide a theoretical background
to your study and (2) to enable you to contextualise your findings in relation
to the existing body of knowledge in addition to refining your methodology.
Shows the subheadings used to describe the themes in a
literature review conducted by the author for a study
entitled ‘Inter country adoption in Western Australia’.