Chapter 3

Defining and Refining the

Problem

Slide 3-2
 First
First Steps
Steps Research
Research Process
Process

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Identification of Definition of
the Broad Preliminar the Research
Management y Research Problem
Problem

Figure 3.1 Three important first steps in the

research process
Slide 14-3
 Problem
Problem

 Problem: any situation where a gap exists

between an actual and a desired ideal
state.
 Can be a serious problem that need to
solve immediately, or
 An issue where finding the right answer(s)
aid to improve an existing situation.

Slide 3-4
 The
The Broad
Broad Problem Area
Area
 Examples of broad problem areas that a
manager could observe at the workplace:
 Training programs are not as effective as
anticipated.
 The sales volume of a product is not
picking up.
 Minority group members are not
advancing in their careers.
 The newly installed information system is
not being used by the managers for whom
it was primarily designed.
 The introduction of flexible work hours has
created more problems than it has solved
in many companies.
Slide 3-5
 Symptoms
Symptoms versus
versus Problems
Problems

 It is important that symptoms of problems

are not defined as the real problem.
 One way of determining that the problem,
rather than the symptom, is being
addressed is a technique called ‘5 Whys’
or ‘5 times why’.
 This approach will help you to get to the
root cause (the most basic cause) of a
problem.
Slide 3-6
 Symptoms
Symptoms versus
versus Problems
Problems
 Keep asking “Why?” until the most basic cause is
arrived at.
 Example: My best employees are leaving the
organization.
 Why? They are not satisfied with their jobs.
 Why? They don’t find a challenge in their jobs.
 Why? They don’t have control over their work.
 Why? They don’t have enough influence over
planning, executing, and evaluating their
work.
 Why? We have been reluctant to delegate.

Slide 3-7
 From
From Problem
Problem to
to Feasible
Feasible Research
Research Topic
Topic

 We need to transform the broad problem

into a feasible topic for research by:
a) making it more specific and precise;
b) setting clear boundaries;
c) selecting a perspective from which we
investigate the subject (Machi and
McEvoy, 2012).

 Preliminary research will help us to make

these transformations.
Slide 3-8
 Preliminary
Preliminary Information
Information Gathering
Gathering

 Nature of information to be gathered:

1. Information on the organization and its
environment – that is, the contextual
factors.
2. Information on the topic of interest.

Slide 3-9
 Preliminary
Preliminary Information
Information Gathering
Gathering

 Secondary data
 Data that have been collected by others
for another purpose than the purpose of
the current study
 Government publications
 Published or unpublished information
within/outside firm
 Company websites
 Internet

Slide 3-10
 Preliminary
Preliminary Information
Information Gathering
Gathering
 Criteria for evaluating secondary data
 Timeliness of data
 When were the data collected?
 Accuracy of the data
 What was the purpose of (presenting) the
data?
 Who collected the data?
 How were the data collected?
 What are the author’s credentials on this
subject?
 Are the data consistent with data from other
sources?

Slide 3-11 Relevance of the data
 Preliminary
Preliminary Information
Information Gathering
Gathering

 Primary data
 Data that researchers gathers at first
hand for the specific purpose of the study
 Four principal methods of primary data
collection:
 Interviews
 Observations
 Administrating questionnaires
 Experiments

Slide 3-12
 Information
Information on
on the
the Topic/Subject
Topic/Subject
Area
Area

 Literature
 Body of knowledge available to researcher
 Aid researcher to think about and/or better
understand the problem
 Ensure thorough awareness &
understanding of current work &
viewpoints on subject area
 Textbooks
 Journal articles
 Conference proceedings
Slide 3-13
 Other published and unpublished materials
 First
First Review
Review of the Literature
Literature

 Helps the researcher to:

 Structure research on work already
done
 Develop problem statement with
precision and clarity
 Make informed decision about the
research approach

 Is beneficial in both basic and applied

research projects
Slide 3-14
 What
What Makes
Makes aa Good
Good Problem
Problem Statement?
Statement?

 Good problem statement includes both:

 The research objective
 Research questions

Slide 3-15
 A
A Good
Good Problem
Problem Statement
Statement

 Research objective: why of the research

 Research objective applied research:

 to solve a specific problem in a work setting;
 to change something.

 Example:
 To determine factors that increase employee
commitment to the organization;

 Allows manager to increase commitment and hence

to decrease turnover, absenteeism and increase
performance levels.
Slide 3-16
 Example

The purpose of this study is twofold:

1. to identify the factors that influence the
passenger’s waiting experience and
2. to investigate the possible impact of
waiting on customer satisfaction and
service evaluations.

Slide 3-17
 Examples
Examples of
of Research
Research
Objectives
Objectives
 To find out what motivates consumers to buy
a product online
 To study the effect of leadership style on
employees’ job satisfaction
 To investigate the relationship between
capital structure and profitability of the firm
 To investigate the influence of the in-store
shopping environment on impulse buying
 To establish the determinants of employee
involvement
 To understand the causes of employee
absence.
Slide 3-18
 A
A Good
Good Problem Statement
 Research questions:
 What of the research (what do you want to learn?)
 Translates problem into a specific need for
information
 Research questions:
 Are related to the objective
 If objective is unclear we will not be able to
formulate research questions
 Examples:
 What are the factors that affect the perceived
waiting experience of airline passengers and to
what extent do these factors affect the perception
of waiting times?
Slide 3-19
 How do situational variables influence customer
 Good
Good Problem
Problem Statement
Statement

 Relevant
 Feasible
 Interesting

Slide 3-20
 Good
Good Problem
Problem Statement
Statement
 From a managerial perspective, research
is relevant if
1. A problem that currently exists in an
organizational setting, or
2. An area that manager believes needs to
be improved in the organization

Slide 3-21
 Good
Good Problem
Problem Statement
Statement
 From an academic perspective, research
is relevant if
1. Nothing is known about a topic
2. Much is known about the topic, but the
knowledge is scattered and not
integrated
3. Much research on the topic is available,
but the results are (partly) contradictory
4. Established relationships do not hold in
certain situations
Slide 3-22
 Good
Good Problem
Problem Statement
Statement

 Feasible
 you are able to answer the research
questions within the restrictions of the
research project.

Slide 3-23
 Good
Good Problem
Problem Statement
Statement

 Interesting
 to you!
 Research is a time-consuming process
 Stay motivated during the entire
process

Slide 3-24
 Basic
Basic Types
Types of
of Questions
Questions

 Exploratory
 Descriptive
 Causal

Slide 3-25
 Basic
Basic Types
Types of
of Questions
Questions

 Exploratory research questions:

 Not much is known about the situation
at hand, or no information is available
on how similar problems or research
issues have been solved in the past
 Often relies on qualitative approaches
to data gathering such as informal
discussions, interviews, case studies
 Exploratory research is flexible in
nature
Slide 3-26
 Basic
Basic Types
Types of
of Questions
Questions

 Exploratory research questions

Example:
 A service provider wants to know why
his customers are switching to other
service providers?

Slide 3-27
 Basic
Basic Types
Types of
of Questions
Questions

 Descriptive research questions:

 Objective is to obtain data that describes
the topic of interest
 Enable the researcher to describe the
characteristics of the variables of interest
in a situation.

Slide 3-28
 Basic
Basic Types
Types of
of Questions
Questions
 Descriptive research questions:
Example 1:
 What is the profile of the individuals who
have loan payments outstanding for 6
months and more?
 The profile would include details of their
average age, earnings, nature of occupation,
full-time/part-time employment status, and
the like. This might help managers to elicit
further information or decide right away on
the types of individuals who should be made
ineligible for loans in the future.
Slide 3-29
 Basic
Basic Types
Types of
of Questions
Questions
 Descriptive research questions:

Example 2:
 A CEO may be interested in having a
description of how companies in her
industry have incorporated corporate
social responsibility into the business
strategy of the organization. Such
information might allow comparison later
of the performance levels of specific types
of companies
Slide 3-30
 Basic
Basic Types
Types of
of Questions
Questions

 Causal research questions:

 Casual studies test whether or not one
variable causes another variable to
change

Example:
 Will the sales of product X increase if
we increase the advertising budget?

Slide 3-31
 The
The Research
Research Proposal
Proposal

 The research proposal drawn up by the

investigator is the result of a planned,
organized, and careful effort.

Slide 3-32
 Research
Research Proposal
Proposal Contains
Contains (1)
(1)

 Working title.
 Background of the study.
 The problem statement.
- The purpose of the study.
- Research questions.
 The scope of the study.
 The relevance of the study.

Slide 3-33
 Research
Research Proposal
Proposal Contains
Contains (2)
(2)

 The research design offering details on:

a. Type of study
b. Data collection methods
c. The sampling design.
d. Data analysis.
 Time frame of the study
 Budget
 Selected bibliography.

Slide 3-34
 Ethical
Ethical Issues
Issues

 What are some ethical issues in the

preliminary stages of investigation?

Slide 14-35