Research Methodology

Lecture 2

Research Problem
A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a
condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a
troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or
in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding
and deliberate investigation.
What is research problem statement?
A problem statement is the description of an issue currently
existing which needs to be addressed. It provides the context for
the research study and generates the questions which the
research aims to answer. The statement of the problem is the
focal point of any research.
Types of Research Problems
There are three types of research problem
Theoretical research problem, applied research problem and
action research problem
Theoretical Research Problem
 It is the theoretical explanation of a research problem. It
gives only theory and meaning of the problem. It defines
the problem theoretically. This type of research has no need
of hypothesis and verification. Those which relate to states
of nature means that denote the hypothetical conditions of
what the lives of people might have been like before
societies came into existence.
Features of theoretical research
It is exploratory
It is theoretical in nature
It provides basic meaning
Applied Research Problem
 An applied social research problem is a practical use of the
theoretical knowledge and relate to relationships between
different variables. In applied research the field work and
visits to the problematic situation is necessary. It has the
design of hypothesis and verification.
Features of applied research
It is practical in nature
It has exploratory hypothesis
It wants the verification
Action Research Problem
Action research problem aims to find necessary immediate
solution. It has millions of problems in the world this type of
research is continuous and needs quick solution in emergency
basis.
Features of action research
It is welfare oriented.
It is service oriented.
It is sensitive and direct decision required for solution.

Identification of research problem

Initially the researcher must recognize the problem he wants to
study, i.e., s/he must decide the general area of interest or part of
a subject-matter that he would like to inquire into. The problem
may be discussed in a broad way and then the doubts, if any,
relating to the problem may be resolved. Then, the probability of
a particular clarification has to be considered before working on
formulation of the problem. Basically two steps are involved in
formulating the research problem i.e. understanding the problem
systematically, and reshape the same into significant terms from
an analytical point of view.
The most excellent way of understanding the problem is to
discuss it with colleagues or with those having some knowledge
in the related matter.
Necessity of Defining a Research Problem
The problem to be researched needs to be described
unambiguously as that will help you to discriminate useful data
from the unrelated ones. A proper formulation of research
problem will allow the investigator to be on the track in contrast
to an ill-defined problem may possibly create difficulties.
Questions like: What data are to be gathered? What attributes of
data are appropriate and need to be analyzed? What relations
should be investigated? What methods should be employed for
the purpose? as well as other questions turn up in the head of the
investigator who can well plan his strategy and find solutions to
these kinds of questions only when the research problem has
been well defined. Therefore, defining the problem accurately is
a necessity for any research and is a step of the highest value.
In fact, formulation of a problem is often vital than its solution.
It is only on thoroughly describing the problem that we can
work out the research design and can efficiently proceed all the
consequential steps needed while doing research.
Important Points to Keep in Mind while Defining the
Research Problem
1. The correct question needs to be addressed if research is to
help decision makers. A right answer to the wrong question
leads either bad advice or to no advice.
2. Usually in problem we have an inclination to rationalize and
defend our actions once we have started upon a specific research
plan. The perfect time to examine and think about alternative
techniques is in the planning stage. If it is completed
unnecessary expense of false start and redoing work may be
prevented.
3. An excellent beginning in problem definition is to ask what
the decision maker want to know if the requested information
can be gathered without error and without expense.
4. “Never settle on a specific strategy” without developing and
taking into consideration at least one alternate option.
5. The problem definition stage of research is the determination
and structuring of the decision maker’s question. It should be the
decision maker’s question and not the researcher’s question.
6. What decision do you face? Unless you have decision to
make, there isn’t any research

Steps for an effective problem-solving process.

1. Identify the issues. Be clear about what the problem is.
2. Understand everyone's interests.
3. List the possible solutions (options).
4. Evaluate the options.
5. Select an option or options.
6. Document the agreement(s).
7. Agree on contingencies, monitoring, and evaluation.

2. Broad literature survey

After the identification of research problem, the researcher must

study all available literature to get himself familiar with the
selected problem. Literature review is a comprehensive
summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review
surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a
particular area of research. This can be a section of a larger
paper or article, or can be the focus of an entire paper. Literature
reviews show that you have examined the breadth of knowledge
and can justify your thesis or research questions. The review
should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate
and clarify this previous research.  It should give a theoretical
base for the research and help the author to determine the nature
of his/her research.  The literature review acknowledges the
work of previous researchers, and in so doing, assures the reader
that your work has been well conceived.  It is assumed that by
mentioning a previous work in the field of study, that the author
has read, evaluated, and assimilated that work into the work at
hand.
Types of literature
Researcher may review two types of literature first is the
conceptual literature which is related to the concepts and
theories, and second is the empirical literature which consisting
of previous studies similar to the proposed research problem.
The researcher should undertake vast literature survey
concerned with the problem. For this purpose, the abstracting
and indexing journals and published or unpublished
bibliographies are the first place where researcher can get the
information or knowledge. Academic journals, conference
proceedings, government reports, books etc., must be hit
depending on the nature of the problem. After this the researcher
revise the problem into analytical or operational terms i.e., to put
the problem in as specific terms as possible. This assignment of
formulating, or defining, a research problem is an important step
in the entire research process. Once the problem is formulated, a
synopsis of it should be written down.
A literature review has four main steps
Define your research scope, identify the literature, critically
analyze the literature, and categorize your resources
Define your research scope
It surveys the literature in your chosen area of study i.e. to
demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge and
establishes the credibility of your work. What is the specific
research question that your literature review helps to define? Are
there a maximum or minimum number of sources that your
review should include?
Identify the literature
 Start by searching broadly. Literature for your review will
typically be acquired through scholarly books, journal
articles, and/or dissertations. Develop an understanding of
what is out there, what terms are accurate and helpful, etc.,
and keep track of all of it with tools. Summarizes prior
research and says how your project is linked to it

Use citation searching to track how scholars interact with, and

build upon, previous research
Use Google Scholar or Scopus to find other sources that have
cited a particular work

Critically analyze the literature

Critically analyses the information gathered by identifying gaps
in current knowledge. The analysis will explore relationships,
major themes, and any critical gaps in the research expressed in
the work. Read and summarize each source with an eye toward
analyzing authority, currency, coverage, methodology, and
relationship to other works.
Categorize your resources
Divide the available resources that pertain to your research into
categories reflecting their roles in addressing your research
question. Present the literature in an organized way to
demonstrates that you have learnt from others and that your
research is a starting point for new ideas.
Possible ways to categorize resources include organization by:
Chronology (timeline)
Theme
Methodology
Theoretical/philosophical approach

Why write a literature review?

A literature review does the following.
 Identifies gaps in current knowledge.
 Avoids reinventing the wheel – i.e. it saves you wasting
time researching something that’s already been done.
 Allows you to show that you are building on a foundation
of existing knowledge and ideas – i.e. carrying on from
where others have already reached.
 Identifies other people working in the same field. Knowing
who’s already working in your area and getting in touch
with them can be an invaluable source of knowledge and
support.
 Demonstrates the depth of your knowledge about your
research.
 Identifies the important works in your area and shows that
you’ve read them.
 Provides an intellectual context for your own work, and
enables you to position your project in relation to others in
the field.
 Identifies opposing views.
 Puts your own work in perspective – are you doing
something completely new, revisiting an old controversy in
the light of new evidence.
 Demonstrates your research skills – i.e. you not only know
about work in your area, you also know how to access it.
 Identifies information and ideas that may be relevant to
your project.
 Identifies methods that may be relevant to your project.
Key points to remember
 It is not a descriptive list.
 It is not a book by book and article by article summary.
 It is not a survey of every single thing that’s ever been
written about your topic.
 It must be defined by a guiding concept i.e. essay question,
research project or objective.
 It must tell the reader what knowledge and ideas have been
established and agreed in your area and outline their
strengths and weaknesses.
The structure of a literature review
A literature review should be structured like any other
essay: it should have an introduction, a middle or main
body, and a conclusion.
Introduction
 The introduction should define your topic and provide an
appropriate context for reviewing the literature.
 It establish your reasons – i.e. point of view – for reviewing
the literature;
 It explain the organization – i.e. sequence – of the review;
 It state the scope of the review – i.e. what is included and
what isn’t included. For example, if you were reviewing the
literature on obesity in children you might say something
like: There are a large number of studies of obesity trends
in the general population. However, since the focus of this
research is on obesity in children, these will not be
reviewed in detail and will only be referred to as
appropriate.
Main body
The middle or main body should:
 Organize the literature according to common themes
 Provide insight into the relation between your chosen topic
and the wider subject area e.g. between obesity in children
and obesity in general.
 Move from a general, wider view of the literature being
reviewed to the specific focus of your research.
Conclusion
The conclusion should;
 Summarize the important aspects of the existing body of
literature.
 Evaluate the current state of the literature reviewed.
 Identify significant flaws or gaps in existing knowledge.
 Outline areas for future study and link your research to
existing knowledge.