Lesson 2

Statement of the Problem (SOP)

A problem statement is an explanation in research that

describes the issue that is in need of study.

A problem statement is a concise description of the problem or

issues a project seeks to address. The problem statement
identifies the current state, the desired future state and any
gaps between the two. A problem statement is an important
communication tool that can help ensure everyone working on
a project knows what the problem they need to address is and
why the project is important.

Importance of a Statement of the Problem (SOP)

A problem statement is important to a process improvement

project because it helps clearly identify the goals of the project
and outline the scope of a project. It also helps guide the
activities and decisions of the people who are working on the
project. The problem statement can help a business or
organization gain support and buy-in for a process
improvement project.
Key Elements of Statement of the Problem
1. Ideal situation - This section identifies the goals and scope of the
project are. This section should create a clear understanding of
what the ideal environment will be once the issue has been
resolved.
2. Reality - This section will identify what the problem is, state why
it is a problem and identify who the problem is impacting. It will
also describe when and where the problem was identified.
3. Consequences - This section describes the effects of the problem
by describing how the people affected by the problem are being
impacted and quantifying how much the problem is impacting
them. Common consequences can include the loss of time, money,
resources, competitive advantage, productivity and more.
4. Proposal - The purpose of the proposal section should be to guide
the project team on how they can research, investigate and resolve
the problem.

Technicalities in Making an SOP

SOP must be:

 Relevant in your title, it should manifest strong connection

in your title.
 It should be clear, correct in grammar, not confusing and
words are not in random collection.
 It should be specific each question is directed at the target,
and should address in particular findings. Each question
should reveal particular findings and not broad or overlap
some details coming from your title
 Research gap based on your study what are the certain
gaps that you want to fill and what is missing.
 Measurable
Link

Title – SOP – Questionnaire – Finding – Conclusion –

Recommendation

 SOP or statement of the problem is highly connected in

the title.
 Questionnaire should match in your given SOP.
 When you gather data through your questionnaire base on
your SOP this will reflect on your Findings in Chapter 4
about the analysis and interpretation of data.
 Then follow by the summary of conclusion and the
recommendations.

Format for the SOP

General Statement first (in paragraph form)

 This statement shows what your study aims, intention and

objectives.

Specific problems (in number)

 Problem reflecting your solution or recommendation

Tips for making SOP

Align your SOP with the title
Decides what cover and what’s not

 SOP is important highlighting the scope of limitation of your study

Avoid overlapping questions and Logical sequencing

 Problem must not redundant, for every questions it should have

different objective or focus meaning it has own identity per
problem

Considers writing mechanics (Capitalization, punctuation, spelling,

spacing. ETC)

The Question Hierarchy

Management Dilemma – What symptoms cause management
concern? What environment stimuli raise management
interest?

Management Question – how can management eliminate the

negative symptoms? How can management fully capitalize
on an opportunity

Research Question – what plausible courses of action are

available to management to correct the problem or take
advantage of the opportunity, and which should be
considered.

Investigative question – what does the manager need to know

to choose the best alternative from the available courses of
action

Measurement questions – what should be asked or observed

to obtain the information the manager needs?

Management decision – what is the recommended course of

action, given the research insights.

Questionnaire – as a general term to include all techniques of

data collection in which each person is asked to respond to
the same set of questions in a predetermined order (deVaus
2002) The Choice of questionnaire
The choice of questionnaire will be influenced by a variety of factors
related to the research questions and objectives and in a particular the:

1. Characteristics of the respondents from whom you wish to collect

data;
2. Importance of reaching a particular person as respondent;
3. Importance of respondents’ answers not being contaminated or
distorted;
4. Size of sample require for analysis, taking into account the likely
response rate;
5. Types of question need to ask to collect the data;
6. Number of questions need to ask to collect data.

These factors will not apply equally to choose of questionnaire, and for
some research questions or objectives may not apply at all. The type of
questionnaire that researchers choose will dictate how sure they can be
that respondent is the person whom they wish to answer the questions
and thus the reliability of responses.

Designing the Questionnaire

Most types of questionnaires include a combination of open

and closed questions. Open questions, sometimes referred to
as open-ended questions (Dillman 2007) Closed questions,
sometimes referred to as closed-ended question or force
choice questions, provide a number of alternative answers
from which the responded is instructed to choose.

Types of Closed questions

List, where the respondent is offered a list of items, any of which may
be selected;
 Category, where only one response can be selected from a given
set of categories;
 Ranking, where the respondent is asked to place something in
order;
 Rating, in which a rating device is used to record responses
 Quantity. To which the response is a number giving the amount
 Matrix, where responses to two or more questions can be recorded
using the same grid.

Open questions are used widely in in-depth and semi-structured

interviews. In questionnaire they are useful if you are unsure of the
response, such as in exploratory research, when require a detailed
answer or when the research wants to find out what is uppermost in the
respondent’s mind.

Explaining the purpose of the questionnaire

The covering letter - explains the purpose of the survey. This
is the first part of the questionnaire that a respondent should
look at.

Introducing the questionnaire - at the start of your

questionnaire, researchers need to explain clearly and
concisely why they want the respondent to complete the
survey.

Closing the questionnaire – at the end of questionnaire,

researchers need to explain what they want the responded to
do with their completed questionnaire.
 Lesson 2
The NCBA Research Paper

Chapter 1: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

 INTRODUCTION
 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
 CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
 HYPOTHESIS
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
 SCOPE AND LIMITATION
 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Introduction
 Window of research
 This provides information of what the research is all about, the
purpose of the study and the situation challenging to the reader to
read.
 It clearly defines the problem and presents empirical data that
support the occurrence of such problem.
 This includes some previous researches and legal bases that can
strengthen the reason for conducting the research.
Background of the Study
 The specific discussions of the main focus of the research.
 It explains the important variables associated with the topic, the
place and the group/s of people where and whom the topic has
relevance.
 It discusses what the study intends to find out, where it will be
conducted and who will be the target respondents or participants
and why is the result/s of the study important.
 Nature of the topic

Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
 Mental window of research
 Conceptual Framework is a written or visual presentation that
explains the direction of the study, the key factors concepts or
variables and the presumed relationship among them.
 The possibilities include: flowcharts, diagrams, mind maps,
overlapping circles triangles, figures and software systems.
 Theoretical framework is similar to the frame of the house just as
the foundation supports the house, that provides rationale from
predictions about the relationship among variables.

Statement of the Problem

 Heart of research
 A research problem is a question or that a problem researcher
wants to answer or solve.
 A problem exists when:
 there is an absence of information resulting in a gap in
knowledge
 there are contradictory results
 there is an evident observable conditions which intends to
explain
 A good problem should be:
  of great interest to the researcher
 useful for the concerned people in a particular field
 novel
 completed in the allotted time desired
 ethical and moral

Hypothesis
 Guess
 The proposed answer to any problem statement which requires
statistical procedure.
 It provides answer to the problem which can be verified or rejected
through testing.
 Hypothesis can be:
 Null (Ho) - denotes no effect or no change, is a type of
statistical hypothesis that proposes that no statistical
significance exists in a set of given observations.
 Alternative (Ha) - reflects expected change, The alternate
hypothesis is just an alternative to the null. For example, if
your null is “I'm going to win up to Php1,000” then your
alternate is “I'm going to win Php1,000 or more.”
Basically, you're looking at whether there's enough change
(with the alternate hypothesis) to be able to reject the null
hypothesis.

Significance of the Study

 Purpose
 Research is a very noble undertaking if it makes significant
contributions to the community, academic field or discipline where
the researcher is affiliated with.
 It describes the contribution of the study to the existing body of
knowledge or in the form of new knowledge in the field, a
confirmation of major findings and analysis of trends over time.
 To identify the beneficiaries who will directly gain from the results
of the study. The specific benefits must also be enumerated and
explained if necessary.

Scope & Limitation

 Coverage
 The scope of the study is determined primarily by the selection of
variables that the research will focus on.
 A limitation identifies potential weaknesses of the study.
 Scope and limitation discusses the:
 What
 Who
 Where
 When
 how of the research.

Definition of Terms
 Meaning
 Terms that appear so complex to readers, Catch words like
concepts, theories, principles, assumptions, predictions and other
abstract terms.
 Lexical or conceptual definition- universal meaning.
 Theoretical definition - explanation based on the concepts or
knowledge related to the field of discipline and widely accepted as
correct.