2 - The Research Process 1 - Problem Area & Literature Review - Chapters 3,4

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Scientific Research Methodology
The Research Process

The Broad Problem Area, Preliminary Data Gathering,
Problem Definition
16/02/23 thaitv@vnuis.edu.vn 1
Chapter 3: Defining and refining the problem
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1) Identify problem areas that to be studied in
organizations
2) Narrow down a broad problem into a feasible topic
3) Develop a good problem statement
4) Develop a research proposal
5) Be aware of the role of the manager in the early stages
of the research process
Introduction
• Business research as a systematic and organized effort
to investigate a specific problem encountered in the
work setting
• Managers have to be alert and responsive to what is
going on, both within their organization and in its
environment in order to take effective decisions and
develop effective courses of action
• Research typically begins with a problem
THE BROAD PROBLEM AREA
• A “problem”:
➢Does not necessarily mean
that something is seriously
wrong that needs to be
corrected immediately
➢But a problem could also
indicate an interest in an
issue where finding the right
answers might help to
improve an existing situation
• Thus, a problem as any
situation where a gap exists
between an actual and a
desired ideal state Identify the Problem is important
Examples of problems
Ex: Bringing clarity and focus to the problem
• The “secret” to bringing clarity and focus to a

problem is to isolate the key ideas in the first
version of the problem statement
➢First statement of the problem often includes
several words and/or phrases that need definition
• Example:
➢“Minority group members (object) in organizations
are not advancing (verd) in their careers (subject)”
Problem definition
• In the early stages of the research process, you will

have to spend time alternating between initial
research and (re)-defining the problem statement
➢You have developed a first problem statement to
decide what information is useful
➢Very important of the awareness and understanding
of current work and viewpoints in the subject area
✓More refined problem statement may start the
need to collect further information which may
inspire to reframe the problem statement
Problem definition (cont)
➢Examples of Well-defined Problems:

1) How has the new packaging affected the sales of
the product?
2) Has the new advertising message resulted in
enhanced recall?
3) And so on
THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
• Before research study is undertaken, there should be:

➢An agreement: between the person who authorizes the
study and the researcher as to the problem to be
investigated
➢Methodology to be used
➢Duration of the study
➢Cost
• This is usually accomplished through a research
proposal: The researcher submits and gets approved
by the sponsor
The research proposal (cont)
• A research proposal contains the following:

(1). A working Title
(2). Background of the study
(3). The problem statement:
a. The purpose of the study
b. Research questions
(4). The scope of the study
(5). The relevance of the study
The research proposal (cont)
(6). The research design:

a. Type of study-exploratory and descriptive
b. Data collection methods
c. The sampling design
d. Data analysis
(7). Time frame of the study, including information on
when the written report will be handed over to the sponsors
(8). The budget, details the costs with reference to
specific items of expenditure
(9). Selected bibliography
PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION
• Once we have identified the broad problem area,

the primary research should help the researcher to
gain a better understanding of the problem and to
narrow down the problem
• Primary research should help the researcher to
find answers to questions such as:
✓“What is the problem?”
✓“Why does the problem exist?”
✓“Is the problem important?”
✓“What are the benefits of solving the problem?”
Primary data collection (cont)
A. Nature of Data to be Gathered

1. Background information of the
organization
2. Company policies, and other
structural aspects
3. Perceptions, attitudes, and
behavioral responses of
organizational members and
client systems
B. Background Information on the Organization

1. Origin and history
2. Size in terms of employees
3. Charter
4. Location
5. Resources
6. & so on
C. Information on Structural Factors

1. Roles and positions
2. Communication channels
3. Control systems
4. & so on
D. Perceptions, Attitudes, and Behavioral Responses

1. Nature of the work
2. Workflow interdependencies
3. Superiors in the organization
4. Participation in decision making
5. Client systems
6. Co-workers
7. & so on
Chapter 4: The critical literature review
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1) Discuss the functions of a literature review
2) Write a literature review
3) Discuss the ethical issues of documenting the
literature review
INTRODUCTION
• How to proceed further after definition of the problem?
Aim of this chapter
• The aim of this chapter is to introduce the process

of carrying out a literature review:
➢Definition of the critical literature review
➢Discussion of its functions
➢A step‐by‐step process: involves the identification of
published and unpublished work
➢Evaluation of the work in relation to the problem
➢Documentation of the work
➢Two pitfalls have to be aware of: misrepresenting
others and plagiarism
A literature review
• To be able to generate viable alternatives for
effective decision making you have to become
an expert on the field /topic
• A literature review ensures that:

1) The research relative to existing knowledge and
builds on this knowledge
2) Can look at a problem from a specific angle
3) Do not wasting effort on trying to rediscover
something that is already known
Ensures of a literature review
• A literature review ensures that:

4) Introduce relevant terminology and to define key
terms used in writing
5) Obtain useful insights of the research methods
that others have used to provide an answer to
similar research questions and help to relate your
research findings to the findings of others
6) The research effort can be related in a wider
academic debate
HOW TO APPROACH THE LITERATURE REVIEW
• The first step of a literature review involves the

identification of the various published and
unpublished materials that are available on the
topic of interest
• Including:
➢Data sources
➢Searching for literature review
➢Evaluating the literature review
➢Documenting the literature review
Data sources
• The quality of a literature review depends on a

careful selection and reading of: Books, Academic
and Professional journals, Reports, Theses,
Conference proceedings, Unpublished manuscripts,
and the like
➢Academic books and Journals are the most useful

sources of information
➢Other sources such may also be valuable
❖Use a combination of information resources
Data sources (cont)
TEXTBOOKS
• A useful source of theory in a
specific area
• Advantages: can cover a broad
range of topics
• Textbooks offer a good starting
point from which to find more
detailed sources
Data sources (cont)
JOURNALS
• Academic and professional journals are important
sources of up‐to‐date information
• Have generally been peer‐reviewed
• Review articles:
➢May or may not contain a meta‐analysis
➢Results of several studies are combined and analyzed
• Example: Journal of Business Research
Data sources (cont)
THESES
• PhD theses often contain an extensive review of the
literature in a specific area
➢Thesis chapters often have the same structure and
characteristics as Academic journal articles
➢Note: not every experimental chapter of a thesis is
eventually published in an academic journal
Data sources (cont)
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
• Providing the latest research, or
research that has not (yet) been
published
➢Conference proceedings are very
up to date
➢Must critically assess the quality
of this information source
Data sources (cont)
UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS
• not “officially” released by an individual, publishing
house, or other company: “in press” data
• Unpublished manuscripts are often very up-to-date
• Preprint Journals: https://www.preprints.org/
Data sources (cont)
REPORTS
• Government departments and corporations commission
• Their published findings provide a useful source of specific
market, industry, or company information
Data sources (cont)
NEWSPAPERS
• Newspapers provide up‐to‐date business information
• They are a useful source of specific market, industry, or
company information
Data sources (cont)
THE INTERNET
• Search for: Books, Journals and Journal
articles, and Conference proceedings,
Specialized data
• Engines: Google, Google Scholar, etc
Searching for literature
• Manually go through several indexes: periodically,

listing the journals, books, and other sources
• With modern technology, locating sources have

been published has become much easier:
➢Every library today has computer online systems to
locate published information with advances:
o Save amounts of time
o Comprehensive in listing and review of references
o Gaining access is relatively inexpensive
Searching for literature (cont)
• Most libraries have the following electronic resources:
• Electronic journals
• Full‐text databases
• Bibliographic databases
• Abstract databases
Evaluating the literature
• The search for literature can provide many results, you
will have to carefully select relevant books and articles
• A look at:
➢Titles: indicate which of them may be pertinent or
peripheral to the contemplated study
➢Abstract: overview - purpose, general research
strategy, findings, and conclusions
➢Introduction: overview - the problem addressed and
specific research objectives
➢Tables, figures, references
➢The quality of the journal: peer-reviewed? impact
factor? editor board members
✓Paper exam
Documenting the literature review
• Documenting the literature review is important to

convince the reader that the researcher:
➢is knowledgeable about the problem area
➢and has done the preliminary homework that is
necessary to conduct the research
• A completed literature review contains:

➢(1) Introduce the subject of study
➢(2) Identify the problem statement
➢(3) Build on previous research
STRUCTURE OF A LITERATURE REVIEW
Structure of a literature review (cont)
• Research is not done in an isolation
• The researcher needs to know what has already

been covered in the field of research, like:
➢What variables were analyzed?
➢What were the relationships amongst the variables?
➢What are the existing definitions, theories and
findings?
FOUR MAJOR STEPS:

1. Problem definition:
➢Identify a research problem or idea
➢Formulate research questions
➢Identify relevant KEYWORDS
2. Search strategies:
➢Identify your information needs
➢Develop information seeking strategies
➢Identify relevant information sources
➢Use KEYWORDS to conduct searches
➢Retrieve relevant articles, books, etc.
FOUR MAJOR STEPS:
3. Analysis:
➢Review and summarize articles
➢Take detailed notes
➢Focus on identifying and comparing issues, variables,
theories, methods and gaps
➢Extract key information and key items in a matrix
4. Writing:
➢Include relevant variables, main issues and theories
➢Analyse how your study relates to the available literature
➢Highlight gaps in research works
➢Compare and contrast studies and findings
➢Create a list of references - a BIBLIOGRAPHY
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) How would you describe the research process?

2) Explain the preliminary data collection methods?
3) Why is it important to gather information on the
background of the organization?
4) Should a researcher always obtain information on the
structural aspects and job characteristics from those
interviewed? Give reasons for your answer with
examples?
5) How would you go about doing a literature review in the
area of business ethics?
6) What are the purposes of a literature survey?
7) Why is appropriate citation important? What are the
consequences of not giving credit to the source from
which materials are extracted?
8) “The problem definition stage is perhaps more critical in
the research process than the problem solution stage.”
Discuss this statement.
9) Why should one get hung up on problem definition if one
already knows the broad problem area to be studied?
10) Offer a clearly focused problem statement in the broad
area of corporate culture?
11) After studying and extracting information from all the
relevant work done previously, how does the researcher
know which particular references, articles, and information
should be given prominence in the literature survey?
12) Below is the gist of an article from Business Week. After
reading it, (a) identify the broad problem area, (b) define the
problem, and (c) explain how you would proceed further.
“While Chrysler‘s minivans, pickups, and sport utility vehicles take
a big share of the truck market, its cars trail behind those of GM,
Ford, Honda, and Toyota. Quality problems include, among other
things, water leaks and defective parts.”
13) How would you define the problem in this case?
Accounting Gets Radical
“The GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) do an
unacceptable job of accounting for the principle activities of the
information age companies. Today, investors are in the dark
because the accounting is irrelevant. The basic purpose of
accounting is to provide useful information to help investors
make rational investment, credit, and similar decisions, but
today‘s most important assets and activities-intellectual capital
and work knowledge are totally ignored.
Professor Robert A. Howell wants to reform the accounting
system with the goal of making clear the measurement of
how companies produce cash and create value.

2 - The Research Process 1 - Problem Area & Literature Review - Chapters 3,4

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INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Scientific Research Methodology

The Research Process

• The “secret” to bringing clarity and focus to a

• In the early stages of the research process, you will

➢Examples of Well-defined Problems:

• Before research study is undertaken, there should be:

• A research proposal contains the following:

(6). The research design:

• Once we have identified the broad problem area,

A. Nature of Data to be Gathered

B. Background Information on the Organization

C. Information on Structural Factors

D. Perceptions, Attitudes, and Behavioral Responses

• The aim of this chapter is to introduce the process

• A literature review ensures that:

• A literature review ensures that:

• The first step of a literature review involves the

• The quality of a literature review depends on a

➢Academic books and Journals are the most useful

❖Use a combination of information resources

• Example: Journal of Business Research

• Manually go through several indexes: periodically,

• With modern technology, locating sources have

• Documenting the literature review is important to

• A completed literature review contains:

• Research is not done in an isolation

• The researcher needs to know what has already

FOUR MAJOR STEPS:

1) How would you describe the research process?

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