Formulating and Clarifying

the Research Topic

Chapter 2
 Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
 generate ideas that will help in the choice of a suitable
research topic;
 identify the attributes of a good research topic;
 turn research ideas into a research project that has
clear research question(s) and objectives;
 draft a research proposal.
 Chapter 2 Tree

2.1 Introduction
The Research Topic

2.2 Attributes of a good Research Topic

2.3 Generating and Refining Research Ideas

2.4 Turning Ideas into Research

2.5 Writing a Research Proposal

 2.1 Introduction
(Carroll 1989:63–4):

Alice: ‘Would you tell me, please,

which way I ought to walk from
here?’
Cheshire Cat: ‘That depends a
good deal on where you want to get
to’
Alice: ‘I don’t much care where’
Cheshire Cat: ‘Then it doesn’t
matter which way you walk’
Learning Reflection
2.2 Attributes of a Good Research Topic
Purposiveness
Rigor
Testability
Replicability
Precision and confidence
Objectivity
Generalizability
 Attributes of a Good Research Topic
Purposiveness Rigour
 The manager has  The degree of carefulness
started the research and exactitude in
with a definite aim or research.
purpose.  The conclusions are correctly
drawn because they are based
on the responses of enough,
representative sample size.
 The manner of framing and
addressing the questions
should be objective.
 Attributes of a Good Research Topic

Testability
A scientific hypothesis must be testable. Not all
hypotheses can be tested.
 Example: God created the earth.
 Scientific research thus lends itself to testing after a
careful study of the problem situation.
 Attributes of a Good Research Topic
Replicability
 We have more faith in the findings of a study if the
findings are replicated in another study.
 The results of the tests of hypotheses should be
supported again and yet again when the same type
of research is repeated in similar circumstances. To
the extent that this does happen (i.e., the results are
replicated or repeated), we will gain confidence in
the scientific nature of our research.
 Attributes of a Good Research Topic
Precision
 Precision refers to the closeness of the findings to
“reality” based on a sample. In other words,
precision reflects the degree of accuracy or
exactitude of the results on the basis of the sample,
to what really exists in the universe.
 Example, if I estimated the number of production days lost
during the year due to absenteeism at between 30 and 40, as
against the actual figure of 35, the precision of my estimation
compares more favourably than if I had indicated that the loss
of production days was somewhere between 20 and 50.
 Attributes of a Good Research Topic

Confidence Objectivity
 The probability that our  The conclusions
estimations are correct. drawn should be
 It is also important that based on the facts of
we can confidently claim the findings derived
that 95% of the time our from actual data, and
results will be true and not on our own
there is a 5% chance of subjective or
being wrong. emotional values.
 Attributes of a Good Research Topic
Generalizability
 Generalizability refers to the scope of applicability
of the research findings in one organizational
setting to other settings.
 Attributes of a Good Research Topic
Parsimony
 The achievement of a meaningful and
parsimonious, rather than an elaborate and
cumbersome, model for problem solution becomes a
critical
 If two or three specific variables in the work situation are
identified, which when changed would raise the organizational
commitment of the employees by 45%, that would be more
useful and valuable to the manager than if it were
recommended that he should change ten different variables to
increase organizational commitment by 48%.
2.3 Generating and Refining Research Ideas

Generating Ideas Refining Ideas

 Generating Research Ideas

Rational Thinking Creative Thinking

o Examining your o Keeping a notebook of
thoughts ideas
o Looking at past project o Exploring personal
titles preferences using past
o Discussion projects
o Literature Review o Relevance trees
o Scanning the media o Brainstorming
From General to Focus
Casual Observation

Preliminary Info Gathering

Problem Statement

Literature Survey

Refined
Problem
Statement
Refining Research Ideas

Preliminary Study

Integrating Ideas

Refining
Topics
 2.4 Turning Ideas into Research Projects
Imran is a Business Studies student and doing his placement year in an
advanced consumer electronics company. When he first joined the
company he was surprised to note that the company’s business strategy,
which was announced in the company newsletter, seemed to be
inconsistent with what Imran knew of the product market.
Imran had been interested in corporate strategy in his degree. He was
familiar with some of the literature that suggested that corporate strategy
should be linked to the general external environment in which the
organisation operated. He wanted to do some research on corporate
strategy in his organisation for his degree dissertation. After talking this
over with his project tutor Imran decided on the following research
question: ‘Why does [organisation’s name] corporate strategy not seem to
reflect the major factors in the external operating environment?’
 2.4 Turning Ideas into Research Projects
Research Idea General Research Question
How does the running of a TV advertising
Advertising and share prices campaign designed to boost the image of a
company affect its share price?
How effective is recruiting for new staff via
Job recruitment via the
the Internet in comparison with traditional
Internet
methods?
The use of aromas as a In what ways does the use of specific aromas
marketing device in supermarkets affect buyer behaviour?
What effect has the growth of Internet
The use of Internet banking banking had upon the uses customers make
of branch facilities?
 Writing Research Objectives
Research Question Research Objective(s)
Why have organisations To identify organisations’ objectives for team briefing
introduced team briefing schemes
How can the effectiveness To establish suitable effectiveness criteria for team
of team briefing schemes briefing schemes
be measured?
Has team briefing been To describe the extent to which the effectiveness
effective? criteria for team briefing have been met
How can the effectiveness a. To determine the factors associated with the
of team briefing be effectiveness criteria for team briefing being met
explained? b. To estimate whether some of those factors are
more influential than other factors
To develop an explanatory theory that associates
Can the explanation be
certain factors with the effectiveness of team briefing
generalized?
schemes
Making A Good Problem Statement

A good Problem Statement Statement of the Research

Objective
Includes:
Research Question

Change something in order

to solve a specific work
setting problem
Making A Good Problem Statement
Research Objectives

• To study the effect of leadership style on employees’

job satisfaction
• To establish success factors regarding the adoption
and use of information systems

Research Question

• What do you want to learn about the topic

• The translation of the problem into a specific need
for info
 Problem Statement: Example

Problem
Frequent and long delays may translate into much
frustration among airline passengers, to switching
behaviour, and to negative word-of-mouth
communication. These feelings and behaviours
eventually have negative effects on the performance
and profitability of the firm.
 Problem Statement: Example
Problem Statement
Research Objective Research Questions
(1) To identify the factors 1. What are the factors that affect the
that influence the perceived waiting experience of airline
passengers’ waiting passengers and to what extent do these
experience, and factors affect the perception of waiting
(2) To investigate the times?
possible impact of 2. What are the affective consequences of
waiting on customer waiting and how does affect mediate the
satisfaction and service relationship between waiting and service
evaluations. evaluations?
3. How do situational variables (such as
filled time) influence customer reactions
to the waiting experience?
 Examples of well-defined Problems
26

1. To what extent do the organization structure and type

of information systems installed account for the
variance in the perceived effectiveness of managerial
decision-making?
2. What are the effects of downsizing on the long-range
growth patterns of companies?
3. How has the new packaging affected the sales of the
product?
4. What are the factors to be considered in creating a
data warehouse for a manufacturing company?
 2.5 Writing your Research Proposal

The purpose of the research proposal is to

Organize your Convince your Contact with

Ideas Audience your Client
 The Content of your Research Proposal
1. Title
 This may be your first attempt at the title. It may change as your
work progresses. At this stage it should closely mirror the content of
your proposal.
2. Background
 Tell the reader why you feel the research is worth the effort. This
may be expressed in the form of a problem that needs solving or
something that you find exciting and has aroused your curiosity.
This is also the section where you will demonstrate your knowledge
of the relevant literature.
The Content of your Research Proposal
3. Research Questions and Objectives
 A statement of your research question(s) and objectives. These
should leave the reader in no doubt as to precisely what it is that
your research seeks to achieve. Be careful here to ensure that your
objectives are precisely written and will lead to observable
outcomes
 ‘to describe the extent to which the effectiveness criteria
specified for the team briefing scheme have been met’).

4. Method
 how you intend to go about achieving your research objectives.
 These two aims may be met by dividing your method section into
two parts: research design and data collection.
The Content of your Research Proposal
5. Timescale
 Many researchers find it useful to produce a schedule for their
research using a Gantt chart, this provides a simple visual
representation of the tasks or activities that make up your research
project, each being plotted against a time line.
6. Resources
 Resources may be categorised as finance, data access and
equipment.
7. References
 A few key literature sources to which you have referred that is
directly informing your own proposal.
 Example of a Research Proposal (1)
Title The influences of Thai culture on employee involvement.

Background
Involving employees in the decision making of their employing
organisations has been increasingly popular in Europe and North America
in recent years. The influx of American organisations into Thailand has
meant that similar approaches are being adopted. However, this assumes
that Thai employees will respond to these techniques as readily as their
European and American counterparts. Doubts about the validity of these
assumptions derive from studies of Thai national culture (Komin 1990).
Using Rokeach’s (1979) conceptual framework, Komin characterised Thai
culture in a number of ways. I have isolated those that relate to employee
involvement.
 Example of a Research Proposal (2)
Background - continued
The researcher wishes to:
a.Save face, avoid criticism and show consideration to others;
b.Exhibit gratitude to those who have shown kindness and
consideration;
c.Promote smooth, conflict-free interpersonal relations;
d.Interpret ‘rules’ in a flexible way with little concern for
principles;
e.Promote interdependent social relations;
f. Be seen to be achieving success through good social relations
rather than individual success.
 Example of a Research Proposal (3)
Research Objectives
1.To examine the assumptions behind the management
technique of employee involvement.
2.To establish the characteristics of the Thai national culture.
3.To identify the opinions of Thai employees and their
managers, working in American-owned organisations in
Thailand, towards values underpinning employee involvement.
4.To draw conclusions about the applicability of employee
involvement to Thai employees.
 Example of a Research Proposal (4)
Method
1. Conduct a review of the literatures on employee involvement and Thai
national culture in order to develop research hypotheses.
2. Carry out primary research in three American-owned petrochemical
and manufacturing organisations in Thailand to assess the opinions of
Thai employees and their managers towards values underpinning
employee involvement. Informal approval has been gained from three
organisations. American-owned organisations are relevant because it is
in these that employee involvement is most likely to be found and
values underpinning employee involvement exhibited. Petrochemical
and manufacturing organisations are chosen because the occupations
carried out in these organisations are likely to be similar, thus ensuring
that any differences are a function of Thai national culture rather than
of occupational culture.
 Example of a Research Proposal (5)
Method - Continued
A questionnaire will be developed with questions based on the
Thai values a–f in the Background section above. Each value will
lead to a hypothesis (e.g. employee involvement may not be
appropriate to Thai culture because it may mean that employees
openly criticise their managers). The questions in the
questionnaire will seek to test these hypotheses. The
questionnaire will be distributed to a sample (size to be agreed)
of employees and of managers across all three organisations.
Data analysis will use the SPSS software. Statistical tests will be
run to ensure that results are a function of Thai cultural values
rather than of values that relate to the individual organisations.
 Example of a Research Proposal (6)
Timescale
January–March 2008: review of literature
April 2008: draft literature review
May 2008: review research methods literature
June 2008: agree formal access to three organisations for data
collection
July–August 2008: compile, pilot and revise questionnaire
September 2008: administer questionnaire
October–November 2008: final collection of questionnaires and
analysis of data
November 2008–February 2009: first draft of project report
March–May 2009: final writing of project report
 Example of a Research Proposal (7)
Resources
I have access to computer hardware and software. Access to three
organisations has been negotiated, subject to confirmation. My
employer has agreed to pay all incidental costs as part of my course
expenses.

References
Komin, S. (1990) Psychology of the Thai People: Values and
Behavioral Patterns. Bangkok, Thailand: National Institute of
Development Administration (in Thai).
Rokeach, M. (1979) Understanding Human Values: Individual and
Society. New York: The Free Press.