Scientific Research

Methodology
Unit 4: Formulating A Research
Problem
Al Ain University

College of

Business First

semester

2022-2023
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 Outline

Topics covered

1 Research
Problem

2 Sources of Research
Problem

3 Formulation of a Research
Problem

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 Research Problem

Research Journey

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 Research Problem

What is a Research Problem?

Any question that you want to answer or any assumption
or state- ment that you want to challenge or investigate
or examine can become a research problem.
The research problem according to Powers, Meenaghan &
Twoomey (1985, p. 38) 1
“potential research questions may occur to us on a
regular basis, but the process of formulating them in a
meaningful way is not at all an easy task”
Formulating a problem requires a considerable knowledge
of both the subject area and research methodology.
Formulating an idea into a researchable problem starts by
identifying and then speci-
fying a research problem .
1Powers, G. T., Meenaghan, T. M., & Toomey, B. G. (1985). Practice focused
research: Integrating human service practice and research. Prentice Hall.
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 Research Problem

Examples of Research Problems

Questions
) Is there any relationship between motivation and productivity?
) What are the effects of TV programs on children behavior?
) Is there a relationship between using social media and the per-
formance of college students?
Assumptions/Hypotheses
) Taking Aspirin daily reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
) Males use the Internet more than women.
) Good performing firms have better corporate governance.
Statements/Challenges
) Exploring phenomenon, customer satisfaction with products,
ser- vice or program.
) Improving productivity, quality of service or program
) Investigating the strategic planning practices in UAE.

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 Research Problem

The importance of formulating a research

problem
The formulation of research problem is the first and most
important step of the research process. In the absence of a
clear research problem, a clear and economical plan is
impossible.

Albert Einstein’s view of the research process

“The formulation of a problem is far more often essential than
its so- lution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical
or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities,
to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative
imagination and marks read advance in science”
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 Sources of Research Problem

Sources of research problems

Most research in humanities revolves around four Ps:
) People
) Problems
) Programs
) Phenomena
The emphasis on a particular p may vary from study to
study but generally, in practice most research study
based upon at least a combination of two ps.
You may select a group of individuals (a group or a
community as such-people), either to examine the
existence of a certain issues or problems relating to their
lives, to ascertain attitude of a group of people towards
an issue (problem) to establish existence of a regularity
(phenomenon) or to evaluate the effectiveness of an
intervention (program).
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 Sources of Research Problem

Aspects of a research problem

Aspect of a study About Study of

Study population People Individuals, They provide you with
organization, the required information
groups, communities or you collect informa-
tion from or about them
Problem Issues, situations, associ-
Subject area ations, needs, population,
composition, profiles, etc.
Program Content, structure, out-
come, attributes, satisfac- Information you need to
tion, consumers, service collect to find answers
providers, etc. to your research
Phenomenon cause-and-effect questions
rela-
tionships, the study of
phenomenon itself, etc.

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 Sources of Research Problem

Other Sources of Research Problem

- Everyday life

- Practical
- Issues
-Past research (perhaps most important)
- Theory-Explanation or explanatory system that discusses
how a phenomenon operates and why
it operates as it does.
- Personal experience and interests of
researchers.
- Various theories in the discipline of the
researcher.
- Related Literature-Scientific
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Literature from one’s own area
Research Methodology 2020
of 9 / 23
 Sources of Research Problem

Considerations in Selecting a Research

Problem
Interest: you must select a topic that interests you most.
Magnitude: you should have sufficient knowledge to be
able to estimate the work needed.
Measurement of concepts: make sure you are clear about
con- cepts’ indicators and their measurements.
Level of expertise: make sure you have an adequate level
of ex- pertise for the task you are proposing.
Relevance: select a topic that is of relevance to you.
Availability of data: make sure that these data are
available and in the format you want.
Ethical issues: do no harm to person/society involved.

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Steps in the formulation of a research

problem
If you don’t know what specific research topic, idea or issue
you want to research first go through the following steps:
Step 1: Identify a broad field or subject area of interest to
you. Step 2: Dissect the broad area into subareas.
Step 3: Select what is most interest to
you. Step 4: Raise research questions.
Step 5: Formulate objective.
Step 6: Assess your objective. (e.g. work involved, time
available, financial resources at your disposal)
Step 7: Double check.

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Research Questions

Research questions express the research objectives in

terms of questions that can be addressed by research.
They act as the basis against which data are analyzed, as
the analysis must lead to answering the questions or
testing the hy- pothesis.
The research question is the researcher’s translation of the
prob- lem into a specific inquiry.
) Help to develop well-formulated, specific hypotheses that can be
empirically tested.
) Help the researcher design a study that will produce useful results.
Research questions should be related to the objective,
hence, if objective is unclear it will be difficult to formulate
research ques- tions.

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Examples of Research Questions

To what extent has the new advertising campaign been
successful in creating the high-quality, customer-centered
corporate image that it was intended to produce?
What are the effects of downsizing on the long-range
growth pat- terns of companies?
What are the best practices and strategies to improve the
public awareness about diabetic symptoms?
What are the main reasons for the relatively low electronic
com- merce adoption in GCC countries?
What are the determinants of self-medication with
antibiotics in Arab countries?
Is there a relationship between information technology
acceptance and organizational agility in UAE?
What network system is best suited for Tawam Hospital?
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 Formulation of a Research Problem

The formulation of objectives

Objective are the goals you set out to attain in your study.
Since these objectives inform a reader of what you want
to achieve through the study, it is extremely important to
word them clearly and specifically.
Objective should be listed under two headings:
) Main objectives: an overall statement of the thrust of your study.
) Sub objectives: the specific aspects of the topic that you want
to investigate within the main framework of your study.
Usually use the action words such as: to study, to analyze,
to explore, to assess, to interpret, to develop, to elucidate,
to identify, to articulate, to establish, to construct, to
propose, to argue, to compare.
Some researchers are satisfied only with research
questions and do not formulate objective.
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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Characteristics of Research Objectives

A well-worded research objective will
be Clear
Complete
Specific
Identify the main variables to be correlated
Identify the direction of relationship

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Examples of Research Objectives

To find out what motivates consumers to buy a product
line.
To determine factors that increase employee commitment
to the organization.
To assess the e-government provided services in GCC
countries. To establish success factors regarding the
adoption and use of information systems.
To examine the impact of national culture on the rate of
software piracy.
To compare the effectiveness of different teaching
methods on the comprehensive students.
To investigate the Hypertension prevalence for working
population in UAE.
To assess patient satisfaction with current community
pharmacy
R. Hijazi & M. Rahrouh servicesScientific
in the UAE.
Research Methodology 2020 16 / 23
 Formulation of a Research Problem

Example: Health
Suppose you want to conduct a study in the area of
health Step 1: Identify the main subject area
Health

Step 2: Dissect into sub-areas

1 Health services provided to the
2 community, effectiveness of the
3 services,
4 cost of the services,
5 health insurance scheme available to
6 people, training of health professionals,
7 attitude of the consumers towards
health services,
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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Example: Health

Step 3: Select sub-areas of most interest

Community responsiveness in the delivery of health
services.

Step
1 4: Raise
How research
do the questions
health administrators,planners, service
providers and consumers define community
2 responsiveness?
3 How can community responsiveness be achieved?
What indicators can be used to evaluate the effectiveness
of com- munity responsiveness strategies?

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Example: Health

Step 5: Formulate objectives

Main objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of community
re- sponsiveness strategies in the delivery of health
services.
Specific
1 objectives:
To find out understanding of the concept of community respon-
siveness, among health administrators, planners, service
providers and service consumers.
2 To identify the strategies to implement the concept of
community responsiveness in health services.
3 To develop a set of indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of the
strategies used in implementation of community responsiveness.

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Example: Health

Step 6: Assess objectives

Assess the objective in the
light
1 of
Work involved.
2 Time available to you.
3 Financial resources at your
4 disposal. Your technical
expertise in the area.
Step 7: Double-
check Ask your
self:
1 Are you really interested in the
2 study? Do you agree with the
3 objectives?
Do you have adequate
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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Example: Fertility and Mortality

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Establishing Operational Definitions

In defining the problem you may use certain words or

items that are difficult to measure and/or the
understanding of which may vary from respondent to
respondent.
In such cases you need to develop operational definitions
for the variables you are studying and for the population
that becomes the source of the information for your
study.
Operational definition is an operational meaning to the
study pop- ulation and the concepts used.
• Depends upon researcher and type of study.
• Avoid ambiguity and confusion in a research study.
• Develops a framework for the study
Operational definitions may differ from day-to-day
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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Establishing Operational Definitions

The main objectives of a study are:
To find out the number of children living below the
poverty line in Arab World.
To ascertain the impact of immigration on family
roles among immigrants.
To measure the effectiveness of a training program
designed to help young people.

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Establishing Operational Definitions

The main objectives of a study are:
To find out the number of children living below the
poverty line in Arab World.
To ascertain the impact of immigration on family
roles among immigrants.
To measure the effectiveness of a training program
designed to help young people.

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 Formulation of a Research Problem

Interesting suggested Themes for research

 Green education

 Climate change

 Water Scarcity, Food security, and Clean

energy suggested solutions

 Sustainability

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