Unit 02 [compatibility mode]

Research Methodology
Dr. I. Manjubala
Email: i.manjubala@vit.ac.in Intercom: 2513
Room No. 313, CBMR Building
Dr. I. Manjubala
SBST, VIT University
1

Unit - II
• Problem identification and formulation
• Scientific Research: Problem, Definition,
Objectives, Types, Purposes and
components of Research problem.
Dr. I. Manjubala
2

Definition of Research Problem
 A research problem is the situation that causes the researcher
to feel apprehensive, confused and hard.
 Operationalization is then used to give some indication of the
exact definitions of the variables, and the type of scientific
measurement used.
 Operationalization is the process of strictly defining variables
into measurable factors. The process defines ambiguous
concepts and allows them to be measured, empirically and
quantitatively.
Dr. I. Manjubala
3

Selection of Research Problem
 First step in research process is the choice of a suitable
problem
 Enlist the specific questions like WHO,WHAT, WHERE,
WHEN and WHY of the problem.
 A problem well defined is half solved
 The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its
solution.
 The actual reasons (possible causes) for the discrepancy
between what is (current situation) and what is desired (e.g.
lack of motivation among students)
Dr. I. Manjubala
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Selection of Research Problem
Criteria/Factors of selecting the problems
o Academic background of the researcher
o Researcher's experiences, aptitudes, ability , values , behavior etc
o Researcher's training and orientation
o Researcher's purpose and objectives
o Originality and Utility of the research
o Direction of the organization where the researcher works
o Availability of data and information – primary, secondary sources
o Access to the study area
o Resource availability – money, manpower
o Time factor
o Supervisor’s time, qualification, experiences, interest, etc
o Nature of the problems – need oriented, problem solving, etc
o Controversial topic
o Nor too narrow/vague Dr. I. Manjubala
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Evaluation of The Research Problem
o Is the problem of current interest? Will the research results have
social, educational or scientific value?
o Will it be possible to apply the results in practice?
o Does the research contribute to the science of education?
o Will the research opt new problems and lead to further research?
o Is there enough scope left within the area/field of research?
o Will it be possible for another researcher to repeat the research?
o Will it have any value? and are you motivated to undertake the research?
o Do you have the necessary knowledge and skills to do the research? Are
o you qualified to undertake the research?
o Do you have the necessary funds for the research?
o Do you have access to the administrative, statistic and computer
o facilities the research necessitates?
o Will it be practically possible to undertake the research?
o Is the research free of any ethical problems and limitations?Dr. I. Manjubala
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Evaluation of the Research Problem
In short
• Is the problem researchable?
• Is the problem new?
• Is the problem significant?
• Is the solution to this problem helpful for the
development of further knowledge?
• Is the problem feasible for researcher?
• Research competencies
• Interest and enthusiasm
• Financial consideration
• Time requirements
• Administrative considerations
Dr. I. Manjubala
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Defining a Research Problem
what a problem is?
(i) There must be an individual (or a group or an organization) to
whom the problem can be attributed
• It/he/she occupies an environment, say ‘N’, which
is defined by values of the uncontrolled variables, Yj.
(ii) At least two courses of action, say C1 and C2, to be pursued
• A course of action is defined by one or more values
of the controlled variables.
–For example, the number of items purchased at a
specified time is said to be one course of action.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM?
(iii) There must be at least two possible outcomes, say O1
and O2
(iv) The courses of action available must provides some
chance of obtaining the objective, but they cannot
provide the same chance, otherwise the choice would
not matter.
Thus, if P (Oj | I, Cj, N) represents the probability
that an outcome Oj will occur, if I select Cj in N,
then P(O1II,C1, N)≠ P(O1II C2, N)
Dr. I. Manjubala
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Components of a research problem:
(i) Individual or a group which has some difficulty or the
problem
(ii) some objective(s) to be attained at.
• If one wants nothing, one cannot have a problem
(iii) There must be alternative means (or the courses of
action) for obtaining the objective(s) one wishes to attain.
• This means that there must be at least two means
available to a researcher for if he has no choice of
means, he cannot have a problem.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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Components of a research problem:
(iv) There must remain some doubt in the mind of a
researcher with regard to the selection of alternatives.
• This means that research must answer the
question concerning the relative efficiency of the
possible alternatives.
(v) There must be some environment(s) to which the
difficulty pertains.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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SELECTING THE PROBLEM
– The research problem undertaken for study must be
carefully selected.
– The task is a difficult one, although it may not appear to
be so.
– (i) Subject which is overdone should not be normally
chosen, for it will be a difficult task to throw any new light in
such a case.
– (ii) Controversial subject should not become the choice of
an average researcher.
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– (iii) Too narrow or too vague (fuzzy) problems should be
avoided.
– (iv) The subject selected for research should be familiar
and feasible so that the related research material or
sources of research are within one’s reach.
• Even then it is quite difficult to supply definitive
ideas concerning how a researcher should obtain
ideas for his research.
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– a researcher should contact an expert or a professor in
the University who is already engaged in research
– read articles published in current literature available
on the subject
• may think how the techniques and ideas discussed
there in might be applied to the solution of other
problems
– discuss with others what he has in mind concerning a
problem.
• In this way he should make all possible efforts in
selecting a problem.
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– (v) The importance of the subject,
• the qualifications and the training of a researcher,
• the costs involved,
• the time factor,
• a researcher must ask himself the following questions:
– (a) Whether he is well equipped in terms of his
background to carry out the research?
– (b) Whether the study falls within the budget he can
afford?
– (c) Whether the necessary cooperation can be
obtained from those who must participate in research
as subjects?
Dr. I. Manjubala
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– (vi) The selection of a problem must be preceded by a
preliminary study.
• This may not be necessary when the problem
requires the conduct of a research closely similar to
one that has already been done.
• But when the field of inquiry is relatively new and
does not have available a set of well developed
techniques, a brief feasibility study must always be
undertaken
Dr. I. Manjubala
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TECHNIQUE IN DEFINING A PROBLEM
– (i) statement of the problem in a general way;
– (ii) understanding the nature of the problem;
– (iii) surveying the available literature
– (iv) developing the ideas through discussions; and
– (v) rephrasing the research problem into a working
proposition.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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(i) Statement of the problem in a general way:
– problem should be stated in a broad general way,
keeping in view either some practical concern or some
scientific or intellectual interest.
– the researcher must immerse himself thoroughly in the
subject matter concerning which he wishes to pose a
problem.
– In case of social research, it is considered advisable to
do some field observation or pilot survey.
– Then state the problem or he can seek the guidance of
the guide or the subject expert in accomplishing
this task.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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(ii) Understanding the nature of the problem:
– to understand its origin and nature clearly.
– The best way of understanding the problem is to discuss
it with those who first raised it in order to find out how the
problem originally came about and with what objectives in
view.
– If the researcher has stated the problem himself, he
should consider once again all those points that induced
him to make a general statement concerning the problem.
– For a better understanding of the nature of the problem
involved, he can enter into discussion with those who have
a good knowledge of the problem concerned or similar
other problems.
– The researcher should also keep in view the environment
within which the problem is to be studied and understood.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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(iii) Surveying the available literature:
– All available literature concerning the problem must
necessarily be surveyed and examined before a definition
of the research problem is given.
• To find out what data and other materials, if any, are
available for operational purposes.
• “Knowing what data are available often serves to
narrow the problem itself as well as the technique that
might be used.”
Dr. I. Manjubala
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(iii) Surveying the available literature:
– If there are certain gaps in the theories,
• or whether the existing theories applicable to the
problem under study are inconsistent with each
other,
• or whether the findings of the different studies do
not follow a pattern consistent with the theoretical
expectations and so on.
– indicating the type of difficulties that may be encountered
in the present study
• as also the possible analytical shortcomings.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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(iv) Developing the ideas through discussions:
– often produces useful information
– Various new ideas can be developed
– Discuss problem with colleagues and others who have
enough experience in the same area or in working on
similar problems
– This is quite often known as an experience survey
– People with rich experience are in a position to enlighten
the researcher on different aspects of his proposed study
and their advice and comments are usually invaluable to
the researcher
– They help him sharpen his focus of attention on specific
aspects within the field.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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(v) Rephrasing the research problem:
– to rephrase the research problem into a working proposition.
– rephrasing the problem into analytical or operational terms
– puts the research problem in as specific terms as possible so
that it may become operationally viable and may help in the
development of working hypotheses
Dr. I. Manjubala
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Defining a research problem:
The following points must also be observed while defining a
research problem:
– (a) Technical terms and words or phrases, with special
meanings used in the statement of the problem, should be clearly
defined.
– (b) Basic assumptions or postulates (if any) relating to the
research problem should be clearly stated.
– (c) A straight forward statement of the value of the investigation
(i.e., the criteria for the selection of the problem)
– (d) The suitability of the time-period and the sources of data
available
– (e) The scope of the investigation or the limits within which the
research Dr. I. Manjubala
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An example :
• “Why is productivity in Japan so much higher than in India”?
In this form the question has a number of ambiguities such as:
– What sort of productivity is being referred to?
– With what industries the same is related?
– With what period of time the productivity is being
talked about?
In view of all such ambiguities the given statement or
the question is much too general to be amenable to
analysis.
• Rethinking and discussions about the problem
Dr. I. Manjubala
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Example
• “What factors were responsible for the higher labour
productivity of Japan’s manufacturing industries during the
decade 1971 to 1980 relative to India’s manufacturing
industries?”
– an improvement over its earlier version for the various
ambiguities
• Further rethinking and rephrasing
– “To what extent did labour productivity in 1971 to
1980 in Japan exceed that of India in respect of 15
selected manufacturing industries?
What factors were responsible for the productivity
differentials between the two countries by
industries?”
Dr. I. Manjubala
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• Example:
– the various terms involved such as ‘labour
productivity’, ‘productivity differentials’, etc. must
be explained clearly.
• The researcher must also see that the necessary data are
available.
• In case the data for one or more industries selected are
not available for the concerning timeperiod, then the said
industry or industries will have to be substituted by other
industry or industries.
–The suitability of the time-period must also be
examined. Dr. I. Manjubala
27

Assignment:
– Look at any scientific paper, and you will see the
research problem, written almost like a statement
of intent.
– Defining a research problem is crucial in defining
the quality of the answers, and determines the
exact research method used.
Dr. I. Manjubala
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CHECKLIST FOR TESTING THE FEASIBILITY
OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Dr. I. Manjubala
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Dr. I. Manjubala
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Example
– An anthropologist might find references to a relatively
unknown tribe in Papua New Guinea.
– Through inductive reasoning, she arrives at the research
problem and asks,
• ‘How do these people live and how does their
culture relate to nearby tribes?’
– She has found a gap in knowledge, and she seeks to fill
it, using a qualitative case study, without a hypothesis
Dr. I. Manjubala
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An Illustration
Suppose that a research problem in a broad general way is as follows:
Why do Maharashtrian entrepreneurs
lack behind other business
communities?
32Dr. I. Manjubala

Ambiguities in the question
• Who is an entrepreneur?
• Who is a Maharashtrian?
• Which are the ‘other communities’ in business?
• Are we speaking of a specific business or all
businesses?
• Do self employed professionals like lawyers and doctors
fall in the category of business?
• Define success and failure in business.
• What is the scope of the enquiry in terms of area? Are
we looking at one suburb of Mumbai, a few suburbs of
Mumbai, all of Greater Mumbai or the entire state of
Maharashtra?
33Dr. I. Manjubala

How would you explore the topic?
• What made you think of it?
• What is your perception about the problem?
• Why do you think it is a problem?
• Whose problem is it?
• Who would you talk to about this problem?
• Has something been written on it?
• Where would you find data, reports etc to help you
understand the topic better?
• Whose experience do you think would be of help in
understanding the problem?
• What are the different perspectives to the same
problem?
34Dr. I. Manjubala

Talk to whom?
• Yourself, your friends, family, teachers
• Economists
• Sociologists
• Entrepreneurs
• Professionals
• Writers
• Editors
• Icons within the community
• Business associations and groups
35Dr. I. Manjubala

Read what?
• Member-directories of all registered
business and trading associations to find
out ‘obvious’ Maharashtrian names and
those from other communities.
36Dr. I. Manjubala

The problem may be redefined thus
• A comparative study of the ability to take risk,
sources of seed capital, time taken to expand
the size of the business, nature of debt and the
ratio of profit to capital investment between the
Marathi speaking entrepreneur and the Gujarati
speaking entrepreneur in Mumbai with specific
focus on entrepreneurs involved in garments,
ready-to-eat food, footwear, electronic goods,
books and stationery, printing and the services
sector exclusive to medicine, law and education
in the suburbs of Girgaum, Vile Parle, Dadar,
Borivli and Ghatkopar in Mumbai.
37Dr. I. Manjubala

Keep working on defining the research
problem till you are clear in your mind
what is the nature of the problem, the
question that you are addressing.
Unless this is clear your research gets
nowhere.
38Dr. I. Manjubala

Unit 02 [compatibility mode]

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