Problem Stm

8/7/2019 Problem Stm

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Components of ResearchComponents of Research

Chapter 1Chapter 1

Problem StatementProblem Statement


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Criteria

I INTERNAL

1. Researchers interest

2. Researchers competence

3. Researchers own resources, i.e., finance,

time,etc.

II EXTERNAL1. Researchability, i.e., amenability (problems

having solutions)

2. Importance and Urgency, i.e., relative

importance & significance of problem (utility

of findings)

3. Novelty or originality

4. Feasibility

- Availability of data

- Suitable methodology- Co-operation of organisations & individuals

- Available time

5. Facilities/ infrastructure

6. Usefulness and social relevance7. Research personnel

Sources

1. Reading

2. Academic

experience

3. Daily experience

4. Exposure to fieldsituations

5. Consultations

6. Brainstorming

7. Research8. Intuition

* Here problem is

not trouble.

Selecting Research Problem*


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Have you started to carry out preliminary research?

Begin to identify, access and consult some bibliographical resources. By doing

preliminary research you will start reviewing the existing literature on your topicand related themes. Try to make a brief note of your findings.

By immersing yourself in the material, you start recognising terminology andauthors that regularly appear, and discovering arguments related to your topic.

You will begin to discover what your topic is all about and to identify differentpaths for future exploration as well as recognizing issues which are over-researched.

Draw up an initial plan for your literature review. This saves time later. Consult

your potential future supervisor for key texts.

What texts and key journals in your area have you read to get an overview of yourtopic? Have you identified the words and phrases that best describe your topic?Concepts and terms (and their meanings)?

What are the significant names associated with your topic? Which are the important dates and events related to your topic? Which are the related subjects that might be used when searching for articles and

books? Have you found too much or too little on an important aspect of your topic? Howwill you deal with this?

FINALLY
http://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk/takingnotes.htmhttp://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk/takingnotes.htmhttp://port.igrs.sas.ac.uk/takingnotes.htm


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A good first step is to formulate or ask questions aboutthe TOPIC.

What resources are helpful to new and minority drug abuse researchers?(To develop a strong research question from your ideas, you shouldask yourself these things) :

1. Do I know the field and its literature well?2. What are the important research questions in my field?3. What areas need further exploration?4. Could my study fill a gap? Lead to greater understanding?

5. Has a great deal of research already been conducted in thistopic area?

6. Has this study been done before? If so, is there room forimprovement?

7. Is the timing right for this question to be answered? Is it a hottopic, or is it becoming obsolete?

8. Would funding sources be interested?9. If you are proposing a service program, is the target community

interested?10. Most importantly, will my study have a significant impact on the

field?


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Selection of Research Problem Dos & Donts

1. Research problems cannot be borrowed; researcher has to find his own

problem

2. Guide can only help to choose a subject / topic

3. Right question must be addressed; Having a topic to read about isdifferent from having a problem to solve. This leads to aimless andendless gathering of data and no way of knowing when we have enough.Further, this leads to a struggle to decide what to include in report.

4. Have unbiased & unattached approach; Be objective

5. Be uncommitted (i.e., hanging loose) before selection

6. Have more than one problem to ponder, i.e., keep alternatives

7. Never settle initially itself on a particular approach

8. Interact with experts & practitioners

9. Avoid superficial & obvious problems


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Selection of Research Problem Dos & Donts contd10. Avoid overdone subjects & controversial subjects

11. Avoid too narrow or too vague problems (Avoid the risk ofsettling on a broad topic with 4 or 5 words)

12.Have a preliminary study (quick) and / or a brief feasibility study (examinemethodology, etc.)

13. Problems should suit your interest, competence & ability

14. Identify gaps through literature survey

15. Check availability of required data and co-operation of people concerned

16. Problem should be novel, significant and useful to practitioners; utility ofthe expected findings should be judged

18. Make preliminary outlines, disagree with what is read, draw diagrams toconnect disparate facts, summarize sources, record random thoughts.Start writing at the very beginning as you go to encourage critical

thinking, to understand sources better and draft more effectively


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How to tackle the problem?

Questions to be asked whenan idea is born

1. Is the idea viable ?2. Is it practicable ?3. The time factor ?4. Has it been done before ?

5. What result is expected ?6. What do colleagues think ?7. Will a statistician be needed ?8. What will you personally do ?(individuals role in the study)

More questions while formulating

problem The originating question - Whatone wants to know

The rationale Why

The specifying thequestion Possible answers to theoriginating question


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????

Still cant clearly formulate?

Begin early thinking to save time and later panic. Ask for help:Discuss with others, but then not restrict or

limit your research; Examine whether a smaller part ofbigger part be selected Look for problems as you read:Gap, error,misunderstanding, contradictions, inconsistencies,

incomplete explanations; Do more than just pointing out Look for the problem that your claim solves;workbackward to formulate a better, more interestingproblem than the one that is startedTip: Most common way research problem is discoveredis by disagreeing with sources; There are standardcontradictions (Booth, 2003)

Booth, Wayne C, et. al. The craft of research. 2 ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003.


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In order to understand the problem or

need, first we need to know what the idealsituation would look like.

Think for a moment, if your problem orneed did NOT exist, what would thesituation be like

Describe this for the reader


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TOPIC 1

In order for students to make healthy dietary choices,

parents, the primary educators and providers of fooditems, need to have knowledge of the importance ofquality nutritional food and healthy food choices.

TOPIC 2

The mission of the organization is to promote the

appropriate use of technology to assist all students andstaff so that they can become more independent, self-confident, and productive learners.


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Obviously the current situation is not ideal.Now that you have defined the ideal forthe reader, you can let them know whatthe problem or need is.

Describe the current situation. Remember

as a researcher you are dispassionateand non-judgmental. Stick to the facts

about the current situation.


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TOPIC 1 Asian children are overweight and the incidence of chronic

illness is higher than at any time in our nations history. While,parents have abundant information at their fingertips,students lack of knowledge of quality, nutritional food choicesis at an all time low.

TOPIC 2 The computer applications class and technology class are the

only classrooms with their own computer technology. All

other classes are required to share one computer lab of thirtycomputers and sixty mobile laptop computers for a studentpopulation of over 1,100.


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Your reader now knows what the ideal

situation would be, and how the currentsituation is different from the ideal.

Explain the consequences of notcorrecting this situation. If you did not

undertake this research and the situationremained uncorrected, what would be thenegative results?


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TOPIC 1When parents, and in turn students, continue to

make unhealthy food choices because of theirlack of knowledge an undue burden of poorhealth continues to be placed on the next

generation (Weston Price Foundation, 2007, 6).

TOPIC 2

The current situation, of limited technologicalresources, causes a roadblock to classroomprojects and student learning opportunities.


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The reader now understands what the

ideal would be, why the current situationis not ideal, and the consequences of notcorrecting the current situation.

All that is left is to explain the solution youpropose to test and how it will help correct

the current situation.


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TOPIC 1 In order to determine the nutritional knowledge/lack of nutritional

knowledge of parents and students enrolled in BlahBlah VirtualAcademy, a pre-test survey will be administered to both parentsand students. Upon completion of a series of monthly nutritionworkshops via ClassConnect (a virtual classroom) a post-test willbe administered to those that participated in the workshop.

TOPIC 2 One solution would be to supply students with laptop computers for

use in the classroom. This would allow flexibility of instruction and

curriculum, allowing for an e-Learning environment.


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You have four statements to make in this

problem statement but they should NOT belabeled statement 1, statement 2; or IdealSituation, Current Situation.

The problem statement should be in paragraphform with the ideas flowing from one phase tothe next seamlessly.

Examples used on previous slides are shown asfull problem statements in the slides whichfollow.


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TOPIC 1 FULL EXAMPLE

In order for students to make healthy dietary choices, parents, the primaryeducators and providers of food items, need to have knowledge of the

importance of quality nutritional food and healthy food choices. Children aremore overweight and the incidence of chronic illness is higher than at any timein our nations history. While, parents have abundant information at theirfingertips, students lack of knowledge of quality, nutritional food choices is atan all time low. When parents, and in turn students, continue to make unhealthyfood choices because of their lack of knowledge an undue burden of poorhealth continues to be placed on the next generation (Weston PriceFoundation, 2007, 6). In order to determine the nutritional knowledge/lack ofnutritional knowledge of parents and students enrolled in BlahBlah Virtual

Academy, a pre-test survey will be administered to both parents and students.Upon completion of a series of monthly nutrition workshops via Class Connect(a virtual classroom) a post-test will be administered to those that participatedin the workshop.


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TOPIC 1 FULL EXAMPLE

The mission of the organization is to promote the appropriateuse of technology to assist all students and staff so that they can

become more independent, self-confident, and productivelearners. The computer applications class and technology classare the only classrooms with their own computer technology. All

other classes are required to share one computer lab of thirtycomputers and sixty mobile laptop computers for a studentpopulation of over 1,100. The current situation, of limitedtechnological resources, causes a roadblock to classroom

projects and student learning opportunities. One solution wouldbe to supply students with their own laptop computers for use inthe classroom. This would allow flexibility of instruction andcurriculum, allowing for an e Learning environment.


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All examples are used with the permission

of former students. Names and locationshave been removed.

The following reference is listed in one ofthe examples.

Weston A Price Foundation (2007),Children's Health. Retrieved October 17,2007 from

http://westonaprice.org/children/index.html


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SYMPTOMS OR PROBLEMS ????


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Symptoms or Problems ?

Twenty-year-old neighborhood swimmingassociation:

Membership has been declining for years.

New water park -residents prefer the

expensive water park????

Demographic changes: Children have

grown up


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Problem Definition

Organization Symptoms Based on Symptom True Problem

Demographic changes:

Children in this 20-

year-oldneighborhood havegrown up. Olderresidents no longerswim anywhere.

Membership hasbeen declining for

years. New waterpark with wave pooland water slidesmoved into town afew years ago.

Neighborhoodresidents prefer the

expensive waterpark and havenegative image ofswimming pool.

Twenty-year-old

neighborhoodswimmingassociation in amajor city.

Symptom Potential Issues Research Questions


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Symptom Potential Issues Research Questions

Low customerservice ratings

Sales rep territories aretoo large? Training is

inadequate

What factors influence customerservice ratings?

Stock-outs arehigher thanlast year

Shelf space increaseshave lowered retailinventories?

What is the relationship between shelfspace and retail sales?

Sales are lowerthan expected

Forecasting techniquesare inadequate?

What variables are the best predictorsof sales?

Churn-rate is

highest in themarket

Wireless coverage is

poor? Prices are toohigh? Serviceprovider employeesare unfriendly?

What factors are related to churn

rate?

Labour costsare higherthan the

competitions

Employee sick days aretoo high? Productivityis low?

Do flexible schedules createincreased labor efficiency (lowerlabour costs)?


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Problem Stm

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