Republic of the Philippines

CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY

Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
Module 2

Formulating Business Research Problem and Research Title

Definition of Research Problem

A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be
eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need
for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. Our concern are research problem in business. Most
often the research problem is the main basis of the research title or it can also be the other way around.

Example:
1. What are the factors related to success in business operation?
2. What is the relationship between social media usage and business expansion?
3. What is the level of consumers trust in e-government services?
4. What factors affect consumers trust in e-government services?
5. What is the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between social media usage and online
shopping?
6. Is there significant relationship between demand for private insurance and income?
7. What is the impact of exposure to advertisement on the demand for jewelries?

Sources of research problem

1. People-consumers, manufacturers, any business organization, behavior
2. Problem- issues, low profitability, employee turnover, business failure
3. Program - interventions
4. Phenomenon – cause and effect, relationship

Business research problem can be categorized by functional areas

1. Marketing problem – products, place, promotion, price,
2. Operational problem – manufacturing, diversification
3. Management problem – planning, organizing, staffing, designation, control, budgeting
4. Accounting problem – financial statements, recording, window dressing, earnings management
5. Financing problem – initial public offering, stocks, capital structure, stock market

Considerations in selecting a research problem

1. Interest of the researcher- a research endeavour is usually time consuming, and involves hard work and
possibly unforeseen problems. If you select a topic which does not greatly interest you, it could become
extremely difficult to sustain the required motivation and put in enough time and energy to complete it.
2. Magnitude - You should have sufficient knowledge about the research process to be able to visualise the
work involved in completing the proposed study. Narrow the topic down to something manageable,
specific and clear. It is extremely important to select a topic that you can manage within the time and with
the resources at your disposal.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
3. Measurement of concepts- if you are using a concept in your study (in quantitative studies), make sure
you are clear about its indicators and their measurement. For example, if you plan to measure the
consumer satisfaction, you must be clear as to what determines satisfaction and how it will be measured.
4. Level of expertise – Make sure you have an adequate level of expertise for the task you are proposing.
allow for the fact that you will learn during the study and may receive help from your research supervisor
and others, but remember that you need to do most of the work yourself.
5. Relevance – Select a topic that is of relevance to you as a professional. Ensure that your study adds to the
existing body of knowledge, bridges current gaps or is useful in policy formulation. This will help you to
sustain interest in the study.
6. Availability of data – if your topic entails collection of information from secondary sources (office records,
client records, census or other already-published reports, etc.) make sure that this data is available and in
the format you want before finalizing your topic.
7. Ethical issues – another important consideration in formulating a research problem is the ethical issues
involved. in the course of conducting a research study, the study population may be adversely affected by
some of the questions (directly or indirectly); deprived of an intervention; expected to share sensitive and
private information; or expected to be simply experimental ‘guinea pigs’. How ethical issues can affect the
study population and how ethical problems can be overcome should be thoroughly examined at the
problem-formulation stage.

Research Problems could also stem from research gaps

A research gap as a topic or area for which missing or inadequate information limits the ability of reviewers
to reach a conclusion for a given question. It refers to such unexplored or underexplored areas that have scope for
further research.

1. Gap in Population or context – use another setting of group of respondents

2. Gap in analysis – simple to advance analysis, from relationship to cause and effect
3. Gap in Implications – apply the result of the study in other issues
4. Gap in methods – survey to experiment
5. Gap in concepts, perspectives and theory – use of another theory , model, framework

Addressing this gaps leads to significant contribution in the literature. Literature review is essential to
identify the research gap and establish significant contribution in the field.

Statement of the Problem and Research Objectives

This part of the research paper achieves the same purpose. They provide the overall direction of the paper.
They provide in concise statement what the paper wants to answers and achieve. The statement of the problem
should be based on the research objectives and vice-versa. Research papers often present either one of the two. The
statement of the problem and research objective can stated in general and specific terms. It can be descriptive and
inferential. Statement of the problem are stated in question form while the objectives is stated in neutral form.
Research paper have often several statement of the problem and research objectives.

Statement of the problems and Research objectives should be:

1. Based on the title the research

2. Clear and concise
3. Contains the constructs or variables

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
4. Contains the nature of inquiry – descriptive, correlational, predictive, cause and effect

Example:
Research Title: Background Risks and Demand for Risky Assets among Households

Statement of the Problem Objectives

General Statement What is the relationship between To determine the relationship
background risk and demand for between exposure to background
risky assets? risks and demand for risky assets
among households.
Specific statements
Descriptive statement What are the different background To identify the exposure of
risks whereby households are household in the different types of
exposed? background risks.
Descriptive statement What are the risky assets held by To identify the different forms of
households? risky assets held by households.
Predictive What form/type of background risk To determine whether background
can explain demand for risky asset risk can predict demand for risky
of households? assets.

Additional tips in research problem identification and formulation:

1. Examine the limitations and future directions written by the author.

Example of limitations and future directions in a research paper.

Research title: Social Influence on Consumer Financial Product Preferences

Authors: Ferdinand D. Anabo and Dave De Guzman Centeno
Source: Philippine Management Review 2019, Vol. 26, 62-86

Limitations and Future Research

Although the findings are descriptive, pointing to a degree of merit on analyzing social influence in personal finance,
the results of this study should be taken with caution. The approach of the study is descriptive and involves only a
small sample for exploratory purposes. The student sample in the study is an aspect that might be critical in the
results that were generated. Business students may be deemed knowledgeable in banking and finance. The findings
can be definitely substantiated when the sample size is increased and widened in a more representative (i.e., more
randomly chosen) pool.

There are other factors not considered in the conjoint analysis, such as interest rate on deposit accounts that can
also be significant for large deposits. Factors such as reputation, ability of the fund manager, strategy of the fund,
and stock picking criteria were not examined in the preferences for mutual funds. Future research could analyze
these factors using conjoint analysis.

What research idea can be generated from these paragraphs?

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
2. Look for “Call for Papers” announcement in journals.
a. Usually, call for papers are special issues among journal with specific theme.
b. They provide you with the scope of the research and possible research questions.
c. Just type call for papers the add the specific journal in google search. Ex. Call for papers journal of
finance, call for papers journal of human resource management, call for papers journal of business
studies

Example of Call For papers announcements

Call for papers in Journal of Business Research

Virtual Influencers: A new frontier in interdisciplinary research

February 2022
Virtual Influencers: A new frontier in interdisciplinary research
Submission window: Dec 1, 2022 to Jan 15th 2023
Article type: Virtual Influencers

Managing Guest Editor: Ameen Nisreen <[email protected]>

Influencer marketing is a relatively nascent but rapidly growing industry with current projections at 13.8 billion USD;
a 42% increase from 2019[1]. It refers to the promotion of products and services by social media influencers (SMIs)
(Ge & Gretzel, 2018); those people who “gained popularity due to their social media presence and content, such as
bloggers, YouTubers, and Instafamous individuals” (Aw & Chuah, 2021, pp. 146). With a tendency to specialise in a
specific industry or domain like fashion, cosmetics, travel or technology, SMIs can range from mega-influencers –
capturing both traditional celebrities who emerged outside of the Internet as well as fully online-born stars – with
follower counts in the millions, to micro-influencers accounting for fewer than ten thousand followers (Pittman &
Abell, 2021).

Contemporary influencer research often engages the literature on opinion leadership (Casaló, Flavián, & Ibáñez-
Sánchez, 2020) and parasocial relationship (Jin & Ryu, 2020; M. Kim & Kim, 2020; Aw & Chuah, 2021) to explore and
understand the behavioural intentions of followers in relation to SMIs’ recommendations (Farivar, Wang, & Yuan,
2021; Zhang, Chintagunta, & Kalwani, 2021). In addition, a growing number of studies explore relevant SMI
characteristics such as authenticity (Audrezet, de Kerviler, & Moulard, 2020), credibility (Sokolova & Kefi, 2020),
trustworthiness (Jin, Muqaddam, & Ryu, 2019; D. Y. Kim & Kim, 2021); the effectiveness of different content and
engagement strategies (Lee & Theokary, 2020; Tafesse & Wood, 2021); and the strategic use of influencers as brand
management tools (Ryu & Jin, 2019; Carlson, Donavan, Deitz, Bauer, & Lala, 2020; Valsesia, Proserpio, & Nunes,
2020; Wang, Thai, Ly, & Chi, 2021).

Topics along the following areas are highly encouraged and welcome, although other relevant areas will be
considered:

The CONSUMER perspective

 What are the similarities and differences in human and virtual influencer follower behaviour?
 What are the motivations that encourage consumers to follow virtual influencers?
 What are the obstacles of consumer openness towards virtual influencers and how to overcome them?

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
 How are virtual influencers perceived by consumers across different cultural settings?
 How are virtual influencers perceived by the younger generations of consumers such as millennials and Gen
Z?
 What are the psychological aspects associated with following virtual influencers, for example, self-image,
self-concept, body image, buying behaviour, among others?
 Is the parasocial relationship theory the most suitable to explain consumer-virtual influencer relationships?
 How can earlier research focusing on avatars and digital objects be applied to better understand virtual
influencers?

The BRAND perspective

 What are some of the risks and benefits of incorporating virtual influencers into a brand’s strategy?
 How can brands across different industries (e.g. luxury, sports, hospitality, etc) interact with virtual
influencers?
 What are some successful and unsuccessful cases of brand / virtual influencer interactions and what can we
learn from them?
 Are human and virtual influencers complementary or contradictory? In other words, do brands have to
choose?
 Which objective do virtual influencers help to achieve within a marketing strategy?

The INFLUENCER perspective

 What are the unique qualities and attributes of human influencers that virtual influencers lack, and vice
versa?
 Can virtual influencers complement the work of human influencers?
 Does the gender of the influencer matter when promoting products or services?
 What are the characteristics of the virtual influencers that can enhance consumers’ trust in them?

The SOCIETAL perspective

 What are the opportunities and risks associated with the emergence of virtual influencers to tackle major
societal issues (racism, gender equality, LGBT+ environmental challenges…)?
 Are there mental health issues associated with the development of virtual influencers to promote products
and brands?
 Can virtual influencers be used effectively to promote actions related to sustainability and well-being?
 How to provide transparent and understandable information to consumers regarding a commercial
relationship between a virtual influencer and a brand?
 What is the impact of virtual influencers on over tourism, destination image, travel decisions, or intentions
to visit?

The TECHNOLOGY perspective

 How can virtual influencers be used for promoting fake news? Or for fighting fake news?
 How does the adoption of machine learning-centred AI enable virtual influencers to generate social media
content? What are the major challenges and how can we overcome them?
 What are the strengths and weaknesses of deep fake technology when utilised in the context of virtual
influencers?
 How might virtual robots reshape the world of social media?
 Which aspects of technology motivate individuals on social media to follow virtual influencers?

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
 Why are virtual influencers livestreaming? What can contribute to a successful livestreaming
experience?
 What are the key factors the contribute to the successful adoption of virtual influencers for social
commerce?

Formulation of Research Title

The title summarizes the main idea or ideas of your study. A good title contains the fewest possible words that
adequately describe the contents and/or purpose of your research paper.
The title is without doubt the part of a paper that is read the most, and it is usually read first. If the title is too long
it usually contains too many unnecessary words, e.g., "A Study to Investigate the...." On the other hand, a title which
is too short often uses words which are too general. For example, "African Politics" could be the title of a book, but it
does not provide any information on the focus of a research paper.

Structure and Writing Style of Research Title

The following parameters can be used to help you formulate a suitable research paper title:

1. The purpose of the research

2. The narrative tone of the paper [typically defined by the type of the research]
3. The methods used

The initial aim of a title is to capture the reader’s attention and to draw his or her attention to the research problem
being investigated.
Create a Working Title

Typically, the final title you submit to your professor is created after the research is complete so that the title
accurately captures what was done. The working title should be developed early in the research process because it
can help anchor the focus of the study in much the same way the research problem does. Referring back to the working
title can help you reorient yourself back to the main purpose of the study if you feel yourself drifting off on a tangent
while writing.
The Final Title

Effective titles in academic research papers have several characteristics.

Characteristics of Effective Research Title Example
 Indicate accurately the subject and scope of the The Profitability of Online Selling Business of BSBA
study. Students
 Avoid using abbreviations. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Adaptation of Local Business Establishments
 Use words that create a positive impression and From Rags to Riches: Conditional Cash Transfers and
stimulate reader interest. Household Wealth of Beneficiaries
 Use current nomenclature from the field of Risk Tolerance and Investment in Private Life Insurance
study.
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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
 Identify key variables, both dependent and Social Media Usage and Trust in E-Government Services
independent.
 May reveal how the paper will be organized. Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Education: A
Literature Review
 Suggest a relationship between variables which Short term output and Interest rate under the IS-LM
supports the major hypothesis. Model in the Philippines
 Is limited to 10 to 15 substantive words.
 Do not include "study of," "analysis of" or similar The study of the relationship between academic
constructions. performance and employability of BSBA graduates.
 Titles are usually in the form of a phrase, but can Agrarian Reform Program In The Philippines: Is It Time To
also be in the form of a question. Say Goodbye?
 Use correct grammar and capitalization with all Agrarian Reform Program In The Philippines: Is It Time To
first words and last words capitalized, including Say Goodbye?
the first word of a subtitle. All nouns, pronouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that appear
between the first and last words of the title are
also capitalized.
 In academic papers, rarely is a title followed by Agrarian Reform Program In The Philippines: Is It Time To
an exclamation mark. However, a title or subtitle Say Goodbye?
can be in the form of a question.

The Subtitle

Subtitles are quite common in social science research papers. Examples of why you may include a subtitle:

1. Explains or provides additional context, e.g., "Linguistic Ethnography and the Study of Welfare Institutions as
a Flow of Social Practices: The Case of Residential Child Care Institutions as Paradoxical Institutions."
2. Adds substance to a literary, provocative, or imaginative title, e.g., "Listen to What I Say, Not How I Vote:
Congressional Support for the President in Washington and at Home."
3. Qualifies the geographic scope of the research, e.g., "The Geopolitics of the Eastern Border of the European
Union: The Case of Romania-Moldova-Ukraine."
4. Qualifies the temporal scope of the research, e.g., "A Comparison of the Progressive Era and the Depression
Years: Societal Influences on Predictions of the Future of the Library, 1895-1940."
5. Focuses on investigating the ideas, theories, or work of a particular individual, e.g., "A Deliberative
Conception of Politics: How Francesco Saverio Merlino Related Anarchy and Democracy."

Writing the Background of the Study

The following questions can help the researcher organize the background of the study. This is the not the
perfect guide but just a starting point. They can be of any order in the background of the study section. The
background of the study can be revised at the end of the study.

1. What is the topic?

a. Define the important variables- usually the dependent variable/s but also may include the
independent variables
2. Why is the topic important?
a. How important it is? In terms of scope and people involved
b. Who is affected by it?

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz
c. How it affects certain entities? The mechanism
d. Discuss negative effects or positive effects of the problem, phenomena or variable
e. Provide data
f. The context can be in the terms of:
i. Cultural -- the issue placed within the learned behavior of specific groups of people.
ii. Economic -- of or relating to systems of production and management of material wealth
and/or business activities.
iii. Historical -- the time in which something takes place or was created and how that influences
how you interpret it.
iv. Philosophical -- clarification of the essential nature of being or of phenomena as it relates to
the research problem.
v. Physical/Spatial -- reflects the space around something and how that influences how you see
it.
vi. Political -- concerns the environment in which something is produced indicating it's public
purpose or agenda.
vii. Social -- the environment of people that surrounds something's creation or intended
audience, reflecting how the people around something use and interpret it.
viii. Temporal -- reflects issues or events of, relating to, or limited by time.
3. What are the pressing research issues about the topic?
a. Provide summary of previous research done
i. This can be organize by theories used, methods, respondents
ii. Cite few research and authors but not lengthy explanation
iii. Common variables used
b. Provide the unresolved issues
c. Indicate strengths and weaknesses of previous research
4. What are the possible research gaps? Common research gaps are
a. Limited application in other context (respondents, environment, country..etc)
b. Recurring methods, poor methods, simple methods or complicated methods
c. Limited theories used
5. What is/are the objective/s of the study?
a. General statement of the objectives
b. Specific objectives can be written in a separate sub-section
6. What is the contribution of your research? Or why is your research different from the previous research?
a. New Theories /concept/variables/hypotheses
b. Context (new setting, new respondents)
c. New methods

Example of Background of the study

Research Title: Factors Influencing Derivatives Usage by Selected Listed Companies in the Philippines
Author: Lawrence Velasco
Source: Philippine Management Review 2014, Vol. 21, 1-12.

What is the topic? (The author assumed that the readers are familiar with derivatives.)
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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Why is the topic important/interesting?

In a perfect capital market as described by Miller and Modigliani (1958), financing policies of firms
should be irrelevant and non-value adding. Individual investors may undo or alter the firm’s financial
policy to suit his or her own risk preference. Risk management can be regarded as under the realm of
the financial policies of the firm, and will be more relevant as market imperfections are introduced into
the basic Modigliani and Miller world. Market imperfections will make it difficult for individual
investors to replicate (or undo) the financial policies of the firm. Therefore, the presence of market
imperfections like taxes, distress costs, and imperfect information allow for the effective use of risk
management in order to avert these costs and add value to the firm. This, in turn, contributes to the
widespread use of derivatives in financial risk management.

What are the pressing research issues about the topic?

There have been considerable research studies worldwide, both theoretical and empirical, on corporations’ use of
derivatives for risk management purposes. Most studies aim to relate the use of derivatives with the costs of financial
distress (Smith & Stulz, 1985), tax incentives (Smith & Stulz,1985) and the underinvestment problem (Bessembinder,
1991; Froot, Scharfstein, & Stein, 1993) – some of the market imperfections that are not present in the assumptions of
Modigliani and Miller.

What are the possible research gaps?

It was particularly interesting to test whether these theories also apply to a relatively underdeveloped derivative
market – like that existing in the Philippines.

What is the objective?

This study aimed to further test the validity of various derivatives usage theories in the Philippine context.

What is the contribution of the research?

The study followed from, and tried to improve on, the application of these theories by Nguyen and Faff (2002) and
Berkman and Bradbury (1996), where these theories were tested on firms from Australia and New Zealand,
respectively.

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 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

This is how the introduction/background of the study appeared in the paper.

In a perfect capital market as described by Miller and Modigliani (1958), financing policies of firms should
be irrelevant and non-value adding. Individual investors may undo or alter the firm’s financial policy to suit his or her
own risk preference. Risk management can be regarded as under the realm of the financial policies of the firm, and will
be more relevant as market imperfections are introduced into the basic Modigliani and Miller world. Market
imperfections will make it difficult for individual investors to replicate (or undo) the financial policies of the firm.
Therefore, the presence of market imperfections like taxes, distress costs, and imperfect information allow for the
effective use of risk management in order to avert these costs and add value to the firm. This, in turn, contributes to
the widespread use of derivatives in financial risk management.

There have been considerable research studies worldwide, both theoretical and empirical, on corporations’
use of derivatives for risk management purposes. Most studies aim to relate the use of derivatives with the costs of
financial distress (Smith & Stulz, 1985), tax incentives (Smith & Stulz, 1985) and the underinvestment problem
(Bessembinder, 1991; Froot, Scharfstein, & Stein, 1993) – some of the market imperfections that are not present in the
assumptions of Modigliani and Miller. This study aimed to further test the validity of various derivatives usage theories
in the Philippine context. It was particularly interesting to test whether these theories also apply to a relatively
underdeveloped derivative market – like that existing in the Philippines. The study followed from, and tried to improve
on, the application of these theories by Nguyen and Faff (2002) and Berkman and Bradbury (1996), where these
theories were tested on firms from Australia and New Zealand, respectively.

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Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

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