ELO 2

 Studiesbegin as problems that researchers want

to solve or as questions they want to answer.

A problem is question raised for inquiry,

consideration or inquiry.

 Selecting and defining a research problem is the

first step in applying the scientific method.

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It is an educational
 issue, controversy or concern that guides the
need for conducting a study, and narrows the
topic.
Thus, an issue, concern or controversy that an
investigator presents and justifies in a research
study.
A problem that someone would like to
research/study.

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“Inquiry starts only when something is
unsatisfactory, when traditional beliefs are
inadequate or in question, when the facts
necessary, to resolve one’s uncertainties are not
known, when the most likely relevant hypotheses
are not even imagined. What one has at the
beginning of the inquiry is merely the problem”
(Northrop 1966: p. 17)
 Anything that a person find:
◦ unsatisfactory or unsettling,
◦ a difficulty of some sort,
◦ a state of affairs that need to be changed.

A problem involve:
◦ areas of concerns to researchers,
◦ conditions they want to improve,
◦ difficulties they want to eliminate,
◦ questions for which they want to seek answers.
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 Issue
◦ Multi-grade Teaching
◦ Corporal Punishment in Schools
◦ Teacher-learner Relationship
 Concern
◦ High Failure Rate
◦ Nepotism
◦ Corruption
◦ Lack of Learning Materials
◦ Large Class Size
 Controversy
◦ English Proficiency Test
◦ Sex Education
1. Identify a broad problem in your
area
2. Develop a systematic reading
programme
3. Relate your research problem to
a theory.
1. New theories solve research problems by accounting for
unexplained phenomena and by superseding
questionable older theories.

2. Existing theory guides researchers in formulating

research problems. In determining whether and in what
respects a phenomenon or a theory is problematic,
researchers consider the context of accumulated
theoretical as well as empirical knowledge theoretical as
well as empirical knowledge.
 Theproblem should express a relation between
two or more variables.
 The
problem should be stated clearly and
unambiguously (explicitly) in question form.
 The problem and the problem statement should
be such as to imply possibilities of empirical
testing.
 The problem should interest the researcher and be a
challenge to him/her.
◦ Without interest and curiosity, he/she may not develop
sustained perseverance.
 Feasibility/Researchable
◦ Feasibility issue of research includes :
 Availability of data
 Availability of cooperation
 Availability of guidance
 Availability of other facilities
 Experience and creativity
 Coverage and confidence
A problem statement articulates the
problem to be addressed and
indicates/justifies the need for a
study.

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 Isthe major intent or objective of the
study used to address the problem.
 The purpose of research is:
 to solve the problem, or
 to contribute to its solution by
accumulating relevant information.

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Example:
 To identify factors that influence the extent
to which learners are bullying others at a
selected primary schools.

 To investigate why some learners are

victims of bullying in primary schools.
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Specific queries (demand for answers)
researchers want to answer in addressing the
research problem.
They narrow the purpose into specific
questions that the researcher would like to
answer or address in the study.
Research questions guide the types of data to
be collected in a study

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Example of Research Questions:
 To what extend do peers influence
learners to bully fellow learners?
 What are the consequences of
bullying?
 Whatare the possible suggestion that
can be adopted to elevate bullying
among learners at Primary schools? 15
 Specificaccomplishments the researcher
hopes to achieve by conducting the study.
 Include obtaining answers to reach
questions or testing research hypotheses.
 May encompass some broader aims
◦ E.g. Developing recommendations for
changes to curb on bullying based on the
study results.
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 Five ways to assess whether a problem is researchable:
1. Will the problem/your study fill the gap in existing
literature?

2. Does your study replicates a past study but examines

the different participants and different research sites?

3. Does the problem/study extends past research or

examines the topic more thoroughly.
4. Does your study gives voice to silenced, not heard or
rejected people in society.
5. Does the problem of your study informs practice.

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1. Quantitative Research Problems:
◦ Involves concepts that are fairly well developed.
◦ Assess the impact of the variables on an outcome.
◦ Test theories or broad explanations.
◦ Apply results to a large number of people.
◦ There is an existing body of literature.
◦ Reliable methods of measurement have been developed.
E.g.
 To investigate the relation between school entrance age and
reading comprehension skills of primary-level learners.

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2. Qualitative Research Problems
◦ Learn about the views of individuals
◦ Assess a process over time
◦ Generate theories based on participants
views
◦ Obtain detailed information about a few
people or research sites
◦ Qualitative studies are often undertaken
because some aspect of a phenomenon is
poorly understood, and the researcher wants
to develop a rich, comprehensive and
context-bound understanding of it.
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Qualitative methods would not be well
suited to comparing reading
comprehension skills among two groups
of school entrance age, but it would be
ideal for exploring for example, the
meaning of school entrance age.

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How do researchers select topic areas
and develop research questions?
◦ At the most basic level, research topics
originate researcher’s interests
◦ Students are sometimes puzzled about the origins of
research problems
◦ What teaching techniques or practices work well
(effective), or do not work well
◦ What is the process by which this situation arose?
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◦What would happen if ………?

◦What are some current problems

facing education (e.g. facing
administrators, teachers, students,
parents).

◦Contemporary
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 Theory
◦ An organized body of concepts, generalizations,
and principles that can be investigated
◦ Theories must be tested through research for their
applicability to education units
 What kind of behavior would I expect to find in certain situations
or under certain conditions.
 What kind of evidence would support this theory.
 Can you summarize and integrate a set of past studies into a
theory?
 Are there any theoretical predictions needing empirical
testing?
 Do you have any "theories" that you believe have merit? Test
them!
Theory
 If there is little or no theory in the area of interest to
you, then think about collecting data to help you
generate a theory using the grounded theory
technique.
 A researcher may explore certain factors that may
affect the length of time children take to pass from
one stage to the next.
 These may be based on Piaget theory that describe
that tasks and behaviors that children can and cannot
do at each stage. 24
 Ideas for research projects often come from
reading the educational literature.

 Published research reports may suggest problem areas

indirectly by stimulating the imagination and directly
specifying further areas need of investigation.

 Researchers wonder whether a study similar to one

reported in a journal article would yield comparable
results if applied in a different setting or with
different population.

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 Reading article may help you to decide whether you
want to repeat a study to see if you can replicate
the results because you think the author’s results
have significant educational importance and you
want to verify them.

 A replication is a repetition of a study using

different subjects to retest its hypothesis.

 Replications are needed to establish the validity

and generalizability of previous findings.
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 Suggestions for future research in theses and
dissertation or in any other research articles.
 A researcher, by reading literature may find
conflicting results, which may lead to a study
trying to resolve the conflict.
 Ideas/problems may also be sourced from:
◦ Faculty Member,
◦ Sponsor - Funded Research,
◦ Priority for Teaching/Education Research
◦ Professional Conferences
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A hypothesis is a statement in quantitative research
in which the investigator makes a prediction about
the outcome of a relationship among the variables
under investigation.
Or

A statement of the researcher‘s expectations about

the relations among the variables in the research
topic.

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A good hypothesis
◦ is based on sound reasoning that is
consistent with theory or previous research;
◦ provides a reasonable explanation for the
predicted outcome;
◦ clearly states the expected relation or
difference between defined variables;
◦ is testable within a reasonable time-frame.
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Tenth grade Biology students who
are instructed using interactive
multimedia achieve at a higher
level than those who receive
regular instruction only.

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Tenth grade Biology students
who are instructed using
interactive multimedia achieve
at a higher level than those who
receive regular instruction only.

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A variable is a characteristic or
attribute of an individual or
organization that the researcher can
measure or observe, they are
placeholders that can assume any one
of a range of values.

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Identify the variables in the
following research topics
and hypothesis (1-5).
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Is there a relation between
middle-school student’s
grades and their self-
confidence in Science and
Mathematics?
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Is there a relation between
middle-school student’s
grades and their self-
confidence in Science
and Mathematics?
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Do students learn more
from a new social studies
program than from the
previous ones?
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Do students learn more
from a new social studies
program than from the
previous ones?
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How do the first 5 weeks of
school in Mr. Namwandi’s
classroom influence student
activities and interaction in
succeeding months?
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How do the first 5 weeks of
school in Mr. Namwandi’s
classroom influence
student activities and
interaction in succeeding
months?
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There will be a statistically
significant relation between
number of years a teacher has
been teaching and his/her
interest in taking new courses.
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There will be a statistically
significant relation between
number of years a teacher
has been teaching and
his/her interest in taking
new courses. 41
Do students who spend
more instructional time in
class on math have higher
math scores than students
who spend less time?
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Do students who spend
more instructional time
in class on mathematics
have higher mathematics
scores than students who
spend less time?
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