PART 1

Day 1
Problem Statement,
Research Questions &
Research Objectives
1
Understanding the
Research Process

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 What is Research?

• Creative work undertaken systematically to increase

the stock of knowledge (of humanity, culture and
society), and the use of this knowledge to devise new
applications (OECD)
What is Business Research?
• Business Research builds knowledge / solves business-
related problems / issues & assists in effective decision-
making.
• Business research is step-by-step activity carried out in
a critical, organised, logical & systematic manner to
analyse a problem / issue & find effective ways to
mitigate the problem.
• Business research is all about carrying out research
within the organisational setting. Hence, the activity of
research is still the same, however, the context is
confined to organisations, their stakeholders, their
processes / their customers.

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Why is Business Research
Necessary?
• Organisations can be faced with a multitude of
problems ranging from financial, operational,
strategic, customers & employee-related.
• Business research is a mechanism to gather data /
information, understand the issues at hand &
derive logical solutions that can mitigate problems

5
How Does Business Research Help
Managers in Effective Decision
Making?

• When investigations into an issue are

carried out in a critical, organised &
systematic manner, the solutions proposed
will help decision-makers make informed
decisions.

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 Research philosophy
A paradigm is ‘a basic set of beliefs that guide
action.

Ontology- What is researcher position on relationship with the reality of

study
It seeks to answer the questions "What is knowledge?" and "How is
knowledge acquired?"

Epistemology - What is nature of relationship between the knower, would-

be knower and what can be known?
Deals with questions about what things exist or can be said to exist, and
how such entities can be grouped according to similarities and differences
 Ontology

Research Paradigm

Methodology Epistemology
 Two contrasting paradigms
Positivism Interpretivism
Realism Nominalism
Universal knowledge - context specific, unique
generalisability
Objectivity - research is unbiased Subjectivity – human element
Measurement & precision - the qualities of entities,
quantities, amount, intensity, processes and meanings
frequency
‘Hard’ data - numeric ‘Soft’ data – language, texts,
images
Control, cause & effect Understanding actions /
meanings
Value free Value laden 9
Why does the approach matter?

Whether you take a positivist or interpretivist

approach, will influence:

• What research questions you ask

• What methods you use to collect your data
• What type of data you collect
• What techniques you use to analyse your data
Qualitative Research in Business

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Qualitative Case Study Research
• is a type of research methodology that aims to gather and analyze non-
numerical (descriptive) data.
• Unlike quantitative research, which deals with measurable quantities,
qualitative research focuses on understanding individuals’ social reality,
including their attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and behaviors

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Advantages of Qualitative Case
Study Research

• Detailed Evaluation: Qualitative research allows

for a deeper examination of subject materials.
• Flexible Research Frameworks: Unlike rigidly
structured research approaches, qualitative
research is adaptive. Researchers can adjust
their methods based on incoming or available
data.
• Human-Centric Data: Qualitative research is
rooted in human experiences and observations.

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Ethics and Business Research
• Research is conducted morally without
compromising the rights of any parties (especially
the respondents of the research).
• Researcher has a key role to play.
• The researcher has to exhibit & practice good
conduct throughout the research endeavor

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PART 2

15
Formulating and
Clarifying the Research
Topics

16
Generating Research Ideas
• Subject-to-topic analysis
• Scanning the media
• Using Brainstorming
• Looking at past research
• Searching the literature
• Talking to other

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Attribute of a Good Research
Topic

18
Problem Statement
• Defining the problem statement to narrow down
the broad problem so that it is well-defined, focused
& specific. A good literature review will lead to a
good problem statement.
• It creates a sense of ownership for the researcher
• Focuses the researcher on an accepted problem
• Describes the symptoms in measurable terms
• Determining the research direction; the solution to
a problem depends very much on how the problem
is being viewed & framed.
• When a problem has been successfully identified, a
researcher must ensure that the problem is defined
& stated specifically enough that he/she can write
about it.

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Potential Problem Areas

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Potential Research Problems
• A research study is needed to fill a gap in the
existing literature about the research problem.
• A research study is needed to replicate past results
about the research problem by examining different
participants and different research sites.
• A research study is needed to extend past results /
examine the research problem more thoroughly.
• A research study is needed to learn from people
affected by the problem whose voices have not
been heard, who have been silenced, or who have
been rejected in society.
• A research study is needed to improve current
practices related to the research problem

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Justification for the Importance of the Problem
Guidelines in Creating a Good
Problem Statement
• Relevant - relevant to both managerial &
academic perspectives.
• Feasible - feasible in terms of the capability
of the researcher to complete it given the
restrictions that the researcher may have.
• Interesting - must be an interesting one to
him/her to keep the motivation level high in
ensuring completion of the task at hand

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Discussion 1
Video 1 Video 2 Video 3
• What are the  What are the • What are
problem(s) problem(s) the
problem(s)
• Who will be  Who will be
your target your target • Who will be
study study your target
study
• What will be  What will be
your research your research • What will be
questions questions your
research
questions

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Part 3

25
Formulating Research
Objectives and Research
Questions

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Research Objectives
• A clear & concise statement of the purpose & aim
of the study which essentially summarises what
needs to be achieved by the study.
• Provides an overview or the big picture of what is
intended to be achieved

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Research Questions
• Derived from the problem statement
• Provide the very basic foundation of
research work
• Specifically states what a researcher will
attempt to answer

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