UNIT - II

Process and formulation of Research problem - Sources – Identification –

Selection– Criteria of a good research problem – Research Design -
Meaning – Essential stages in the preparation of Research Design –
Evaluation of the Research Design – A Model Design.

RESEARCH PROBLEM:

Meaning of Research Problem

A research problem, in general, refers to some difficulty which a researcher
experiences in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation and
wants to obtain a solution for the same.

PROCESS AND FORMULATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

1. SPECIFY THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

A clear statement defining your objectives will help you develop effective
research.

It will help the decision makers evaluate the research questions your project
should answer as well as the research methods your project will use to
answer those questions. It’s critical that you have manageable objectives.
(Two or three clear goals will help to keep your research project focused and
relevant.)

2. REVIEW THE ENVIRONMENT OR CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH

PROBLEM

As a marketing researcher, you must work closely with your team of

researchers in defining and testing environmental variables. This will help
you determine whether the findings of your project will produce enough
information to be worth the cost.

In order to do this, you have to identify the environmental variables that will
affect the research project and begin formulating different methods to
control these variables.

3. EXPLORE THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM

Research problems range from simple to complex, depending on the
number of variables and the nature of their relationship. Sometimes the
relationship between two variables is directly related to a problem or
questions, and other times the relationship is entirely unimportant.

If you understand the nature of the research problem as a researcher, you

will be able to better develop a solution to the problem.

To help you understand all dimensions, you might want to consider focus
groups of consumers, salespeople, managers, or professionals to provide
what is sometimes much-needed insight into a particular set of questions or
problems.

4. DEFINE THE VARIABLE RELATIONSHIPS

Marketing plans often focus on creating a sequence of behaviors that occur

over time, as in the adoption of a new package design, or the introduction of
a new product.

Such programs create a commitment to follow some behavioral pattern or

method in the future.

Studying such a process involves:

 Determining which variables affect the solution to the research

problem.
 Determining the degree to which each variable can be controlled and
used for the purposes of the company.
 Determining the functional relationships between the variables and
which variables are critical to the solution of the research problem.

During the problem formulation stage, you will want to generate and
consider as many courses of action and variable relationships as possible.

5. THE CONSEQUENCES OF ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION

There are always consequences to any course of action used in one or more
projects. Anticipating and communicating the possible outcomes of various
courses of action is a primary responsibility in the research process.

SOURCES OF PROBLEMS FOR INVESTIGATION

1. Deductions from Theory
This relates to deductions made from social philosophy or generalizations
embodied in life in society that the researcher is familiar with. These
deductions from human behavior are then fitted within an empirical frame of
reference through research. From a theory, the research can formulate a
research problem or hypothesis stating the expected findings in certain
empirical situations. The research asks the question: “What relationship
between variables will be observed if theory aptly summarizes the state of
affairs?” One can then design and carry out a systematic investigation to
assess whether empirical data confirm or reject the hypothesis and hence
the theory.
2. Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Identifying a problem that forms the basis for a research study can come
from academic movements and scholarship originating in disciplines outside
of your primary area of study. A review of pertinent literature should include
examining research from related disciplines, which can expose you to new
avenues of exploration and analysis. An interdisciplinary approach to
selecting a research problem offers an opportunity to construct a more
comprehensive understanding of a very complex issue than any single
discipline might provide.
3. Interviewing Practitioners
The identification of research problems about particular topics can arise from
formal or informal discussions with practitioners who provide insight into new
directions for future research and how to make research findings increasingly
relevant to practice. Discussions with experts in the field, such as, teachers,
social workers, health care providers, etc., offers the chance to identify
practical, “real worl” problems that may be understudied or ignored within
academic circles. This approach also provides some practical knowledge
which may help in the process of designing and conducting your study.
4. Personal Experience
Your everyday experiences can give rise to worthwhile problems for
investigation. Think critically about your own experiences and/or frustrations
with an issue facing society, your community, or in your neighborhood. This
can be derived, for example, from deliberate observations of certain
relationships for which there is no clear explanation or witnessing an event
that appears harmful to a person or group or that is out of the ordinary.
5. Relevant Literature
The selection of a research problem can often be derived from an extensive
and thorough review of pertinent research associated with your overall area
of interest. This may reveal where gaps remain in our understanding of a
topic. Research may be conducted to: 1) fill such gaps in knowledge; 2)
evaluate if the methodologies employed in prior studies can be adapted to
solve other problems; or, 3) determine if a similar study could be conducted
in a different subject area or applied to different study sample [i.e., different
groups of people]. Also, authors frequently conclude their studies by noting
implications for further research; this can also be a valuable source of
problems to investigate.

IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Identification is a sense of consciousness and awareness about a social

phenomena. Identification of a problem is very difficult and have no specific
rules and principles but following are some sources for identification of
a social problem.
1. Researcher Knowledge
2. Keen observation
3. Careful Investigation
4. Cause and effect relationships

SELECTING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

(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.
(iii) Too narrow or too vague 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. For this purpose, a researcher should contact an
expert or a professor in the University who is already engaged in
research. He may as well read articles published in current
literature available on the subject and may think how the
techniques and ideas discussed therein might be applied to the
solution of other problems. He may discuss with others what he
has in mind concerning a problem. In this way he should make all
possible efforts in selecting a problem.
(v) The importance of the subject, the qualifications and the training
of a researcher, the costs involved, the time factor are few other
criteria that must also be considered in selecting a problem. In
other words, before the final selection of a problem is done, 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?
If the answers to all these questions are in the affirmative, one
may become sure so far as the practicability of the study is
concerned.
(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.

CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH PROBLEM