Chapter 2

Research Problems and Hypothesis

Chapter 2 : The Problem of the Study, The Hypothesis of the Study

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2.3. The Problem of the Study
 The need to “get on target” with your
proposal is the most important point in
starting proposal/research.
 The “Problem” and “Hypothesis”
statements focus every other element of
the proposal.
 They form the proposal’s heart.
 Confusion here will generate confusion
throughout the proposal.
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The Problem Statement
 The problem statement defines the essence of your
study and identifies the variables you will study.
 Characteristics of a Problem
 Limit scope of your study
 The problem statement helps limit your study by focusing your attention on
the particular variables you want to investigate.
 Current theory and/or latest research
 The problem statement should reflect the most recent discoveries in your
field of interest. You will refine your problem as you conduct the literature
review. A clear understanding of your specific problem will help you gather
pertinent data from your field and discover if you are proposing a redundant
study.
 Meaningfulness
 Is your problem statement meaningful? Is it important to your field? The
problem may focus on something you personally want to know, but this is
not enough to establish the need for the study.
 Clearly written
 The problem statement is usually a single sentence which isolates the
variables of the study and indicates how these variables will be studied 3
Steps in formulating a research problem
 It is the most crucial part of the research journey as the
quality and relevance of your research project entirely
depends upon it
1. Identify a broad field or subject area of interest to you.
2. Dissect the broad area into subareas. exhaustive list of
the subareas from various sources
3. Select what is of most interest to you
4. Raise research questions. At this step ask yourself,
‘What is it that I want to find out about in this subarea?’
Develop research questions
5. Formulate objectives. Both your main objectives and
your sub-objectives now need to be formulated, which
grow out of your research questions. The main difference
between objectives and research questions is the way in
which they are written.
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Examples of Problem Statements
 Association Between Two Variables
A study can focus on the relationship between two
variables. The general format of this type of Problem
Statement is this:
 The problem of this study is to determine the
relationship between (Variable 1) and (Variable 2) in
(a specific group).
 E.g. The problem of this study [is] to determine the relationship
between the speed of Concrete mixing machine in concrete
production and mix quality of the aggregate. 
 this problem statement infers the use of the linear
regression and chi-square Test of Independence --
relationship between two variables and linear
regression. 5
Examples of Problem Statements…
 Association of several variables
A study may focus on how a selected group of
variables may predict another.
 The general format is this:
 The problem of this study is to determine the relationship
between (variable 1) and a specified set of predictor variables. 
 The problem of this study [is] to determine the
relationship between Construction delay and a specific
set of predictor variables. These variables [are] lack of
experienced construction manager, (2) lowest
bidder selection, (3) funding shortage by owner
 Problem statements of this type refer to multiple
regression analysis.

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Examples of Problem Statements…
 Difference Between Two Groups
A study may focus on how two groups differ on a
variable.
 The general format of this type of Problem Statement
is this:
 The problem of this study is to determine the difference in
(variable) between (group 1) and (group 2).
  The problem of this study [is] to determine whether
there significant difference between contractors and
consultants response on factors causing delay on
construction.
 The statistic inferred by this statement is the t-Test
for Independent Samples.
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Examples of Problem Statements…
 Differences Between More Than Two Groups
  A study may focus on how more than two groups differ
on a variable. The general format of this type of
Problem Statement is this: 
 The problem of this study is to determine the difference
in (variable) across (more than two groups).
 E.g1. The problem of this study [is] to determine whether
there significant difference among contractors, client and
consultants response on factors causing delay on
construction.
 Do the mean scores of these three groups differ
significantly? The Problem Statement infers the use of
one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

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The Hypothesis Statement
 A hypothesis states the anticipated answer
to the problem you’ve stated.
 The two major types of hypotheses are
the research, or alternative, hypothesis,
and the null, or statistical, hypothesis.
 The research hypothesis can either be
directional or non-directional.

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The Research Hypothesis
 The research hypothesis flows directly out of the
problem statement and declares in clear, objective,
measurable terms what you expect the result of your
study to be.
 Association Between Two Variables
 Problem statement
 The problem of this study [is] to determine the
relationship between the speed of mixing machine in
concrete production and mix quality of the aggregate.
 Corresponding hypothesis
 [It is the hypothesis of this study that there will be] a
significant relationship between the speed of mixing
machine and mix quality of the aggregate.
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The Research Hypothesis
 Association of several variables
 Problem statement
 The problem of this study [is] to determine the
relationship between delay in construction and a
set of predictor variables: (1) lack of experienced
construction manager, (2) lowest bidder selection,
(3) funding shortage by owner
  Corresponding hypothesis
 It [is] the hypothesis of this study that lack of
experienced construction manager, lowest
bidder selection funding shortage by owner
are positive predictors of delay in construction
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The Research Hypothesis
 The Directional Hypothesis
 When you state your research hypothesis in a directional
form, you show more confidence in the anticipated result
of your study. hypotheses in a directional format if
possible.
 If your project aimed to predict change resulting from an
intervention, ensure the expected direction of the change
is clearly stated (e.g., use an outcome like “improved
satisfaction” not “changes in satisfaction levels”).
 Example
 It[is] the hypothesis of this study that speed of mixing
machine is significant positive predictors of mixing
quality of concrete production.
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The Research Hypothesis
 The Non-directional Hypothesis
A non-directional hypothesis states that a
“difference” or “relationship” exists between
variables, but does not specify what kind of
difference or relationship it is.
 Example
 It[is] the hypothesis of this study that speed
of mixing machine is significant predictors
of mixing quality of concrete production.

 Read in your own about Null Hypothesis, Type I

Problem formulation

 Problem formulation: Choosing (research area, topic)

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2.4. Selecting a topic
 Its selection tempts you, b/se you select it
before you have the ground work
 Your discussions and inquiries will help
you to select a topic
 The topic should be
 Your interest
 You have a good chance of completing

 Worth the effort and have some practical

application later on.

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Points to be considered BEFORE you start to choose a topic
 INTEREST 
 If possible; choose a topic that interests you.
 You'll have to spend a lot of time and energy on it, and there's more
chance you'll do a good job if it's something you want to know more
about.
 Worthiness-impact on industry or the community
 SCOPE 
 Your topic must be manageable.
 Avoid choosing a topic that is too broad or too narrow.
  TIME 
 Choose a project that can be finished in the time you have.
 It is better to do a smaller project well than to do a sloppy job on a
more elaborate project.  
 CLARITY 
 Be clear about what topic you are researching.
 Not having a clear idea of what you're looking for is dangerous
because you are likely to get off track and waste time you can't afford
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2.5. Getting Started – Formulating research question
 Three cases of getting topic
 you may be given a topic to research,
 you will be asked to select a topic from a list or
 decide on a topic yourself**.
 Try to bring the list down to a possible two
 one likely to be of main interest and
 the second to fall back on if your preliminary investigations throw up problems.
 Start with your first choice and begin to write down your ideas on a sheet of
A4 paper.
 Write ‘topic’ in the middle of the paper and link to it all the questions,
doubts, theories and ideas you can think of.
 Brainstorm it.
 Insert arrows, if necessary, to link one idea or query with another.
 Write quickly and write as you think. If you decide to wait until your thoughts
are in better order, you may (and probably will) have forgotten what you
thought of first. It doesn’t matter how illegible and disorganized your chart is as
long as you can read your own writing. This first shot is for you, not other people.

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Getting Started – Formulating research question …….
 The purpose of this exercise is to help you to clarify your thoughts
and to try to decide what you actually mean by each statement and
each question.
 It will give you ideas about refining the topic so that you will not be
attempting to do research into everything there is to know about ‘title’ ,
but into one precise aspect of the topic.
 It will give you clues as to whether this topic is likely to be too complex for
you to complete in your timescale, or whether it might prove to be
impossible because you would need access to confidential information
which in all probability would be refused.
 Your first shot will be a mess but that doesn’t matter. Your second
attempt will be far more focused and you will be on the way to making a
fairly firm decision about which aspect of your topic you wish to investigate.
 Start with the purpose of the study. It might be difficult at this stage to
provide the exact wording but it’s rather important to know why you
want to carry out this research.
 Has any research been done already on this topic?
 researchable questions which will take you a major step forward in the
planning of your project. 19
 Search good literature on the
following Topics
 Research on alleviating road/traffic
accidents
 Replacement materials for road
construction for different advantages
( Cost, service etc)
 Improving design of road

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 Search good literature on the
following Topics
 Research on alleviating Building
construction management problems
 Replacement materials for building
construction for different advantages
( Cost, service etc)
 Improving Construction project
management

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 Search good literature on the
following Topics
 Research on alleviating structural failures
 New trends in design of building structures
 Improving Structural design of
road/building/bridges

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Factors Influencing Selection of a
Building Material
 Strength
 Availability
 Durability
 Workability
 Ease of Transportation
 Cost
 Aesthetics
 Resistance to Fire
 Ease of Cleaning
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Factors causing delay in
construction
 (1)lack of experienced construction manager, (2)
lowest bidder selection, (3) funding shortage by
owner, (4) lack of proper management, (5)
improper planning and scheduling, (6) lack of
skilled workers, (7) site constraints, (8)
contractors’ cash flow problems during
construction, (9) escalation of resources price,
and (10) contractors’ excessive workload.

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