Problem Identification

PROF. DR. IMBARINE HJ BUJANG

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA, SABAH
[email protected]
WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM?

Problems are:
– A gap between expectations
and outcomes
– An anomaly in our theory of the world
– An unclear but interesting issue
A “ PROBLEM“ COULD SIMPLY
INDICATE AN INTEREST IN AN ISSUE
WHERE FINDING THE RIGHT
ANSWERS MIGHT HELP TO IMPROVE
EXISTING SITUATIONS

A CONCEPTUAL OR THEORETICAL ISSUE

THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED TO
ENABLE BETTER UNDERSTANDING
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PROBLEM FORMULATION.

WHAT - DESCRIPTIVE
WHY - EXPLANATORY
HOW - NORMATIVE
CASE: A COMPANY HAS DIFFICULT
INTEGRATING NEW EMPLOYEES

WHAT

IS WHAT YOU CALL IS A DESCRIPTIVE

FORMULATION .
IT DESCRIBES A PROBLEM

Example: What kind of problems appear for the

company and the employees at the beginning of
the employment.
WHY?

IS WHAT YOU CALL AN EXPLANATORY

PROBLEM FORMULATION. IT EXPLAINS A PROBLEM

Example: Why does it seem that employees have

trouble adapting to the culture of the organisation?
HOW

IS WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL A NORMATIVE

PROBLEM FORMULATION.
IT TRIES TO SOLVE A PROBLEM.

Example: How can the company make

sure that the new employees get all the support
that they need.
SELECTING RESEARCH PROBLEM

RESEARCH PROBLEMS DO NOT USUALLY

STRIKE SPONTANEOUSLY INTO OUR MIND

INSTEAD THEY EVOLVE FROM DEEP

THOUGHT OVER SITUATIONS AND
ISSUES THAT DOES NOT MEET SATISFACTION.
You need to have an inquisitive
and imaginative mind
You need a Questioning attitude
Wonder why?
Be reflexive – Problems don’t exist “out there”

• A problem from whose perspective? For what

purpose?

• What are the issues requiring attention?

• Who & what is in foreground & background?

• What level of analysis is needed – individual, group,

organization

• What are the attributes of the problem?

• Scope – How deep and broad is the problem?

SOURCES OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
INCLUDES:

LITERATURE SURVEY
PREVIOUS STUDIES
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
CONSULTATION
BRAINSTORMING
INTERVIEWS
PROGRAM EVALUATION
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROBLEM

INTERNAL
RESEARCHER’S INTEREST
RESEARCHER’S COMPETENCE
RESEACHER’S OWN RESOURCES
( TIME, MONEY, MANPOWER)
EXTERNAL

RESEARCHABILITY ( SOLUTIONS CAN BE FOUND )

IMPORTANCE AND URGENCY ( UTILITY OF FIDINGS )

FEASIBILITY
availability of data
suitable methodology
cooperation from organization and individuals
availability of necessary expertise and
special resources

USEFULNESS AND RELEVANCE

IDENTIFY BROAD PROBLEM
AREA BEFORE FOCUSING ON
MORE SPECIFIC ISSUES
Shotgun vs. Rifle Analogy
SHAPING AND REFINING THE PROBLEM

Conceptual Development:
Identify and properly define the concepts
that will be the focus of the study

Review previous research related

to the topic
NARROW DOWN AND REFINE THE
PROBLEM
Narrowing the focus
Population
Situation (time, condition, subject
availability, researcher’s readiness,
resources available, etc.)
Measurements
Issue(s) dealt with?
Setting the scope of the problem (“this
is my line…I won’t go beyond it…”)
BEFORE WE WRITE THE RESEARCH
QUESTIONS / OBJECTIVES /
HYPOTHESIS, IT IS CRITICAL TO
EXPRESS THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
CLEARLY AND CONCISELY

SHOULD STATE WHAT EXACTLY IS

BEING STUDIED AND WHY IT
SHOULD BE STUDIED.
 PROBLEM DEFINITION IS ALSO
TERMED AS PROBLEM STATEMENT

A CRITICAL STEP AS
“ A PROBLEM WELL DEFINED IS HALVED SOLVED”
(MALHOTRA)
“ WELL BEGUN IS HALF DONE”
( ARISTOTLE)
STATE YOUR INTENTIONS

THIS STUDY WILL IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS

THAT ORGANISATIONS AND NEW EMPLOYEES
ENCOUNTER IN THE BEGGINING OF THEIR
EMPLOYEMENT.
THE PROBLEM STATEMENT DETERMINES
THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND THE
METHODOLOGY

IF PROBLEM IS NOT WELL DEFINED

WE WOULD NOT KNOW WHAT EXACTLY

ARE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES

FALSE CONCLUSIONS MAY BE DRAWN FROM

THE INVESTIGATIONS

WE MAY HAVE RIGHT ANSWERS TO WRONG

QUESTIONS – USELESS AND DANGEROUS
PROCESS OF PROBLEM DEFINITION

1. UNDERSTAND THE BACKGROUND OF

THE PROBLEM
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT PREVIOUS
EVENTS AND/ OR STUDIES
DO A ‘SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS’
DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM

2. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM

ENSURE THAT THE PROBLEM AND NOT THE SYMPTOMS
HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED
GAIN DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE BY ANALYSING THE
SITUATION FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
3. DETERMINE THE UNIT OF ANALYSIS

SPECIFY WHETHER THE LEVEL OF INVESTIGATION

WILL FOCUS ON DATA COLLECTION ABOUT ENTIRE
ORGANISATION ( OR COMMUNITY ) OR GROUPS OR
INDIVIDUALS.

DETERMINE WHETHER THE PROBLEM COULD BE

INVESTIGATED AT MORE THAN ONE LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

UNIT OF ANALYSIS IS A CRUCIAL ASPECT OF PROBLEM

DEFINITION AND SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED
4. DETERMINE THE RELEVANT VARIABLES

A VARIABLE IS ANYTHING THAT VARIES OR

CHANGES IN VALUE

IDENTIFY THE KEY VARIABLES

DEPENDENT VARIABLE:
A CRITERION OR VARIABLE THAT IS TO BE
PREDICTED OR EXPLAINED

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:
A VARIABLE THAT IS EXPECTED TO INFLUENCE
THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

MEDIATING VARIABLE:
DESCRIBES HOW RATHER THA WHEN EFFECTS WILL
OCCUR BY ACCOUNTING FOR THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT
VARIABLES. A MEDIATING RELATIONSHIP IS ONE IN
WHICH THE PATH RELATING A TO C IS MEDIATED BY
A THIRD VARIABLE B
MODERATING VARIABLES:

THESE PIN POINT THE CONDITIONS UNDERWHICH

AN INDEPENDENT VARIABLE EXERTS ITS EFFECTS
ON A DEPENDENT VARIABLE.

A MODERATING RELATIONSHIP IS A FORM OF INTERACTION

ALSO.

IT OCCURS WHEN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VARIABLES A

AND B DEPENDS ON THE LEVEL OF C

AGING INCREASED WISDOM BETTER DRIVING

5. STATE THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ( HYPOTHESIS)
AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
e.g. Problem statement:

Potential users of library services do not have

sufficient competency to use the services provided
Effectively
This problem can lead to the following
research questions:
How familiar are the library users with the
services provided?
What are the knowledge and skills necessary to use
Library services effectively?
What training programs should be provided by the
Library to increase user’s knowledge and skills?
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF A RESEARCH
SUMMARISES WHAT IS TO BE ACHIEVED BY
THE STUDY.

THE GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF A STUDY STATES

WHAT THE RESEARCHER EXPECT TO ACHIEVE
BY THE STUDY.

WHEN A GENERAL OBJECTIVE IS BROKEN DOWN

INTO SMALLER BUT CONNECTED OBJECTIVES,
THEY ARE CALLED SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES SHOULD SPECIFICALLY
ADDRESS THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE
PROBLEM AS DEFINED IN THE ‘STATEMENT OF
PROBLEM’ AND THE KEY FACTORS THAT ARE
ASSUMED TO INFLUENCE OR CAUSE THE PROBLEM

THEY SHOULD SPECIFY WHAT WILL BE DONE IN THE

STUDY, WHERE, HOW AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE
SPECIFIC RESEARCH OBJECTIVES PROVIDE:

FOCUS- NARROWS THE STUDY TO ESSENTIALS

AVOID COLLECTION OF DATA THAT ARE NOT

NECESSARY FOR UNDERSTANDING AND SOLVING
THE PROBLEM.

ORGANISES THE STUDY IN A CLEARLY DEFINED

PARTS OR PHASES
HOW TO SET OBJECTIVES ?
MUST COVER DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE
PROBLEM AND ITS CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
IN A COHERENT WAY AND LOGICAL SEQUENCE.

PHARESED CLEARLY IN OPERATIONAL TERMS

SPECIFYING EXACTLY WHAT IS TO BE DONE, HOW,
WHERE, AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE.

REALISTIC

USE ACTION VERBS

ACTION VERBS

USE ACTION VERBS SUCH AS : TO DETERMINE

TO EVALUATE
TO ASSESS,
TO VERIFY
TO DESCRIBE
TO ESTABLISH

AVOID THE USE OF VAGUE VERBS

SUCH AS : TO APPRECIATE
TO UNDERSTAND
TO STUDY

e.g. to determine the managers awareness of outplacement

services available in Kota Kinabalu
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

CAN BE DERIVED FROM THE SPECIFIC

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.

A RESEARCH QUESTION IS THE TRANSLATION

OF THE OBJECTIVE INTO SPECIFIC INQUIRY.

COMPARE THE TWO QUESTIONS BELOW:

IS ADVERTISING COPY ‘X’ BETTER THAN COPY ‘Y’?

WHICH ADVERTISEMENT HAS HIGHER DAY AFTER

RECAL SCORE?

WHICH DO YOU PREFER? WHY?

THE RESEARCH QUESTION SHOULD BE AS
SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE AND STATED CONSISELY.

WHEN A NUMBER OF RELATED QUESTIONS ARE

TO BE STATED, PRESENT THEM IN A NUMBERED LIST

THE QUESTION SHOULD BE TESTABLE

THE QUESTION MUST BE RELEVANT AND SIGNIFICANT

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

A HYPOTHESIS IS
A PREDICTION OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
ONE OR MORE FACTORS AND THE PROBLEM
BEING STUDIED.

IS AN UNPROVEN PROPOSITION OR A POSSIBLE

SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

DEVELOPING A HYPOTHESIS IS EQUIVALENT TO

DEVELOPING AN EXPLAINATION FOR THE PROBLEM
WHICH CAN THEN BE TESTED.
THE GOAL OF DEFINING THE PROBLEM IS
TO DETERMINE THE RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES CLEARLY AND TO STATE THE
RESEARCH QUESTIONS CLEARLY
AND TO HAVE WELL FORMULATED
HYPOTHESIS.
e.g.

HOW DOES DESTINATION COMPONENTS AND PYSCHOGRAPHIC

FEATURES INFLUENCE VISITORS BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS
TOWARDS HOMESTAY PROGRAM.

OBJECTIVES:
To identify the destination components of community based tourism that
are significant to the homestay programme and to determine the
relative importance of them from the visitor’s perspectives.

To examine the relationship between destination components, visitors overall

Satisfaction and their future behavioral intentions.

To determine if psychographic features moderates the overall satisfaction

And behavioral intentions.

DESTINATION COMPONENTS BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS

PSYCHOGRAPHIC FEATURES
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. WHAT ARE THE RELEVANT DESTINATION COMPONENTS

OF HOME STAY PROGRAME? HOW DO THESE COMPONENTS
RANK IN IMPORTANCE ROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE
VISITORS?

2. IS THERE ANY RELATION BETWEEN DESTINATION COMPONENTS

VISITORS OVERALL SATISFACTION AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS?

3. DO THE PSYCHOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE VISITORS INFLUENCE

THE RELATION DESTINATION COMPONENTS AND BEHAVIORAL
INTENTIONS.
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

HYPOTHESIS 1a: The more favorable the destination components,

the higher the overall satisfaction.

HYPOTHESIS 2a: Overall satisfaction is directly related to behavioral

intention
HYPOTHESIS 2b: The more positive the destination components,
the more positive the behavioral intentions.

HYPOTHESIS 2c: Visitors with allocentric types of psychographic will

have positive behavioral intentions

HYPOTHESIS 3a: Behavioral intentions are moderated by

psychographic features.
PROBLEM STATEMENT

ARE BACHELOR OF ACCOUNTANCY STUDENTS IN MALAYSIAN

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING COMPUTER
LITERATE?

OBJECTIVES:

1. TO DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF COMP. LITERACY AMONG Bacc

GRADUATES FROM MPIHL
2. TO EXAMINE THEIR PERCEPTIONS ON ACCOUNTING
INFORMATION SYSTEMS SUBJECTS
3. TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE IS GENDER EFFECT
ON THE LEVEL OF COMPUTER LITERACY
4. TO DETERMINE WHETHER PRIOR COMPUTER EXPERIENCE
HAS ANY EFFECT ON THE LEVEL OF COMPUTER LITERACY
HYPOTHESIS

H01: THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE LEVEL OF

COMPUTER LITERACY AMONG BAcc GRADUATES OFMPIHL

H02: THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE PERCEPTION

OF AIS SUBJECTS AMONG BAcc GRADUATES OF MPIHL

H03: THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE LEVEL OF

COMPUTER LITERACY BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE BAcc
GRADUATES OF MPIHL

H04: THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION BETWEEN

COMPUTER LITERACY AND PRIOR COMPUTER EXPERIENCE
AMONG BAcc GRADUATES OF MPIHL
THANK YOU