Defining the Research

Problem

Dr. Siddhartha Kar

Assistant Professor
Industrial Engg. & Mgt.
M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology
2
WHAT IS A 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.
 A research problem does exist if the following conditions are met with:
 There must be an individual (or a group or an organization), let us call it ‘I,’ to
whom the problem can be attributed. The individual or the organization, as the
case may be, occupies an environment, say ‘N’, which is defined by values of the
uncontrolled variables, Yj.
 There must be at least two courses of action, say C 1 and C2, to be pursued. A course
of action is defined by one or more values of the controlled variables. For e.g., the
number of items purchased at a specified time is said to be one course of action.
 There must be at least two possible outcomes, say O 1 and O2, of the course of
action, of which one should be preferable to the other. In other words, there must
be at least one outcome that the researcher wants, i.e., an objective.
 The courses of action available must provide some chance of obtaining the
objective, but they cannot provide the same chance, otherwise the choice would
not matter. Thus, if P (Oj | I, Cj, N) represents the probability that an outcome O j will
occur, if I select Cj in N, then P (O1 | I, C1, N) ≠ P (O1 | I, C2, N)

3
WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM?
Components of a research problem can be stated as:
1. There must be an individual or a group which has some difficulty or the
problem.
2. There must be some objective(s) to be attained at. If one wants nothing, one
cannot have a problem.
3. There must be alternative means (or the courses of action) for obtaining the
objective(s) one wishes to attain.
 There must be at least two means available to a researcher for if he has no choice
of means, he cannot have a problem.
4. There must remain some doubt in the mind of a researcher with regard to the
selection of alternatives.
 Research must answer the question concerning the relative efficiency of the
possible alternatives.
5. There must be some environment(s) to which the difficulty pertains.
Thus, a research problem is one which requires a researcher to find out the best
solution for the given problem, i.e., to find out by which course of action the
objective can be attained optimally in the context of a given environment.
4
How to select
a research
problem?

5
SELECTING THE PROBLEM
1. 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.
2. Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average
researcher.
3. Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.
4. 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.
5. 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.
 Whether he is well equipped in terms of his background to carry out the
research?
 Whether the study falls within the budget he can afford?
 Whether the necessary cooperation can be obtained from those who must
participate in research as subjects?
6. The selection of a problem must be preceded by a preliminary study.

6
NECESSITY OF DEFINING THE PROBLEM
 “A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved.” This statement signifies
the need for defining a research problem.
 The problem to be investigated must be defined unambiguously for that will
help to discriminate relevant data from the irrelevant ones.
 A proper definition of research problem will enable the researcher to be on
the track whereas an ill-defined problem may create hurdles.
 What data are to be collected?
 What characteristics of data are relevant and need to be studied?
 What relations are to be explored?
 What techniques are to be used for the purpose? And
 Similar other questions crop up in the mind of the researcher who can well plan
his strategy and find answers to all such questions only when the research
problem has been well defined.
 Formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution.
 Careful detailing the research problem leads to research design and the
consequential steps involved while doing research.

7
TECHNIQUE INVOLVED IN DEFINING A PROBLEM
 Statement of the problem in a general way.
 Understanding the nature of the problem.
 Surveying the available literature.
 Developing the ideas through discussions.
 Rephrasing the research problem.
 Additionally,
 Technical terms and words or phrases, with special meanings used in the
statement of the problem, should be clearly defined.
 Basic assumptions relating to the research problem should be clearly stated.
 A straight forward statement of the value of the investigation (i.e., the criteria for
the selection of the problem) should be provided.
 The suitability of the time-period and the sources of data available must also be
considered by the researcher in defining the problem.
 The scope of the investigation or the limits within which the problem is to be
studied must be mentioned explicitly in defining a research problem.

8
What is a research Re-search and Intellectual joy of Ready to seek
problem? How to connect all the defining a research answers for the
select one? dots. problem. research problem
 AN ILLUSTRATION
“Why is productivity in Japan so much higher than in India”?
 In this form the question has a number of ambiguities such as:
 What sort of productivity is being referred to? With what industries the same is
related? With what period of time the productivity is being talked about?
 In view of all such ambiguities the given statement or the question is much too
general to be amenable to analysis.
 Rethinking and discussions about the problem may result in narrowing down
the question to:
 “What factors were responsible for the higher labor productivity of
Japan’s manufacturing industries during the decade 1971 to 1980
relative to India’s manufacturing industries?”
 This latter version of the problem is definitely an improvement over its earlier
version for the various ambiguities have been removed to the extent possible.
 Further rethinking and rephrasing might place the problem on a still better
operational basis as shown below:
 “To what extent did labor productivity in 1971 to 1980 in Japan exceed that of
India in respect of 15 selected manufacturing industries? What factors were
responsible for the productivity differentials between the two countries by
industries?” 10
Remember
“there is no one
best way for
undertaking all
research”

11
Remember
“there is no one
best way for
undertaking all
research”

12
Remember
“there is no one
best way for
undertaking all
research”

13