The Research Process: The broad problem area and defining the problem statement

CHAPTER 3

Broad Problem Area

The broad problem area refers to the entire situation where one sees a possible need for research and problem solving. Such issues might pertain to:

Broad Problem Area

1. Problems currently existing in an organizational setting that need to be solved. 2. Areas that a manager believes needs to be improved in the organization.

3. A conceptual or theoretical issue that needs to be tightened up for the basic researcher to understand certain phenomena.
4. Some research questions that a basic researcher wants to answer empirically.

Examples of Broad Problem Areas that Could be Observed at the Work Place

Training programs are perhaps not as effective as anticipated. The sales volume of a product is not picking up. Inventory control is not effective Some members in organization are not advancing in their careers. The introduction of flexible work hours has created more problems than it has solved in many companies.

Preliminary Data Collection

The nature of data to be gathered could be classified under these headings:

Background information of the organization (the contextual factors). Prevailing knowledge on the topic (relevant findings from previous research).

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Preliminary Data Collection

The background details of the company can be obtained from available published records, the web site of the company. Company policies, procedures, and rules can be obtained from the organizations records and documents. Data gathered through such existing sources are called
secondary data.

Preliminary Data Collection

(Sources of data)

Secondary data, are data that already exist and do not have to be collected by the researcher. Some secondary sources of data are statistical bulletins, government publications, information published or unpublished and available from either within or outside the organization, library records, data available from previous research, online data, web sites, and the Internet. Primary data is gathered for research from the actual site of occurrence of events. Information such as the perceptions and attitudes of employees are best obtained by talking to them; by observing events, people, and objects; or by administering questionnaires to individuals.

Prevailing knowledge on the topic

A literature review should help the researcher to identify and highlight the important variables that are related to the problem.

Literature Survey

Literature survey is the documentation of a comprehensive review of the published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher. The library is a rich storage base for secondary data through books, journals, newspapers, magazines, conference proceedings, doctoral dissertations, masters theses, government publications, and financial marketing, and other reports. The computerized databases is now readily available and accessible, which makes the literature search much easier, and can be done without entering the portals of a library building.
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Reasons for the Literature Survey

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Helps to find the important variables that are likely to influence the problem situation are not left out of the study. Helps the development of the theoretical framework and hypotheses for testing. The problem statement can be made with precision and clarity. Testability and replicability of the findings of the current research are enhanced. One does not run the risk of wasting efforts on trying to rediscover something that is already known. The problem investigated is perceived by the scientific community as relevant and significant.
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Conducting the Literature Survey

The literature review needs to be done on the specific issues of concern to the researcher and the factors identified during the interview process.
The first step in this process involves identifying the various published and unpublished materials that are available on the topics of interest, and gaining access to these. The second step is gathering the relevant information either by going through the necessary materials in a library or by getting access to online sources. The third step is writing up the literature review.

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Data Sources

Textbooks Academic and professional journals Theses: phD theses and Master theses. Conference proceedings Unpublished manuscripts Reports Newspapers The internet
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Searching for literature

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There are three forms of databases:

The bibliographic databases, which display only the bibliographic citations, that is, the name of the author, the title of the article
(book), source of publication, year, volume, and page numbers.

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The abstract databases, which in addition provide an abstract or summary of the articles. The full-text databases, which provide the full text of the article.

Databases are also available for obtaining statisticsmarketing, financial, and so on.
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Searching for Literature

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Online search provides the following advantages: Saving enormous amount of time. Are comprehensive in their listing and review of references. The researcher can focus on materials most central to the research efforts. Finding access to references is relatively inexpensive.
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Searching for Literature

From the bibliography on the subject, the researcher should do the followings: A look at the titles of the articles or books will indicate which of these may be important. The abstract of such articles that seem to be relevant will give an idea of the article that need to be looked into in depth. The full text of which can then be printed out.
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Searching for Literature

While reading these articles, take notes about the problem that was researched, the design details of the study (such as the sample size and data collection methods), and the ultimate findings of the study. These notes will facilitates the writing up of the literature review with maximum efficiency.
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Writing Up the Literature Review

The documentation of the relevant studies citing the author and the year of the study is called literature review or literature survey. The literature survey is a clear and logical presentation of the relevant research work done thus far in the area of investigation.
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Writing Up the Literature Review

The purpose of the literature survey is: To identify and highlight the important variables. To document the significant findings from earlier research that will serve as the foundation on which the theoretical framework for the current investigation can be built and the hypotheses developed.
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Writing Up the Literature Review

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Such documentation is important to convince the reader that: The researcher is knowledgeable about the problem area. The theoretical framework will be structured on work already done and will add to the solid foundation of exiting knowledge.
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Examples of Literature Surveys

Organizational effectiveness
Organization theorists have defined organizational effectiveness (OE) in various ways. OE has been described in terms of objectives (Georgopolous & Tannenbaum, 1957), goals (Etzioni, 1960), efficiency (Katz & Kahn, 1966), resources acquisition (Yuchtman and Seashore, 1967). As Coutler (2002) remarked, there is little consensus on how to conceptualize, measure, or explain 20 OE.

What insights can be gained from the above example?

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The literature review introduces the subject of study. Highlights the problem (that we do not have a good conceptual framework for understanding OE). Summarizes the work done so far on the topic (by reporting the citations in the body of
the research by mentioning the family names and the year of publication only).
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Defining the Problem Statement

After the literature review, the researcher is in position to narrow down the problem from its original broad base and define the issues of concern more clearly.

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What makes a good problem statement?

The problem statement introduces the key problem that is addressed in the research project. Problem statement is a clear, precise, and short statement of the specific issue that a researcher wishes to investigate.
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The three key criteria for problem statement

There are three key criteria to assess the quality of the problem statement:
1. It should be relevant 2. It should be feasible 3. It should be interesting

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From an academic perspective, research is relevant if:

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Nothing is known about the topic. Much is known about the topic, but the knowledge is scattered. Much research on the topic is available, but the results are contradictory. Established relationships do not hold in certain situations.
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A problem statement is feasible

If you are able to answer the problem statement within the restrictions of the research project. These restrictions are possibly related to time and money and the expertise of the researcher (a problem statement may be too difficult to answer). Thus, it is important that you develop a narrowly defined question that can be investigated with a reasonably amount of time and efforts.
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The problem statement is interesting

Because research is a timeconsuming process and you will go through many ups and downs before you present a final version of your research report. It is therefore vital that you are interested in the problem statement that you are trying to answer, so you can stay motivated throughout the entire process.
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Examples of broad problem areas that a manager could observe at the workplace:

Training programs are not as effective as anticipated. The sales volume of a product is not picking up. Minority group members are not advancing in their careers. The newly installed information system is not being used by the managers for whom it was primarily designed. The introduction of flexible work hours has created more problems than it has solved in many

companies.

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Examples of Well-Defined Problem Statements

To what extent do the structure of the organization and type of information systems installed account for the variance in the perceived effectiveness of managerial decision making? To what extent has the new advertising campaign been successful in creating the high-quality, customer-centered corporate image that it was intended to produce? How has the new packaging affected the sales of the product? What are the effects of downsizing on the long-range growth patterns of companies?

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The research proposal contains the following:

Key elements:

Purpose of the study Specific problem to be investigated. Scope of the study Relevance of the study Research design:

Sampling design Data collection methods Data analysis

Time frame Budget Selected Bibliography

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Example

While Chryslers minivans, pickups, and sports utilities take a big share at the truck market, its cars trail behind those of General Motors, Ford, Honda, and Toyota. Quality problems include, among other things water leaks and defective parts ( Business Week, No.10, 2007).

1. Identify the broad problem area. 2. Define the problem? 3. Explain how you would proceed further.

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Example-cont.
1. Identify the broad problem area. 2. Define the problem? 3. Explain how you would proceed further.

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Answers
1. The broad problem is that the Chrysler cars are lagging in market share. 2. The problem statement: How can the market share of Chrysler cars be improved?

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answers
3. It is best to interview the users of GM, Ford, Honda, and Toyota car users and obtain from them their reaction both positive and negative- to the cars they use, and why they prefer them. Similar reactions from the users of Chrysler cars should also be gathered. One should proceed further based on the analysis of these responses.
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Practice projects

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Do the project assigned below, following the step-by-step process outlined: Compile a bibliography on any one of the following topics, or any other topic of interest to you: a. service quality b. product development c. open-market operations d. information systems
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Practice projects
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From this bibliography, select 10 references that include books, periodicals, and newspaper items. Based on these 10 articles, write a literature review using the citation forms as described in our lectures. Formulate a problem statement.
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