Lecture 3@ Formulation of Research Problem, LR and Research Proposal

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BPA31902>> Undergraduate Research Project 1/Projek Sarjana Muda 1

Prepared by: Dr. Noralfishah Sulaiman Department of Real Estate

LECTURE 3« SUPERVISION AND FORMULATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM,

LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH PROPOSAL »

BPA31902>> Undergraduate Research Project 1/Projek Sarjana Muda 1 BPA31902>> Undergraduate Research Project 1/Projek Sarjana Muda 1

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WHY RESEARCH ?Sulaiman (2011) summarised:

• The need of research is related to the fact that there are many issues and subjects about which we have incomplete knowledge.

• There are perhaps more unanswered questions and the fast changing nature of the subjects/disciplines.

• Research also reflects the continuous combination of words “re” and “search” which means research works will never be completed as human knowledge is incomplete indeed

• There appears to be endless requirements for increased performance in all aspects of life.

• As society understands that knowledge is power and therefore there is a need to continually break the frontiers of knowledge through the research process for the benefit of society

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Research Concept• Basic Research

Basic (aka fundamental or pure ) research is driven by a scientist's curiosity or interest in a scientific question. The main motivation is to expand man's knowledge , not to

create or invent something.There is no obvious commercial value to the discoveries that result from basic research.

• Applied ResearchDesigned to solve practical problems of the modern world, rather than to acquire

knowledge for knowledge's sake. One might say that the goal of the applied scientist is to improve the human

condition.Applied researchers may investigate ways to:

Improve agricultural crop production;Treat or cure a specific disease

Improve the energy efficiency of homes, offices, or modes of transportation


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WHAT IS RESEARCH PROBLEM ?• Creswell (2003) stated that a research problem is:

“…the issue that exists in the literature, in theory, or in practice that leads to a need for the study..”.

• It begins to become clear when the researcher asks “What is the need for this study?” or “What problem has influenced the need to undertake this

study?”.


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PROBLEM

Research problems are hard to find…

YES/NO

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RESEARCH PROBLEM Identification• It can be agreed that the central element in any piece of research is PROBLEM !• Before research can begin to be conducted, the problem has to be analysed.• This is not an easy task, especially for the inexperienced researcher !• Ideas for research topics do not usually come spontaneously. You will get

puzzled !• It springs from puzzling experiences.• Sensing that something is wrong or out of ordinary or feeling unsure about a

particular situation are conditions that give rise to problems.


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Sample of PROBLEM:• Suppose you were appointed to a new technician institute and one of the

course you were teaching is computer application in RE.

• You observe that some of your students can easily perform the practical tasks to a high level of competency while others are simply not even performing the task to a minimum level of acceptance.

• Because of the students, some doing so well and others so badly. You are feeling that something is wrong. You are puzzled !

• Problem situations like the one above can emerge from day to day experiences of a TUTOR.

• You ask your self many questions in an attempt to focus on the cause of the problem !

• When you start asking and wondering around, you are starting to produce lines of inquiry Developing RESEARCH QUESTIONS.

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SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS• Problem situation can emerge from day to day experiences.

• It might emerge from experiences researchers have had in their personal lives or workplaces, it could come from an extensive debate that has appeared in the

literature for several years, or developed from policy debates in government or amongst top executives as well as any other important issues in society (Sulaiman et

al., 2008).

• There are THREE ways of identifying Research Problem. It can be generated from:

(1)(1)PERSONAL PRACTICAL EXPERIENCESPERSONAL PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES- A practitioner is likely to perceive problem everyday.

- These problem are associated with his own particular area of expertise since that is the area he knows well.

- Problem situation emanating from this source would be particularly suitable for

Action Research and Applied Research.

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(2) CRITICAL STUDY OF THE LITERATURE2) CRITICAL STUDY OF THE LITERATUREThis component is called “setting the research problem within the ongoing

dialogue in the literature”(Creswell, 2003). Creswell (2003) summarised that the nature of these deficiencies varies from

study to study. Knowledge in the form of Literature Review may be uncompletedKnowledge in the form of Literature Review may be uncompleted for

several reasons such as;(1) Previous authors have not studied specific variables;

(2) Previous authors may not have explored the topic with a particular group, sample or population and;

(3) The literature may need to be replicated or repeated to see if the same findings hold, given a new sample of people or new sites for study

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(3) INTERACTION WITH OTHERS (3) INTERACTION WITH OTHERS Conferences, meetings, workshops and in-service courses are usually

designed for specific purposes but often, during the course of the discussions, references are made to broad educational issues.

For instance;Standards, imbalance education opportunities, issue of upgrading

employment problems, progression rates etc. As well, informal discussions with colleagues and other interested members of the public can lead the keen researcher to problem areas that

could provide the basis for research. By being always eager to learn more about the subject discussed it is more

likely YOU will be able to select a problem for research

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In summary, after identifying and stating the issues, human debates, and difficulties facing the society due to the lack of

important knowledge and understanding, which leads to poor practices, the researcher then;

“has to justify the emerging “knowledge gap” which is important to be eliminated. This makes the researcher liable

to identify and create distinctions between past studies and a proposed study by justifying it to the reader through

intensive literature reviews”.

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Theory VS Practical

Theory Practical

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• This can be found in the Chapter 1 of your thesis;• While explaining this particular section the students should describe the

following:

(1) Background or research/problem statement;(2) Issues in human practices+ ongoing dialogue in literature + other

sources of problems (3) Justify needs of conducting the study (improve human

practice+eliminate knowledge gap)

RESEARCH BACKGROUND/PROBLEM STATEMENTS

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS (RQs)• After gaining a sufficient understanding of the topic area, the researcher

must consider specifically what they would like to focus on• RQs are those questions that the data collection will attempt to answer;• When writing RQs for proposals, one must pay specific attention to the

wording of the questions;

• Royse (1999) suggests it is better to examine a part of the problem or a specific theory that is more manageable than a broad, unspecific question;

• The questions should be relevant to the topic area, able to be answered by observable evidence,

feasible for the researcher to answer, and should have more than one possible answer (Rubin &

Babbie, 1989).

• It is common for research proposals to contain more than one research question, depending on the topic area, but it is important that the questions are

specifically related to the topic.

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Avoid these RQs• Double-barreled questions are those that ask about two

different things but expect only one answer (Royse, 1999). Two separate questions are a better solution;

• Another type of question to avoid is a leading question. Leading questions are those that lead the reader to think along certain lines (Royse, 1999);

• In a research proposal or study, it would be inappropriate to show bias in the research question;

• Other things to avoid in research questions are insensitive language, jargon and technical terms or inflammatory terms, and vague or ambiguous terms (Royse, 1999).

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SAMPLE OF RQs Table 5.6: Research Strategy in Case Study

Research

STRATEGYFORM OF

RESEARCH QUESTION

REQUIRES CONTROL OF BEHAVIOURAL

EVENTS?

FOCUSES ON CONTEMPORARY

EVENTS

Experiment How, why? Yes Yes

Survey Who, what, where, how many, how much?

No Yes/No

Archival analysis

Who, what, where, how many, how much?

No Yes

History How, why? No No

Case study How, why? No Yes

Note: What questions, when asked as part of an exploratory study, pertain to all five strategies

Source: Yin (2003)

Each case study strategy has peculiar advantages and disadvantages, depending on three conditions:

(a) the type of research question; (b) (b) the control an investigator has over actual behavioural events and;

(c) (c) the focus on contemporary as opposed to historical phenomena.

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A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SHOULD STATE..

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Potential RQs Please ?

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ResearchLots of Opportunities but also some Dangers

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Next steps….

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THANK YOU

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Lecture 3@ Formulation of Research Problem, LR and Research Proposal

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