3/16/22

Formulation Research
Problem in Educational
Technology
Prof. Ts. Dr. Zaidatun Tasir
School of Education
Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
p-zaida@utm.my

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EduTech PG Camp, 16th March, 2021

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Components of a PhD’s Research Proposal

1.1 Introduction – 1.5 page
1.2 Background of Problem – 3-4 pages
1.3 Statement of Problem – 1.5 page
1.4 Research Objectives – 4-5 ROs
1.5 Research Questions – 4-6 RQs
1.6 Theoretical Framework – 2 pages with a diagram
1.7 Conceptual Framework – 2 pages with a diagram
1.8 Importance of Research – 1.5 page
1.9 Scopes of Research – 1 page
1.10 Operational Definition – 2-3 pages
1.11 Summary – 1 para
Total Pages – 22.5 - 27.5 pages

Components of a PhD’s Research Proposal

2.1 Introduction – 1 para (0.5 page)
2.2 Theory 1 – 3-4 pages
2.3 Theory 2– 1.5 page
2.4 Critical Analysis on Research Gap – 5-6
2.5 Critical Analysis on Research Instruments
2.6 Previous Research on Research Variable 1
2.7 Previous Research on Research Variable 1
Total Pages – 25 pages

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Components of a PhD’s Research Proposal

3.1 Introduction – 1 para (0.5 page)
3.2 Research Design – 2-3 pages
3.3 Research Procedure – 1.5 page
3.4 Population and Sampling – 1.5 page
3.5 Instrumentation – 2 - 6 pages
3.6 Pilot Study – 2 pages
3.7 Data Analysis – 3 pages
3.8 Summary
Total Pages ~ 20 pages

PhD Structured Courses

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RESEARCH PROBLEM
• The most difficult aspect of research is formulating a clear,
concise, & manageable research problem.
• Formulating the research problem is, in itself, a BIG PROBLEM.

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The Problem: The Heart of the Research

PhD Structured Courses

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RESEARCH PROBLEM
• If there is no problem, there is no research…
• How can you solve a problem if you don’t know what the
problem is?

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PhD Structured Courses

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WHAT IS RESEARCH PROBLEM?

• Research Problems are questions or problems that the
researcher wants to answer.
• Is the issue and the main focus of the study and why a
study is implemented.
• A research problem is a specific issue, difficulty,
contradiction, or gap in knowledge that you will aim to
address in your research.
• It is the focus or reason for engaging in your research.
• It is typically a topic, phenomenon, or challenge that you
are interested in and with which you are at least
somewhat familiar.
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PhD Structured Courses

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WHAT IS RESEARCH PROBLEM?

• These problems consist of:
• Areas of concern
• Conditions to be improved
• Difficulties to be eliminated
• Questions seeking answers
• An issue whereby there is missing link

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PhD Structured Courses

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WHY THE RESEARCH PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT?

• It establishes the importance of the topic.
• It creates reader interest.
• It focuses the reader’s attention on how the study will add to
the literature.
• A research problem helps you formulate that sequence.

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PhD Structured Courses

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RESEARCH PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

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PhD Structured Courses

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RESEARCH PROBLEM JUSTIFICATION

Justifying the Importance of the Research Problem

• Justification based on what other researchers have found

(literature review)
• Justification based on personal or workplace experiences
• Justification based on the experiences that others have had in
the workplace

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FACTORS IN CHOOSING RESEARCH PROBLEM

• Knowledge of the Researcher
• Skills
• Interest
• Expertise
• Motivation
• Creativity
• Important
• Relevance
• Practical
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• Interesting
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RESOURCES FOR CHOOSING PROBLEM

• Working experiences as teachers, lecturers

etc.
• Theories
• Literature Review
• Others resources that are not based on
Education

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Process of Choosing Research Problems

Self Check
1 Your experiences, motivation,
observations, logic
assumptions, skills,
knowledge, expertise
Comparison 1 vs 2
Compare your self-check
information with the info that
you get from your reading.
Conclude on what/idea you
want to explore
3 4
Reconfirmation
Conduct Preliminary
Investigation the idea
of research.

2 Do your Reading
Search any previous research
article, Start to read academic
articles. Checking the theories
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How many articles to read????

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Identifying Research Gap

• Research gap is a research question/problem which has not

been addressed properly.
• You should examine the parts which include “introduction”
section, which always has a sentence or two about the
reasons why that research is done; “conclusion” section and
of course “suggestions for future research” section in which
the author of the article, having examined the literature
and conducted a research himself, would point his readers
to areas which lack investigation or need closer
examination.

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METHODS IDENTIFYING RESEARCH GAP

• Citation Analysis
• Critical Analysis
• Meta Analysis
• Systematic Reviews
• Future Research & Limitations

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Critical Analysis

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Critical Analysis
• A critical analysis is a critical evaluation of an argument, an
event (modern or historical), any work within its medium
(film, books, music, articles), social and political issues, and
beyond.
• It is a subjective form of observation and evaluation,
expressing your personal opinions and reactions.
• Generally speaking, critical analysis helps us understand
things better.

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Critical Analysis of An Articles

• What is the objective of the research?

• Clarify the method used in the collection of information
• State the samples used – and scopes of the research
• What were the findings?
• What are your arguments about the research.
• How does this research relates with your research?

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Qualitative Literature Review – Finding the

gap
• Identifying research gaps in qualitative literature reviews - using the
approach known as chart method, also often referred to as concept
matrix

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Literature Search & Selection

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Critical Reading….

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• Critical reading is all about interacting with

the texts that you are reading.

• Reading the texts as a judge of the text’s

scholarly value.

• Reading the text as an insightful member of

the academic community with respect to
other school of thoughts.

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How to read the texts as a judge of their scholarly

value??? Ask these Questions???

Were there other ways that specific data Were there any important variables that were
could be interpreted other than how the
author approached it?
03 04 left out of the study?

Was there any apparent bias? 02 05 Was every assertion supported by fact?

Were the author’s interpretations and 01 06 Did the text use reliable resources?
conclusions supported by the
evidence he or she presented?

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Reading an Article for LR

How does the publication relate

What question or problem is to other literature in the field?
the author addressing? Does it confirm, add to, or
challenge established knowledge?
What are the key concepts
and how are they defined? How does the publication
contribute to your understanding
What are the key theories, of the topic? What are its key
models and methods? Does the insights and arguments?
research use established
frameworks or take an
What are the strengths and
innovative approach?
weaknesses of the research?
What are the results and
conclusions of the study?

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Systematic Literature Review

Please watch this youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUErib-fXV0

Systematic review:
A review of a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and
explicit methods to identify, select and critically appraise relevant
research, and to collect and analyze data from the studies that are
included in the review

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Meta-analysis
• Quantitative evidence.
• Use of statistical methods to combine the results of
various independent, similar studies
• More precise calculation of one estimate of
treatment effect than could be achieved by any of
the individual, contributing studies

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Meta-analysis
• The meta-analysis technique was pioneered by Glass (1977) and later
adopted by many reviewers (Cohen, 1981; Kulik, Bangert and Williams,
1983; Roblyer, 1988) in their research.
• Meta-analysts (Kulik et al., 1983) normally used a quantitative
approach to their studies incorporating three main tasks:
• (a) objective procedures to locate studies;
• (b) quantitative or quasi-quantitative techniques to describe study
features and outcomes; and
• (c) statistical methods to summarise overall findings and to explore
relationship between study features and outcomes.
• The procedures involved, as used by Kulik and his associates (Kulik,
Kulik and Cohen, 1980), are briefly described.

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PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items

of Systematic Reviews and Meta-
Analysis framework was developed
by Mother et al. (2009)

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PARADIGM SHIFT
OF RESEARCH
FOCUS

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Potential Research Topics – Master Project

• Investigating the Motivation and Teaching Styles of
Primary School Teachers during Pandemic Situation.
• Theory:
• Some of the most important theories of motivation are as follows: 1.
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory 2. Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory
3. McClelland’s Need Theory 4. McGregor’s Participation Theory 5. Urwick’s
Theory Z 6. Argyris’s Theory 7. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory 8. Porter and
Lawler’s Expectancy Theory.
• Learning Process – Cognitive Learning Theory
• Instrument – Survey –

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Potential Research Topics – Master Project

• Resource:
• The Perceptions of Primary School Teachers of Online
Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period: A Case
Study in Indonesia
• Initial report Teaching, motivation, and well-being during
COVID-19 from the perspective of university students
and lecturers

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Potential Research Topics – Master Project

• Teaching and Learning Mathematics of Form Two
Students through WhatsApp
• Using Padlet in LnT of Science Form Four and Its
Effect on Student’s Performance
• Designing & Developing Asynchronous Online
Learning Activities through WA and Its Impact on
Student Learning.
• Student’s Interaction Pattern Through WA in
Learning Science.
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Healthy Living!
01
Enough Sleep

02 03
Balance Exercises
Diet

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CHALLENGES

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Dilemma – How do I know my RP is ok?

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Lack of Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing

Changes of some policies & focuses of MoE/MOHE

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CHALLENGES
Confused! The more you read, the more you
4 get confused

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Where to start????

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Still can’t identify the Research Problem to tackle

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CONCLUSIONS

1 Just Read and Read!

Start with a broad idea and ended with specific

2 idea later

Be creative, be bold and be happy, be passionate

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THANKS
p- zaida@ utm.my

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