RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

Lecture 2:
The Introduction, Problem
Statement, Research Question(s)
and Research Objectives
The Introduction
 The first/initial passage in a journal article,
dissertation, thesis or scholarly research
study.
 Sets the stage for the entire study.
 Purposes are to:
◦ provide readers with the background
information for the research report.
◦ establish a framework for the research
The Introduction
 In writing the introduction:
◦ Create reader interest in the topic
◦ Establish the problem that leads to the study
within the larger context of the scholarly
literature
◦ Reach out the specific audience
 Introductions are challenging to write and
understand.
A Research Problem
 Is the problem/issue that leads to the
need for a study.
 Originate from many potential sources:
◦ Researchers‟ experience in their personal
lives or workplaces.
◦ Extensive debate that has appeared in the
literature.
◦ Policy debates in government or among top
executives.
A Research Problem
 It is not a research question.
 Problem exist when there is a difference
between the current conditions and a
more preferable set of conditions
Characteristic of Research
Problem
 Qualitative research problem:
◦ The concept is „immature” due to
conspicuous lack of theory and previous
research.
◦ A notion that available theory may be
inaccurate, inappropriate, incorrect or biased
◦ A need exists to explore and describe the
phenomena and to develop theory
◦ The nature of the phenomenon may not
suited to quantitative measures.
Characteristic of Research
Problem
◦ Some examples of qualitative RP:
 Urban sprawl
 Kids in elementary classrooms have anxiety that
interferes with learning
 Inequality pay among women and men workers
Characteristic of Research
Problem
 Quantitative research problem:
◦ Less variation
◦ Best addressed by understanding what
factors/variables influence an outcome
◦ Example:
 Worker cutbacks
 High divorce rate among married couple
A Problem Statement
A written expression of the key
question(s) that the research user
wishes to answer.
A Problem Statement
 Identifying and stating the research
problem that underlies a study is not
easy. For e.g., identify the Inequality pay
among women and men workers
 The process of defining and developing a
problem and the steps involved in
translating it into more precise research
terminology.
Defining Problems Can Be Difficult

6–11
The Problems Definition Process
 Identify the key symptoms.
 Identify the problem from the key
symptoms.
 Write research questions and/or research
hypotheses.
Identifying the Key Symptoms
 Understand the situation
 Techniques:
 Interrogative techniques
 Asking multiple what, where, who, when, why,
and how questions about what has changed.
 Probing
 An interview technique that tries to draw
deeper and more elaborate explanations
from the discussion.
Probing

6–14
Identifying Problem
 It is important to clearly identify the
issues(s) or problem(s) that leads to a
need for the study.
 In applied social science research,
problems arise from:
 issues,
 difficulties,
 current practices
 case study and
 existing lecture.
Identifying Problem
 Example of problem:
◦ Terenzini et al. (2001) discuss a distinct
problem:The struggle to increase the racial
and ethnic diversity on U.S. college and
university campuses.
 Cause of problem: Universities may not
have implemented multicultural guidelines
Identifying Problem
 The research problem in a study begins to
become clear when the researcher asks :
◦ What is the need for this study?
◦ What problem influenced the need to
undertake this study
Writing Research Question
 The researcher‟s translation of the
problem into a specific inquiry.
 Provide input that can be used as a
standard for selecting from among
alternative solutions.
Writing Research Question
 The purpose of research question:
◦ Express the research objectives in terms of
questions that can be addressed by research.
◦ Help to develop well-formulated, specific
hypotheses that can be empirically tested.
◦ Help the researcher design a study that will
produce useful results.
Writing Research Question
 Two forms of research question:
◦ Central question - It is a broad
question that asks for an exploration of
the central phenomenon or concept in
a study
◦ Sub questions – They are narrow
questions
Writing Research Question
Qualitative
Ask one or two central questions followed by no more than 5 – 7
sub questions.
Begin the RQ with the words “what” or “how”
Focus on single phenomenon or concept
Use exploratory verbs.These verbs tell the reader that the study
will:
 Discover (e.g. grounded theory)
 Seek to understand (e.g. ethnography)
 Explore a process (e.g. case study)
 Describe the experiences (e.g. phenomenology)
 Report the stories (e.g. narrative research)
Use open-ended questions
Writing Research Question
 Examples of a Script for Qualitative
Questions:
____ (How or what) is the ____ (“story
for” for narrative research:“meaning of” the
phenomenon for phenomenology:“theory
that explains the process of “for grounded
theory:“culture-sharing pattern” for
ethnography:“issue” in the “case” for case
study) of _____ )central phenomenon) for
_____ (participants) at ______ (research
site).
Writing Research Question
 Examples of Qualitative Questions:
 How do early adolescent female read
literature that falls outside the realm of
fiction?
 How do women in a psychology doctoral
program describe their decision to return
to school?
 How does returning to graduate school
change man‟s lives?
Writing Research Question
Quantitative
Two types of question:
 Descriptive questions
 Inferential questions.
Focus on single phenomenon or concept
Use directional words such as affect, influence, impact, determine,
cause and relate
Use variables (dependent and independent variables) in RQ:
 The researcher may compare groups on an independent
variable to see its impact on a dependent variable.
 The researcher may relate one or more independent variables
to one of more dependent variables
 The researcher may describe responses to the independent ,
mediating or depending variables
Writing Research Question
 Examples of a Script for
Qualitative Questions:
Does _______ (name the theory)
explain the relationship between
______ (independent variable) and
_______ (dependent variable?
Writing Research Question
 Examples of Descriptive Questions:
 How do the students rate on critical thinking skills (A
descriptive question focused on the independent
variable).
 What are the students‟ achievement levels in science
classes? (A descriptive question focused on the dependent
variable).
 What are the student‟s prior grades in science classes? (A
descriptive question focused on the control variable of
prior grades).
 What is the educational attainment of the parents of the
secondary students? (A descriptive question focused on
another control variable, educational attainment of
parents).
Research Questions

 The fundamental questions this research

intends to provide answers to are the
following.
 What was the reason behind the mass movement of
Muslim refugees from India towards newly born state
Pakistan?
 What was the effect of refugee‟s influx in Pakistan?
 On what pattern the government of Pakistan
rehabilitates refugees and what the local people played
their role in refugee‟s rehabilitation in Pakistan?
 What's the role played by refugees in the development
of Sargodha and what were the contributions of
refugees on the social and economic development of
Pakistan?
Writing Hypotheses
 Hypothesis is defined as formal statement
of an unproven proposition that is
empirically testable.
 It is prediction a researcher makes about
the expected relationships among
variables.
 Testing of hypotheses employs statistical
procedures.
Writing Hypotheses
 Two forms of hypotheses – Null (H0) and
Alternative (H1 or HA).
◦ A Null hypothesis represents the traditional approach:
it makes a prediction that in the general population,
no relationship or no significant difference exists
between groups on a variable.
◦ The wording is “There is no difference (or
relationship) between the groups”
◦ E.g.:
 There is no significance different between the effects of verbal
cues, rewards, and no reinforcement in terms of social
interaction for children with autism and their siblings.
Research Objectives
 The purpose statement indicates:
◦ indicates “why you want to do the
study” and “what you intend to
accomplish”
◦ conveys the overall intent of a
proposed study in a sentence or
several sentences
Research Objectives
 Tip of writing qualitative RO:
• Use words such as purpose, intent or objective to
signal attentions – “The purpose of this study is (was,
will be) …”
• Use the present or past verb tense in journal and the
future tense in proposal.
• Focus on a single phenomenon/concept/ idea
• Use action verbs and phrases. E.g. describe, understand,
develop, examine, discover.
• Use neutral words and phrases – non-directional
language. E.g. exploring the “experiences of
individuals” rather than the “successful experiences
of individuals
Research Objectives
 Tip of writing qualitative RO:
 Avoid using problematic words or phrases such as
useful, positive and informing – all words that suggest
an outcome that may/may not occur.
 Include words denoting the strategy of inquiry to be
used in data collection, analysis and the process of
research. – e.g. case study, time series
 Mention the participants in the study – e.g.
Individuals, a group of people, organization.
 Identify the site of research – homes, classrooms,
organizations, programs or events
Research Objectives
 Tip of writing qualitative RO:
• Use words such as purpose, intent or objective to
signal attentions – “The purpose of this study is (was,
will be) …”
• Identify the theory, model or conceptual framework
 Identify the independent and dependent variables as
well as any mediating, moderating or control
variables used in the study.
 Use words that connect the independent and
dependent variables to indicate that they are related
– e.g. “the relationship between” and “a comparison
of”
Research Objectives
 Tip of writing qualitative RO:
 Position or order the variables from left to right in
the RO, with the IV followed by the DV. Place
intervening/moderating/control variable between the
IV and DV
 Mention the specific type of strategy of inquiry (e.g.
survey or experimental research)
 Make reference to the participants or the unit of
analysis.
Research Objective

 The primary purpose behind this research is

to explore the adequate answers of
following research questions;
 To study the reason behind the mass
movement of refugees towards Pakistan.
 To examine the effect of Refugee‟s influx in
Pakistan.
 To determine the rehabilitation policies that
was implemented in Pakistan.
 To analyse the refugee‟s role and impact in
the development of Pakistan.