Identifying and defining a

research problem
What is a research?
A piece of writing which is logically structured, coherently argued, and
clearly written, supported by a detailed bibliography/relevant
literature.

Research is mainly about:

What? Why? And How?

Skill(s) targeted: to demonstrate your skills and knowledge in research

 Review the Available
Literature

Formulate a
Publish Findings
Question

The Research
Process Select an Appropriate
Interpret Findings
Research Design

Collect Relevant
Data
Typical structure of a research paper
Usually includes most of the following:
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Contextual background
• Literature review/ theoretical background
• Methodology
• Data analysis
• Discussion of findings
• Conclusion
• References
More briefly
• Introduction/ rationale

• Literature review/ theory

• Your investigation/ project

• Findings/ conclusion
This involves
• Developing a topic (area of interest)
• Intellectual skills such as evaluation, analysis and synthesis, as well as
management skills.

Distinguishing features of a research (an academic writing)

- It involves the development of an argument (a clear line of thought) in
response to a central proposition (thesis).
-The line of argument is supported by evidence you have acquired
through research, which you are required to analyse, and which
supports or contradicts the various perspectives explored in the course
of that argument.
Cont…
-You are generally expected to gather your own primary data (although
research based on secondary sources only are possible) and to have a
thorough awareness of any concepts and theories that relate to your
chosen subject area.
-It involves good amount of reading than any other normal academic
writing assignment and this will be reflected in the bibliography.
Key stages of a research
1. Choose a topic
2. Develop a research question
3. Conduct a literature review
4. Develop a conceptual framework
5. Collect and analyse data
6. Draw conclusions
7. Write up the research
Choosing/developing a topic
• What exactly do you want to investigate in your research?
• The toughest part of doing a research project.
• Too broad a scope, the project will be unmanageable; too narrow,
nobody will care.
• It is also very important that before you begin, and after you finish,
you are able to articulate what your research is about, and why it
matters, in a short paragraph
 Next step…
• Once you have decided on your topic, you need to refine this into
several practical research questions that you can answer through
your study.

• These questions will help guide your research and also influence
the success of your research.

• So the next step is the formulation of research questions

Every project centers around a research question but, contrary to
the popular myth, it tends not to orient the research from the start
(or at least not in the way imagined)
Cont…
• It is about moving from a broad topic to a specific question or questions.

• Research question needs to be both worthy of attention and

researchable;

• In formulating them we need to strike a balance between the value of

the question and our ability to develop a research proposal we are
capable of carrying out.

• RQs must be clear, specific, answerable, and relevant. 'If we cannot say
how we would answer each research question, and what evidence would
be required to answer it, we cannot proceed'
Cont…
• While you will need a clear research focus initially and ideally a first
draft of your research questions, the formulation of precise research
questions is a process, getting modified as your research progresses.
In fact the final version of your research questions will probably only
be complete when you have completed your research.
Swale’s 3 obligatory moves
1. Establish a research territory (now)
• Tell us why the topic matters (explanation to follow)

2. Establish a research niche (now)

• Tell us what is not known or requires further investigation (the ‘gap’)
(explanation to follow)

3. Occupy that niche (a bit later>methods)

• Tell us how you are going to fill that gap
1. Establishing a research territory
• Choosing a broad topic (key considerations)

• Your background or Personal experiences (Is it related to something you

have personally experienced in the past/or may be currently
experiencing?)

• Access and support (Is it a topic you are likely to be able to do research
on and which you can get an appropriate supervisor for?)

• Your interest

• Your vision/future plan

• Enjoyment (Are you willing to spend 4 months/years on this area?)

Relevant Q’s here to reflect upon
1) Why am I motivated to find out more about this topic?

2) Why would it be worthwhile/important/significant to investigate this

issue?

3) In what ways does the research focus and scope match the
requirements of my course and department? It will be helpful to look at
your course guidelines when answering this question.

4) What is the estimated cost of the research?

 Cont…
6) Is the data I hope to obtain easily accessible? How will I go about
collecting the data?

7) Are there any ethical issues to consider e.g. privacy and confidentiality?

8) What work has already been done on the topic?

9) Have I got the skills I need to complete this project? How could I gain the
skills I need?

10) What are the possible outcomes of this research study?

Cont…
5) How much time have I got to complete the research? Will I be able
to investigate my topic within this time frame?

Remember there’s NO perfect topic

Don’t forget about the feasibility issue

Data feasibility
Any time constraint, resource constraint
Methodological constraint
Activity 1: Identifying sources to help
generate ideas
• See word document
• 1. Can you identify any particularly interesting topic(s) from the course
material, which you would like to look at in more detail?
• 2. Has an interesting area or question been raised during discussion in one
of the 'topic talk' forums that warrants further exploration?
• 3. Have you read about a particular issue or concern in the literature which
has a research possibility?
• 4. Are there any potential research areas in relation to your place of work
which you can identify?
• 5. Have you observed a pattern of behaviour or linguistic phenomenon that
you would like to know more about?
•
 2) Establishing a research niche
Orient yourself with the topic and begin to narrow it down (to particular
aspects of the topic)
- by finding the (potential) gap in the literature/current understanding
in this area

What do you think is a ‘gap’ in the literature?

Uncovering a suitable ‘puzzle’ to work on
work not done and needs to be done

How can you find it?

Cont…
- By identifying the key literature by doing the ‘literature review’
(more details in the upcoming lectures)

- Also once u choose your topic, u need to cite relevant literature

on your topic to establish your research territory and niche, and
explain how you might fill it
When finding your topic/Research
(practicalities)
• Think about how much refinement/ specification the broad area
requires to come up with a suitably specific/ precise topic

Be aware when finding the topic

• Too broad = unmanageable; difficult to address
• Too narrow = no interest in it

• Choose a topic that can realistically be covered in the time frame you have.
Don’t be too ambitious. For example, avoid topics such as “Teaching
English in my country”!
Cont…
• Discuss with classmates (don’t be alone)
• See Hart (2005, p.75-78), for features of good topics
• Taking into consideration working with your supervisor/tutor
• Setting a timetable
• Fieldwork issues
• Risk and safety/ethical concerns
• Working with subjects
• Finalising and producing the research
The next step
• Moving from a broad topic to a specific question or questions is
hard—it requires extensive reading and research, a lot of time, many
iterations and much confusion along the way.

• So the next step is to begin your literature review

• Come up with a working title (it can be changed later)

Formulating a question
• The nature and specific wording of the RQs give important signals
about your orientation to research as well as your substantive
contribution.

Example:
• Explanatory/Relational:
• Why … ?; What impact … ?
• Descriptive/Analytical:
• How … ?
• Pragmatic:
• How should … ?
Example 1
• How do lecturers give comments on student writing assignments to
help students improve their academic writing?
• What kind of feedback is most valuable to students?
Example 2
• To what extent the assessment tool of the speaking EAP In-sessional
course is valid and reliable according to/with the objectives stated in
the course syllabus?
• To what extent the teachers’ perceptions about the course and the
assessment tool affect the way they judge the students during the
assessment process?
• To what extent the students’ perceptions about the course and the
assessing tool affect their performance and their confidence to
succeed in their future academic life?

26
Activity 2: Finding your topic
• Please “brainstorm” for 5-10 minutes the following:

• What am I interested in?

• What could my topic be?
• What could I actually do?
• How would I collect data? (later consideration)

• Then, get together in groups of 3. Tell your group members about

your ideas. When you are listening, consider how feasible the topic is.
Essential preparation for your
dissertation

(Hart, 2005: 56)

 Activity 3: Selection of a topic
In this activity you are going to explore some questions about the process
of selecting a research topic.

Instruction
Read these statements about the process of selecting a research topic.
Either put tick if you agree with the procedure expressed in the statement
or cross if you do not.

1) I will decide on a topic for my dissertation quickly and my decision will

remain unchanged.
2) It will be useful to write down a range of questions I would like to
explore and refine and clarify them over a period of time.
 Cont…
3) I should choose a topic which I already know a lot about so I can
complete the research as quickly as possible without having to do much
reading.

4) I should choose an area of study which I would like to find out more
about and identify a problem or question which puzzles me.

5) I should choose a topic which I have strong personal feeling about.

6) At this stage I do not need to consider how I will collect my data.

Teaching schedule
-We have roughly 11 lectures in hand (5 before and 6 after mid term
exams)

- Tentative plan and topics to cover (with flexibility depending on

students’ needs and pace) are:

Lecture 1: Intro to the course and students’ need analysis

Lecture 2: Identifying and defining a research problem
Lecture 3: Review of literature
Lecture 4: Introduction to qualitative and quantitative research
paradigms
Cont…
• Lecture 5 and 6: Tools for data collection
• Lecture 7: Sampling techniques
• Lecture 8: Transcription and transliteration and ethical considerations
• Lecture 9: Referencing and citation
• Lecture 10: presentations
• Lecture 11: presentations or concerns and questions overall or any
area need repetition/practice