How to Find a Problem?

• Application-driven (Find a nail, then make a hammer)

– Identify a need by people/users that cannot be satisfied well currently
(“complaints” about current data/information management systems?)
– How difficult is it to solve the problem?
• No big technical challenges: do a startup
• Lots of big challenges: write a research proposal
– Identify one technical challenge as your topic
– Formulate/frame the problem appropriately so that you can solve it
• Aim at a completely new application/function (find a high-
stake nail)
 Review and Methodology

Identify key
variables

Critical writing

Conceptual
model
Database online searching
Dr. Salman Iqbal

Exercises
 Hypotheses formulation
• A Hypothesis is an educated guess that is
testable, tentative answer
• If, Then, Because (Hypothesis and Prediction)
• A has a strong positive influence on B
• M has a direct effect on Y
• A is higher than B
• X has a negative correlation with Y
• Null Hypothesis
 Hypotheses
• Testable statements, Tentative answers
• A has a positive affect on B
– Class participation has a strong positive affect on
Students’ learning
– Road traffic in metro city has a negative affect on
students’ class attendance
– Food safety and monitoring has positive influence
on individuals health
– Breaking news has negative impact on citizens’
health
 Cont..
• If-then statements:
– If there is a class participation then Students’
learning can be enhanced
– If employees have less health issues then their sick
leaves can be less frequently.
– If there is more advertisement then product sales
can be increases.
 Cont..
• Directional
– The greater the A the greater will be B
– Class participation?
– Advertisement?
• Non directional
– Women are more motivated than men
Hypotheses
• Is a statement predicting the relationship of two or more
variables
• Used in quantitative studies
• Predict answers to a query, eg
– The research question “What is the relationship between sexual risk-
taking and substance abuse among teenage mothers in Jamaica

– Teenage mothers who are substances abusers are more likely to high
levels of sexual risk-taking behaviour
Hypotheses - Types

Types
• Simple or complex hypotheses
• Directional or non-directional hypotheses
• Research or Null hypotheses
 Hypotheses – Types Cont…

• Simple or complex hypotheses

– SIMPLE HYPOTHESIS – predicts the relationship
between a single IV and a single DV
– COMPLEX HYPOTHSIS – predicts the relationship
between 2 or more IV or 2 or more DV
 Hypotheses – Types Cont…

• DIRECTIONAL HYPOTHESIS – eg: incontinent

patients who receive Two-hourly change in
position are less likely to develop decubitus
ulcers compared to those receiving daily position
change

• NON DIRECTIONAL HYPOTHESIS eg: Frequency

of change in position of incontinent patients is
related to the development of decubitus ulcers
 Hypothesis testing

• Hypotheses are tested thru statistical analysis

• Hypotheses are never proved, they are
accepted or supported
– They are increasingly supported with more
evidence