Chapter-Two: The Research Process

Formulating a research problem and framing the research topic

Exploration/Literature review
not a one time excercise
Review of Literature is

Formulation of hypothesis (Optional)

Research design

Data collection

Data analysis

Report writing
 Research ‘Musts’

 Problem must be clearly recognized

 Determine information already available and what
further information is required, as well as the best
approach for obtaining it
 Obtain and assess information objectively to help
inform the decision
‘Six’ Phases of Research
1. Problem definition
2. Literature review
3. Selection of research design, subjects, and data
collection techniques
4. Data gathering
5. Data processing and analysis
6. Implications, Conclusions,
and Recommendations
 Research problem defined
Research problem refers to some difficulty
which a researcher experiences in the context of
either a theoretical or practical situation and
wants to obtain a solution for the same.
Example
◦ Current problems in organizations
◦ Identified areas for further improvement and to attain
objectives at organizational/country level
◦ Researchers aspiration to verify the theoretical aspects
or basic questions through empirical studies

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 When does a research problem exist?
 Research problem exists if the following conditions
are met.
 Some difficulty problem facing by an individual or
group or institution etc
 Need to attain objectives
 Availability of alternative means (or courses of
action) for obtaining the objectives one wishes to
attain.
 Some doubt in the mind of a researcher with regard
to the selection of alternatives.

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Sources of a research problem
Individuals,
People organizations, groups,
communities etc
Issues, situations, needs,
Problem
profiles, etc

Contents, structure,
Program outcomes, satisfaction, etc

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 Selecting the problem
 As a researcher, note that
◦ Topic which is overdone should not be
normally chosen, for it will be a difficult task to
throw any new light in such a case.

◦ The topic selected for research needs

familiarity and feasibility so that the related
research material or sources of research are
within one’s reach.

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Cont'…
◦ Controversial subject should not become the
choice of an average researcher.
◦ Too narrow or too vague problems should be
avoided.
◦ Take into account the importance of the subject,
the qualifications and the training of a
researcher, the costs involved, time factor

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Cont'…
1. Identify the problem in a general way.

2. Identify and select a narrow problem within the

broad topic.

3. Raise questions to be asked.

4. Formulate objectives

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Cont'…
1. Identify a broad field/area that faces
problem

Human
Resource
Management

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Cont'…
2. Divide the broad area or field into
sub-divisions
Selection Motivation
Recruitment

Human Resource Promotion

Management
Placement
and Performance
induction Training and appraisal
Development
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 Cont'…
3. Select the one that interests you the most

Selection Motivation
Recruitment

Human Resource Promotion

Management
Placement
and Performance
induction Training and appraisal
Development
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 Cont'…
4. Raise research questions
Assessment on Promotion Practices in Public
Institutions
 What is the promotion process followed in public
institutions?

 What are the laws guiding promotion process of public

servants?

 How is promotion performed in public institutions?

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 Exercise 1

Sit in groups and choose a topic

of your interest?
Write the title of the research

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Research objectives
 Research objectives determines your destination

 Have a path to walk on throughout your thesis work.

 Itis split into two
◦ General objectives – statement that tells the overall
aim of undertaking a given topic.

◦ Specific objectives – provides sub-ways of

attaining the above mentioned general objectives.
These should be very SMART

 Ifresearch objectives are devised with the thesis, no

need to have research questions.
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 Cont'…
5. Set research objectives
General objective:
 To evaluate promotion patterns in public institutions
Specific objectives:
 To point out procedures followed to promote public
servants
 To evaluate laws guiding promotion in public
institutions
 To examine how promotion is done practically

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 Cont'…
6. Check & double check your research objectives
 How much work is involved?

 Do I have time?

 Do I have the resources?

 Do I have the technical expertise?

 Am I really interested?

 Do I agree with the objectives?

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Title Selection
Research topic must be;
 Interesting – keeps the researcher interested in it
throughout the research process
 Researchable – can be investigated through the
collection and analysis of data
 Significant – contributes to the improvement and
understanding of educational theory and practice
 Manageable – fits the level of researcher’s level
of research skills, needed resources, and time
restrictions
 Ethical – does not embarrass or harm participants
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What Can Be Researched ?

The right topic to be researched often

depends on a number of factors.
Itis not advisable to select the
following topics:
1. Common/over-used topics
2. Controversial Politics/ religion related
topics
3. General/ broad topics
4. Topics that are Too Narrow
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 Good Research topic must:

1. Be original;
2. Be of interest to both the researcher and the supervisor;
3. Be timely and relevant;
4. It must make a contribution to existing knowledge or
respond to a research gap;
5. Be specific and distinct, not too broad;
6. Incorporate the main purpose of the research;
7. Be clever, captivating and unforgettable; and
8. The research questions that flow from it must be possible
to address through a research design.
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 Exercise 2
Reframe your topic based on the
title selection criteria.

Compare these topics with the

title requirements

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Problem Statement
 Clearstatement of what the situation looks like,
and what problems you perceive in the area, and to
conduct the research.

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Cont'…
“The formulation of the
problem is often more
essential than its solution.”
Albert Einstein

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Cont'…
 Ideally, it must address problems that induced a
researcher to select and take topic for his/her thesis.

 Of course, it is effortless to outline problems burning a

researcher, but what makes it unique is the extent to
which it carries facts and figures from credible
sources.

 Good problem statements may contain three concepts

spread over between 3 to 5 paragraphs

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 Exercise 3
Write a problem statement for
your research topic

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Objectives of the Study
 General objectives
◦ What is the general reason for carrying out this
research? This should be at the level of the aim of
the study. In most of the cases, it is your topic
written in the form of an objective

 Specific objectives
◦ These emanate from the general objectives. Specific
objective must be SMART. By using action verbs,
the researcher must list at least three specific
objectives to achieve the general objective

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 Exercise 4
Based on your research topic,
write at least three to five specific
objectives

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Significance of the study
 Significanceof the study is also called justification or
importance of the study.
 State why you feel the study is important. This is
usually stated in terms of identifying people or
institution that will benefit from it and how they will
benefit.

 This is where you convince scholars that their research

is worth undertaking or studying.

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Scope of the study
 Specifies the boundaries of their research.

 Itcovers
◦ Geographical scope which defines the location of
the study;
◦ Theoretical scope by defining issues to be covered;
and
◦ Time scope stating the period coverage of the
research

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 Exercise 5
Determine the scope of your
study?

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Description of the study area
 Brief description of the study area or study
organizations or sampling unit.

 Itprovides information about the characteristics of the

study areas as population, location, climate,
socioeconomic activities etc.

 In case you are studying about institutions,

information concerning target institutions is inevitable.
Such information may include organizational structure,
mandates of respective institutions, establishment laws
etc.
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Limitation
 Limitation, by definition, are factors affecting
research findings substantially and lies beyond the
control of the researcher.

 It could be concerned to chosen research method,

research technique, sampling method, sampling size,
etc

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Exercise 6
Specify your research interest and
◦ Write a research title
◦ Specify at least three to five objectives
◦ Formulate the research problem
◦ Specify the scope of the study and
◦ Mention some of the limitation of the
study

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 Research Problem Formulation---
 To set up a criteria for comparing the results of this
study, two types of hypotheses namely null hypothesis
(H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) are to be
established as follows:
 Hypothesis One
 H0: Electronic data processing(EDP) system in
banks is not essential
 H1 : EDP system in banks is essential
 Hypothesis two
 H0 : EDP system must not be audited
 H1 : EDP system must be audited
 Research Problem Formulation---
 Hypothesis Three
 H0 : Due to EDP system errors and frauds are not
highly controlled
 H1 : Due to EDP system errors and frauds are highly
controlled
 Hypothesis Four
 H0 : Computer-Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs)
are not useful for auditors
 H1 : Computer-Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs)
are useful for auditors
 Research Problem Formulation---
 To summarize, the following five “Wh”
questions must be asked and answered when
you start to think about your research
project/thesis.
 These include :
 What? 
 Why?
  Who? 
 Where?
 When?
 Research Problem Formulation---

What?
 It is talking about what is your research?
 It is the first step in designing any research study.
 But, influenced by several factors.
 For example, choosing a research topic will obviously be
largely influenced by the scientific field within which the
researcher works.
 Therefore, a useful tip is to sum up, in one sentence
only, your research in on sentence .
 If you are unable to do this, the chances are your
research topic is too broad, ill thought out or too
obscure.
 Research Problem Formulation---
Why?
 This question relate to:
 Why do you want to do the research?
 What is its purpose?
 Why you are interested to work on such topic and not on
others?
 It is given by advisor; or
 you are interested in the topic which is important to
keep up your enthusiasm and remain motivated.
Or
 you might have identified a gap in the research
literature.
 Research Problem Formulation---

Who?
 This is related to determining “Who will be your
participants/respondents ?
Where?
 This is to answer where are you going to conduct your research?
 that is ,thinking about this question in geographical terms will
help you to narrow down your research topic.
 it also determines :
 the resources required in terms of budget and
 time that are available to you.
 Research Problem Formulation---
 When?
 This question is to answer the period in which you are
going to do your research.
 this will help you to sort out whether the research
project you have proposed is possible within your
time scale.
 It will also help you to think more about your
participants, when you need to contact them and
whether they will be available at that time.
 For example, if you want to go into schools and observe
classroom practice, you would not choose to do this
research during the summer holiday.
 The Research Process…cont’d
41

III. Problem Definition

After having discussions with the professionals as well as with the persons
to whom the issue relates, and the review of literature, the researcher is in a
position to narrow down from its original broad base and define the issue
clearly. The symptoms of a problem might help tracing the real problem.
Then, translate the broad issue into a research question.
As part of the applied research convert the management dilemma into a
management question, and then onto RQs that fits the need to resolve the
dilemma.
 The Research Process…cont’d
42

To what extent has the new advertising campaign been successful in
creating the high quality, consumer-centered corporate image that it
was intended to produce?
Has the new organizational reform program brought the intended
objective?
Will the day care centers affect the productivity of female workers?
Why the divorce rate is on the increase in Addis Ababa?
Why the employee turnover is becoming high in the civil service
sector?
What could be the impact of tax reform on attracting foreign direct
investment?
 The Research Process…cont’d
43

iv)Theoretical Framework
Consultations with the informants and professionals, and the
review of literature should have helped in the identification of
different factors that are considered to be relevant to the topic.
The researcher has to make logical relationship among several
factors identified earlier.
The theoretical framework discusses the interrelationships
among the variables that are deemed to be integral to the
dynamics of the situation being investigated.
 Developing such a conceptual framework helps to postulate or
hypothesize and test certain relationships.
 The Research Process…cont’d
44

v) Generation of Hypotheses

 Once we have identified the important variables relevant to

an issue and established the logical reasoning in the
theoretical framework, we are in a position to test whether the
relationships that have been theorized do in fact hold true.

 By testing these relationships scientifically, we are in a

position to obtain reliable information to determine the
relationship among the variables.
 The Research Process…cont’d
45

When a proposition is formulated for empirical testing, it is called

hypothesis. It is a tentative proposition that will be verified or falsified
through empirical testing.
Formulation of research hypothesis is not arbitrary. It is rather based on
theory or previous research findings.
It plays the role of guiding the direction of the study, hence should be
carefully designed.
It identifies facts that are relevant from those which are not.
It suggests the appropriate research design to adopt and provides a
framework for organizing the conclusion.
 The Research Process…cont’d
46

There are two types of hypothesis: Descriptive and Relational

Hypothesis
• Descriptive Hypothesis: propositions that typically state the
existence, size, form or distribution of some variables. E.g.
for the research question “What is the unemployment rate in
the States?” the hypothesis could be “The current unemployment
rate in the States exceeds 6%.”
• Relational Hypothesis: statements that describe (causal)
relationship between two variables.
– Increasing frequency of product advertisement is expected to
increase sales volume.
– An increase in family income is expected to lead to higher
percentage of saving
 The Research Process…cont’d
47

vi) Research design

Research design is a master plan specifying the methods and
procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed
information.
It is a framework or the blueprint that plans the action for
research project.
The objectives of the study determined during the early stages
of the research are considered in the design to ensure that the
information collected is appropriate for solving the problem.
The researcher must specify the research design both in terms
of data (approach and specific design) and in terms of purpose.
 The Research Process…cont’d
48

Vii) Data Collection, Data Processing, and Analysis

 Data collection is determined by the research technique selected for the project.
 Data can be collected in a variety of ways, in different settings – field or lab & from
different sources. It could include:
 Interviews –face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, computer-assisted
interviews or through other electronic media;
 Questionnaires that either personally administered, sent through mail, or
electronically administered;
 Observation of individuals and events or non-participant.
 Once the fieldwork has been completed, the data must be converted into a format that
will answer the RQs and or help testing the hypotheses.
 The Research Process…cont’d
49

Viii) Testing the Hypotheses/Answering the RQs

 The analysis and interpretation of the data shall be the means to testing the
formulated hypotheses as well as finding answers to the research questions.
 In applied research, it should be helpful in finding solutions to the problems of the
organization or society.
 Making recommendations may also be part of this process.
ix) Report Writing
 The research report should communicate the research findings effectively.
 Usually the report is a complicated statement of the study’s technical aspects and
sophisticated research methods. If the study has been conducted for a business
management, the top management is not interested in detailed reporting of the
research design and statistical findings but wants only the summary of the findings.