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Identifying Research Gaps from

Literature Review
&
Development of a Working
Hypothesis
Directorate of Research & Innovation - CMRU
Ph. D. July 2021 Batch
Research Methodology Course Work
Dr. Vivek Rajapadmanabhan, Director – School of Management, CMRU
Sunday, 10 October 2021
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Progress Thus Far……..

Module Topic
1 Research meaning, Objectives,
Types of Research, Research process
1 Characteristics and Criteria of Good Research,
Research methods vs methodology
2 Defining and Formulating the Research Problem,
Literature Review
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Text Book

https://study.sagepub.com/kumar4e
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Source: Kumar (2015)

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Pre - requisites….
• Identify your favourite research field
• Explore existing theories in that field (20 papers)
• Identify gaps in knowledge, given your research setting (subjects you want to study : e.g.
an organisation, a community, a process, a task)
• Identify the research context (some things work in one country, but not in another)
• Identify the enquiries (needed for exploration and description)
• Identify the key variables and their relationships (for explanation for writing a hypothesis)
• Identify possibility of new variables and their relationship between existing variables (for
explanation)
• Write a narrow research scope keeping in mind that the research should be SMART :
Specific, Measurable, Achievable and Timely
• Write down the problem research topic
 The Approach 6

Research Scope

The path you will follow in defining

The path your reader will follow in

your research
Research Problem
studying your research

Research Questions

Research Aims
& Objectives

Research Topic
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Research Scope : defines the parameters within which the study will be operating
(purpose of the study, population size & characteristics, geographical location,
time period of study, theories the study focuses on)
Research Problem: A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a
condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that
exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need for
meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation.
Research Question: This question often addresses an issue or a problem, which,
through analysis and interpretation of data, is answered in the study's conclusion.
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Research Aims And Objectives:

• The research aim focus on what the research project is intended to achieve;
research objectives focus on how the aim will be achieved.
• Research aims are relatively broad; research objectives are specific.
• Research aims focus on a project’s long-term outcomes; research objectives
focus on its immediate, short-term outcomes.
• A research aim can be written in a single sentence or short paragraph; research
objectives should be written as a numbered list.
Research Topic
A research topic is a subject or issue that a researcher is interested in when
conducting research. A well-defined research topic is the starting point of every
successful research project. Choosing a topic is an ongoing process by which
researchers explore, define, and refine their ideas.
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What is a Research Gap?

• A topic or area for which missing or insufficient information limits the ability to
reach a conclusion for a question.
• It should not be confused with a Research Question
• General question: What is the healthiest diet for human beings?
• Specific question: What are the effects of sleeping pills on human beings?
• Narrower the question, the less the existing data.
• This leads to research gap – for which no good explanations exist
• Identify potentially new areas of research
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How to find Research Gaps?

• Volume of research may seem overwhelming

Challenges:
• Effort of dealing with enormous amount of information
• Searching in an organised manner
• Hesitation in questioning established theories
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Five Step Process

1. Issues or questions that motivate you

2. Find key terminologies associated with this issue – arrange them to arrive at a
Research Question
3. Search for these key terms in cited publications – Review of Literature will
throw up many questions in your area or niche of interest
4. Review literature from key publications
5. Identify areas not addressed by the literature about the questions that motivate
you – that becomes the basis of your research questions
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The Role of Review of Literature

• Identification of a research problem & generation, development or refinement of

a research question
• Orientation about what is known or not known about an area of enquiry to
understand what research can best contribute to knowledge
• Finding out gaps or inconsistencies in a body of knowledge
• Discovery of unanswered questions about subjects, concepts or problems
• Determination of a need to replicate a prior study in a different setting, sample
size of study populations
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Tips

• Inspiration from reading other published works

• Consult Guide
• Use digital tools
• Check website of influential journals in your area of interest, collect abstracts
relevant to your area of study
• Research any questions that may occur to you during this process
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Look for…..

• Lack or insufficient research – geographical gap (not enough studies in a

particular region), population gap (men, women, income levels, education
levels),
• Lack of understanding / knowledge / some controversy – conflicting results,
theories, explanations; disagree about cause or effect
• Problems / limitations in previous studies – different ways in analysing data
• Identify multiple research gaps
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Hypothesis

• Hypothesis is a logical prediction of certain occurrences without the support of

empirical confirmation or evidence.
• In scientific terms, it is a tentative theory or testable statement about the
relationship between two or more variables i.e. independent and dependent
variable.
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• Variable – varies
• An attribute or a quality that varies in magnitude

[Source: Kumar (2015) Pg. 66]

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Dependent & Independent Variables

Independent
Variables – causes change

Age
Cause Effect
Gender Competence

Manipulated Measured

Education Salary Experience Independent

Variable
Dependent
Variable

Dependent Independent Variables ~ Factors

Variable Factor Analysis or Principal Component Analysis
– subject under study
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• Independent Variable – change variables which bring about a change in a

circumstance
• Dependent Variable – outcome variables which are the consequences of a change
variable
• Extraneous Variables – unmeasured variable that influence the link between
cause and effect variables
• Intervening (Confounding) Variable – linking variables which are necessary to
complete the relationship between cause and effect variables
Identify the Dependent Variable & Independent Variable 19

Ex. 1
• Eating ice cream leads to fever
• Mediating or Intervening Variable : Susceptibility to infections
• Confounding Variable : anything extra besides the given situation: fever could be
due to other reasons : wound, any other infection, insect bite
Ex. 2
• Activity level influences obesity in children
• Age: Confounding variable
Ex. 3
• IQ varies with Age
Ex. 4
• Effect of noise on test scores
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Hypothesis
• Assumption – meant to answer the research question
• Tentative Solution – to research question at initial stage of the project
• Prediction – translates research into a prediction about future research finding
• Relationship between variables
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Example

Research Question – Is there any relationship between the “use of a smartphone”

and a “headache”

Hypothesis – The use of a smartphone leads to a headache

OR

There is a direct relationship between the use of a smartphone and a headache

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Important Points to be considered while formulating a

Hypothesis

• Based on existing theories and knowledge and experiences

• Based on evidence
• Should not be in the form of a question
• Easy to understand
• Easy to test – through primary & secondary data
• Relationship between variables – direct, indirect or proportional
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Types of Hypothesis

1. Simple Hypothesis
2. Complex Hypothesis
3. Null Hypothesis
4. Alternative Hypothesis
5. Directional Hypothesis
6. Non-Directional Hypothesis
7. Causal Hypothesis
8. Empirical Hypothesis
9. Statistical Hypothesis
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1. Simple Hypothesis

Establishes the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent
variable
• Eating vegetables leads to weight loss
• Smoking leads to cancer
• There is a relationship between employee salary and employee performance
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2. Complex Hypothesis

Relationship between two and more independent variables and two and more
dependent variables
• Eating more vegetables and fruits leads to weight loss and glowing skin
• Smoking and drinking leads to cancer and liver disease
• Salary of the employee and the work environment in the organisation leads to
employee satisfaction and employee loyalty
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3. Null Hypothesis

There is no relationship between the variables being studied

One variable does not affect the other
The results are due to chance and are not SIGNIFICANT in terms of the idea being investigated
• There is no relationship between student attendance and student result
• There is no relationship between employee salary and employee performance
• There is no relationship between employee service and customer satisfaction
Implies that there is no relationship between two variables or more than two variables
Denoted by “H0” (H – zero)
The word “No” nullifies the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent
variable
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4. Alternative Hypothesis

If the “Null Hypothesis” is disproved by statistical methods, then the “Alternative

Hypothesis” comes into play
It proves that the results are not due to chance
The results are SIGNIFICANT in terms of the theory being studied
• There is a relationship between student attendance and student result
• There is a relationship between employee salary and employee performance
• There is a relationship between service and customer satisfaction
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Directional Hypothesis

Shows the exact nature of the relationships between the variables

Both of the variables show some direction
• Students who participate in sports activities have a lower CGPA than those who
do not participate
• Employees who walk in the morning perform better in organisations than those
who do not walk in the morning
• MBA students who attended pre-placement sessions have secured placements
rather than those who did not attend pre-placement sessions
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Non Directional Hypothesis

Does not show the exact nature of the relationship

• The academic performance of students is related to their participation in sports
activities
• The performance of the employees is related to their morning walk
• There is a relationship between age and job satisfaction
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7. Causal Hypothesis

Shows the cause and effect relationship between the two variables
• Students who participate in sports activities spend less time on studying which
leads to a lower CGPA
• Employees who walk in the morning have good health, which leads to good
performance in the organisation
• Students who participated in the pre-placement sessions perform well in
interviews, which leads to their final placement
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8. Empirical / Working Hypothesis

Researcher tests the Empirical / Working Hypothesis with the help of some
experiments or observations
• Eating ice cream leads to absenteeism in school
• Eating fast food leads to weight gain
Empirical ~ based on evidence
Also known as the Working Hypothesis
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9. Statistical Hypothesis

Tested with the help of statistical tools & techniques

Quantitative data and quantitative techniques used
Highlights the nature of the observed population
• The average monthly income of all families in the city is Rs. 30,000/-
• Mean of population 1 = the mean of population 2
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Formulating a Hypothesis

• A research investigation begins with a question

• But questions cannot be tested directly
• It is the proposed relationship between the variables that is tested
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Progression of Formulation of a Hypothesis

Example 1
• Research Question 1: Do students work better on a Monday morning than they
do on a Friday afternoon?
• This can be tested by giving the same group of students a lesson on Monday
morning and on Friday afternoon. Their immediate recall on the material
delivered in each session is tested
• Hypothesis 1 (Alternative Hypothesis): Students will recall significantly more
information on a Monday morning than on a Friday afternoon
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Example 2
• Research Question 2: Does eating breakfast affect student performance?
• Hypothesis 2 (Alternative Hypothesis): Students who eat breakfast will perform
better on a math exam than students who do not eat breakfast
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Example 3
• Research Question 3: Does using a cell phone while driving affect driver
performance?
• Hypothesis 3 (Alternative Hypothesis): Motorists who talk on the phone while
driving will be more likely to make errors on a driving course than those who do
not talk on the phone
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Testing the Null Hypothesis

• The hypothesis is never tested directly. Instead, it is turned into a null

hypothesis.
• This can be done by adding “no” or “not” to the statement
• The null hypothesis will state that there will be no change in the variable under
study.
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Analogy – Criminal Trial

• H0 = Defendant is not guilty
• HA = Defendant guilty
Assumption is that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty
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Null Hypothesis Example 1

• Research Question 1: Do students work better on a Monday morning than they
do on a Friday afternoon?
• Hypothesis 1 (Alternative Hypothesis): Students will recall significantly more
information on a Monday morning than on a Friday afternoon
• Null Hypothesis 1: There will be no significant difference in the amount of
information recalled on a Monday morning compared to a Friday afternoon
Any difference in the sample will be due to chance or the confounding factor
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Null Hypothesis Example 2

• Research Question 2: Does eating breakfast affect student performance?
• Hypothesis 2 (Alternative Hypothesis): Students who eat breakfast will perform
better on a math exam than students who do not eat breakfast
• Null Hypothesis 2: There will be no significant difference in the performance of
students who eat breakfast as compared to students who do not eat breakfast
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Null Hypothesis Example 3

• Research Question 3: Does using a cell phone while driving affect driver
performance?
• Hypothesis 3 (Alternative Hypothesis): Motorists who talk on the phone while
driving will be more likely to make errors on a driving course than those who do
not talk on the phone
• Null Hypothesis 3: There will be no significant difference in the number of
errors on a driving course for individuals talking on a phone as compared to
individuals not talking on a phone
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Null Hypothesis

All statistical testing is done on a null hypothesis – never on the hypothesis

The result of a statistical test will enable either result in the researcher
Reject the null hypothesis,
OR
Fail to reject the null hypothesis
• The words “accept the null hypothesis” should never be used.
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The Interpretation

• A null hypothesis is rejected if the observed data is significantly unlikely to have

occurred if the null hypothesis were true.
• In this case, the null hypothesis is rejected and an alternative hypothesis is accepted in
its place.
• If the data consistent with the null hypothesis is statistically possibly true, then the null
hypothesis is not rejected.
• In neither case is the null hypothesis or its alternative proven; with better or more
data, the null may still be rejected.
• This is analogous to the legal principle of presumption of innocence, in which a
suspect or defendant is assumed to be innocent (null is not rejected) until proven guilty
(null is rejected) beyond a reasonable doubt (to a statistically significant degree).
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Contact Details

Dr. Vivek Rajapadmanabhan

vivek.r@cmr.edu.in