Research

Problem,
Justification,
Questions,
Objectives &
Hypothesis
Session
Objectives

By end session be able to:

• Describe the criteria for identifying/ defining the research
problems
• Outline the components of the research proposal

• Select an appropriate topic/ title for the research

• Develop a clear statement of the research problem

• Describe the justification and significance of study

• Develop research questions/ hypothesis/ objectives

Identification of the Topic/
Title
Whether a problem situation requires research
depends on three conditions:
• A perceived ‘gap,’ ‘difference,’ or ‘discrepancy’
between what exist and the ideal or planned
situation
• Reasons for this difference should be unclear
• More than one possible answer to a question or
more than one solutions to a problem
Identification of the Topic/
Title
There must be:
• an individual or a group of people with some difficulty
or a problem
• some objective(s) to be attained – if one wants nothing
one can not have a problem
• alternative means of obtaining the objective(s) – at least
two means from which the researcher should chose
from
• some doubt in the mind of the researcher, meaning the
researcher must answer the question of relative
efficiency of the alternatives
• There must be some environment(s) to which the
difficulty pertains
Criteria for selecting a
research
topic
• Three pertinent questions:
1. Is the problem important?
• Level: local/regional/international concern?
• Advancement of knowledge?
• Solving existing/foreseeable problem?
Pertinent
questions

2. Is the study feasible?

– Time: needed for completion
– Funds: Available in relation to cost of study
– Facilities: Lab equipment and space, Transport, Library,
Data processing equipment
Pertinent questions
(contd)
 What are we saying about
selecting
the research problem
• Subjects which are overdone should not be chosen
– had to get new light
• Controversial subject should not become the
choice for an average researcher
• Too narrow or too vague problems should be
avoided
• Should be familiar and feasible
• Importance of the subject, qualifications and
training, costs, time factor etc
Being a pro-active
researcher
Technique involved in defining
a problem
• Write the problem in a general way
• Understand the nature of the problem
– its origin, nature, environment
• Survey the available literature
• Developing the ideas through discussions
• Rephrasing the research problem
• Define clearly technical terms, words and
phrases
with special meaning
• State the basic assumptions or proportions
relating to the research problem
• Provide a straight forward statement of
the value of the investigation
• Suitability of time-period and the sources
of data
Technique involved in defining
a problem

Very often follows a sequential pattern

1. The problem is stated in a general
way
2. The ambiguities are resolved
3. Thinking and rethinking process
results in more
specific formulation of the problem
4. Understand the nature of the problem
Outline of Research
proposal
1.Title
2.Introduction/ background
3.Statement of the problem
4.Justification and use of the results
5.Research questions/ hypothesis/ objectives (general and specific)
6.Literature review: Theoretical/ Empirical/ Conceptual
7.Methodology
- Type of study and general design
- Population study
- Sample selection and size, and exclusion criteria
- Proposed intervention (If Applicable)
- Data collection procedures, instruments used, and methods for data
quality control
- Operational definitions (Operationalization)
- Procedures to ensure ethical considerations in research with human
subjects
- Plan for analysis of results
- Procedures to be used for data analysis
8. References
9. Timetable
10. Budget
11.Annexes (Data collection instruments, elaboration on methods and procedures to be
A good research
title
Should be:
• “catchy”- one that attracts interest (academic??)
• Brief: preferably <20 words but >12 words
• capture the study problem (dependent variable)
and
where appropriate the independent variables
• Have the study population and area
• must not express the study design/ methodology
• Sometimes shows study period
• stated as one statement or as two statements
• is your mini-advertisement
A good research
title
Example 1:
• Factors influencing use of contraceptives among
married women in Kegati Location, Kisii
County
• Factors associated with use of family planning: a
case study of married couples in Kisii County

Identify: the independent/ dependent variables,

study population/ area
A good research
title

Example 2:
Effect of multiple micronutrient supplementation
on survival of HIV-infected children in
Kampala: a randomised controlled trial

What aspects of this title represent

Intervention,
Outcome, Cohort, Setting, Design
A good research
title

Examples
Effect of multiple micronutrient supplementation
on survival of HIV-infected children in
Kampala: a randomised controlled trial

The matching/ respective colors represent:

Intervention, Outcome, Cohort, Setting, Design

Problem
Statement
• Aim of the problem statement
– Show a problem in need of a solution
– Make the problem concrete and explicit
• An important part of the research process
• Appears easier than it is in practice:
– Start as vague and confusion of ideas
– Grow to clear expression of the problem
being studied
Characteristics of a good
problem
statement
• Written clearly as to attract reader interest
• The specific problem identified (gap between what is and
what should be) must be researchable
• Spells out the magnitude from general/global, regional,
national and specific site
• Spell out the central question being addressed by the
study
• State the scope of the research problem limits and
delimits
• Importance/ purpose of new knowledge may be
alluded
to
Example
1a
• Curriculum coverage high (98%); academic
performance is poor (35%)
• All teaching staff are available within the institution
• Reasons for the poor academic performance unclear
• The researcher wants to establish the factors associated
with the institution’s academic performance
• This shall inform the institution’s quality control
department in designing a intervention
Example
2a
• Take care of the general and regional situation by use of literature review
• Mozambique has six Health Training Institutes which train General
Nursing located in different areas of the country. At the end of every
semester there are nursing students who do not perform well in their
studies by scoring low GPAs and are subsequently asked to do re-take.
The number of students with retakes having been ranging from 15 to
30
% at each level of study across all institutions over the years (Semester
examination reports, 2018). These students have a semester GPA of less
than two (2) which indicates poor performance. Such poor performance
might be attributed to the learning environment since previous studies
have reported that the learning environment contributed to the academic
performance (Nouh et al., 2016). According Ikeda et al (2019) the
students who perceive their environment to be positive perform better
than those who perceive it to be negative. Looking at the different
locations of the institutions it is not clear how the students perceive these
environments and how students' perceptions towards their learning
environment affect their academic performance. The aim of the study
was to determine the relationship between the students’ perception of
learning and their academic performance.
Example
2a
Title:
‘Perceptions of learning environment and their
association with academic performance among
general nursing students in selected institutes of
health sciences, Mozambique’

• Read carefully Example 2 of the statement of the problem

and answer the following:
• Magnitude of the problem
• Central study question
• Scope of the research problem
• Purpose/ aim of the study
Example
1b
• Antenatal coverage high (78%); home deliveries
high (67%); postnatal care coverage high
(89%);
• Only 11% come for hospital deliveries
• Reasons unclear but may be related to: cultural
barriers, personalities, facility related concerns,
etc
• The researcher wants to establish the factors
associated with choice of the delivery place
Example
2b
• Reducing maternal mortality, securing the health of pregnant women and ensuring the overall development of the unborn
child can be effectively achieved through timely access by pregnant women to quality antenatal care services (WHO,
2016). Though substantial gains have been made in improving the coverage of FANC services globally, the uptake of
these services still remains sub-optimal especially in developing countries with limited number of visits being made and
characterized by a disrupted continuum of care. The reality for FANC is that more often, women do not complete the
schedule with majority only attending one visit. In Kenya, the dropout rate is of public health concern with ANC first
visit being reported at 94% and compared to ANC fourth visit at 58% (UNICEF, 2017). In xxx as study area, the
coverage of ANC1 services by the end of May 2019 was reported at 92%. This is quite a good performance which is
nearly at par with the national performance of 94%. However, the continuum of care is then disrupted with a significant
drop out after ANC1 was reported at 75% for ANC2, 63% for ANC3 and 42% for ANC4 (IRC, 2019). By global
standards, the availability of health services for pregnant women in the study site is adequate with 7 facilities, each
located within the recommended less than 10km radius of the catchment population, thus removing barriers on distance
to health facility. At the same time, health services in the study site are provided free of charge which removes any
barriers related to cost of services. It is however not clear why the unacceptable dropout rate of up to 50% between the
first and the fourth visit prevails in the study area. Pregnant women are certainly not benefiting from the full potential of
the FANC as they are missing out on a positive pregnancy experience and a smooth transition to postpartum period after
delivery.
• Recognizing the importance of quality antenatal care, the researcher is seeking to understand the barriers and facilitators
to full attendance of the four-stage model of the FANC amongst pregnant women in the study area. This will derive
information that would be used by health facility staff, the Ministry of Health and other partners in designing and
implementing interventions to improve the uptake of these services including that adaption of the Reproductive Health
(RH) policy to meet the revised WHO 2016 recommended guidelines of 8 ANC visits for all pregnant mothers. This
study seeks to assess the socio-demographic and economic factors, the knowledge amongst mothers and the impact it has
on attendance of FANC as well as perceptions that are barriers or facilitators for pregnant women. The findings and
recommendations will eventually contribute to a further reduction in associated maternal and perinatal mortality rates in
developing countries.
Example
2b
Title:
‘Barriers and facilitators of focused antenatal
care attendance for last pregnancy amongst
mothers of infants in sub-county X, Kenya’
• Read carefully Example 2 of the statement of the
problem and answer the following:
• Magnitude of the problem
• Central study question
• Scope of the research problem
• Purpose/ aim of the study
Justification/ significance
of
problem
• Focus is on ‘why’ you chose the study problem
• Some helpful questions:
– Is the problem current and a timely one?
– How widespread is the problem?
– Does the problem relate to ongoing interventions?
– Who else is concerned about the problem?
– What gaps in knowledge do you want to fill in and why?
– How does it relate to policy, national, global?
– Sometimes good to justify the location or site(s) and the
target population
• Using information from Example 2 of the problem
statement, write up the importance/ significance
of the study
Significanc
e
• Focus is on ‘role’ of the research study
• Some helpful issues to consider:
– What gaps in knowledge do you want to fill in and why?
– How does it relate to government policy, national, global?
– Significance in solving operational and planning academia
– Significance in establishing relationships within and across
sectors
• To Students
 Means of careerism, higher social structure
 Professionalism – research methodology
 Outlet of ideas and insights
 Development of new theories
Formulation of
Research
Question(s)
• Focus on the main questions whose answers you seek
to find through your research
• Must develop logically from the problem and context
• Example
– What are the factors that influence use of FP methods in the MCH
clinic?
– Provide more examples using the suggested study titles
• Research questions could be used to differentiate
research types
Formulation of
Research
Question(s)
• Focus on the main questions whose answers you seek
to find through your research
• Must develop logically from the problem and context
• Example
– How do socio-demographic characteristics affect perception of
learning environment among General Nursing students in selected
Institute of Health Sciences in Mozambique?
– What are the perceptions of learning environment among General
Nursing students in selected Institute of Health Sciences in
Mozambique?
– What is the association between perception of the learning
environment and academic performance among General Nursing
students in selected Institute of Health Sciences in Mozambique?
How research questions differentiate
research types:
Example: Zinc as an adjunct for treatment of
diarrhoea
in children
Epidemiological research
• What is the association of zinc deficiency with severity of
diarrhoea?

Clinical efficacy research

• What is the effect of zinc as an adjunct for treatment of
diarrhoea?

Programme effectiveness research

• What is the effect of a programme of promoting zinc as an adjunct
in treatment of diarrhoea?

Implementation research
Hypothes
is
• Simply put:
– Researcher’s guess of the probable outcome of the study
– A prediction of the relationship between two variables: the
independent variable and the dependent variable
• May be based on :
– Intuition
– Findings from other studies
– Theory leading to the prediction that if certain conditions are present,
certain results will follow
• Serves as a guide to the kind of data to be collected, and the
methods of data analysis

NB:
1. The objective of quantitative research is mainly to test whether
the hypothesis is true or not
2. We can’t use qualitative data to test an hypothesis
Hypothes
is
• May be stated in three main ways:
– Declarative hypothesis:
• States a relationship between the variables the researcher
expects -The higher the level of education the higher the use of
Ex:
FP
– Null hypothesis:
-Drinking sugary drinks daily leads to obesity
• States that no relationship exists between the variables
concerned
Ex: - there is no relationship between drinking sugary
drinks
– Question daily and obesity
hypothesis:
• States the question the researcher will attempt to answer
Ex: - Does drinking of surgery drinks daily lead to
obesity?
Criteria of a good
hypothesis
• Must be clear and unequivocal Ex: What is the
prediction? What quantities and to what degree?
• Must be specific: Is it testable? Are the predictions and
operations of the test clearly spelled out?
• Must be directly related to the problem of concern
or the study outcome
• Must be related to available techniques of especially
statistical analysis
• Must be related to existing knowledge or accepted
theory
Research
Objectives
Objectives
• Are outputs or deliverables of the study
• Indicates the variables that will be examined and measured
• Represents a promise of specific variables to be examined and expressed
in measurable terms
Ex
• The broad objective for the study was to determine the students’ perceptions
of the learning environment and their association with the academic
performance among General Nursing students in selected Institute of Health
Sciences in Mozambique
The specific objectives of the study are:
• To establish the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on
perception of learning environment
• To assess students’ perception of the learning environment using
DREEM
analysis tool
• To determine the association between perception of the learning
environment and academic performance
Research
Objectives
• Other examples

• To establish the association between the background factors

and contraceptive use among women in reproductive age in
County X

• To identify the influence of community related factors on

CU among...

• To determine the relationship between health facility factors and

CU among...
Research
Objectives
Some of the action verbs to use in stating the objectives
• Analyze
• Explore
• Identify
• Investigate
• Determine
• Assess
• Find out
• Establish
• Describe
NOTE: Research borrows heavily from the Bloom’s Taxonomy of
Measurable Action Verbs and suggested formatting of the research
questions – see attachment
THANK
YOU