Formulating a research problem R esearch areas and topics

Broadly speaking, any question that you want answered and any assumption or assertion that you want to challenge or investigate can become a research problem or a research topic for your study. However, it is important to remember that not all questions can be transformed into research problems.

sources of research problems Identifying a problem to study can be challenging, not because there's a lack of issues that could be investigated, but due to pursuing a goal of formulating an academically relevant and researchable problem that is unique and does not simply duplicate the work of others. To facilitate how you might select a problem from which to build a research study, consider these sources of inspiration

Sources of Problems for Investigation 1. Deductions from Theory This relates to deductions made from social philosophy or generalizations embodied in life in society that the researcher is familiar with. These deductions from human behavior are then fitted within an empirical frame of reference through research. From a theory, the researcher can formulate a research problem or hypothesis stating the expected findings in certain empirical situations.

2. Interviewing Practitioners The identification of research problems about particular topics can arise from formal or informal discussions with practitioners who provide insight into new directions for future research and how to make research findings more relevant to practice. Discussions with experts in the field, such as, teachers, social workers, health care providers, lawyers, business leaders, etc., offers the chance to identify practical, “real world” problems that may be understudied or ignored within academic circles.

3. Personal Experience Your everyday experiences can give rise to worthwhile problems for investigation. Think critically about your own experiences and/or frustrations with an issue facing society, your community, your neighborhood, your family, or your personal life.

4. Relevant Literature The selection of a research problem can be derived from an extensive and through review of pertinent research associated with your overall area of interest. This may reveal where gaps exist in our understanding of a topic. Research may be conducted to: 1) fill such gaps in knowledge; 2) evaluate if the methodologies employed in prior studies can be adapted to solve other problems; or, 3) determine if a similar study could be conducted in a different subject area or applied to different study sample [

Formulating a research problem It is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved upon, 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

A hierarchy of concepts planning research includes five levels of concepts which vary in levels of bstraction Research area, Research topic, General research questions Specific research questions, Data collection questions.

Research areas and topics Research areas are usually stated in few words, and sometimes just one word. Topics are similarly are few words, but usually more than those describing the research area. The topics falls within the area. It is an aspect, or part of the area, a step towards making the general area more specific.

Identifying and deciding first the research area, and then the topic within the area immediately gives a first level of focus to the research. Many times students have not so much difficulty with the first decision, the area. (an area of interest) Often, they have rather more difficulty with the second decision. ( with all these topics regarding this area, which shall I choose )

Identifying the research area enables you as a researcher to connect your work to the literature. It defines a body of literature as relevant to this piece of research. Identifying a topic within a area gives more specific direction to the literature. It enables a more specific body of literature to be identified as centrally relevant to the research.

Examples of research areas Absenteeism from school Youth culture in high schools Academic success and failure at university Youth suicide

Four possible research topics within the research area (youth suicide) Research area: Youth suicide Four possible research topics: 1.Suicide rates among different groups 2.Factors associated with the incidence of youth suicide 3.Managing suicide behavior among teenagers 4. Youth culture and the meaning of suicide

General and specific questions General and specific research questions bring things down to the next level of specificity, and narrowing the focus of the proposed research. General research questions: 1. They are more general, more abstract and are not themselves directly answerable because they are too general. 2. They guide our thinking, and are of great value in organizing the research project. 3. They are too broad to satisfy the empirical criterion for research questions.

Specific research questions: 1.They are more specific, detailed and concrete. 2.They are directly answerable because the point directly at the data needed to answer them 3.They direct empirical procedures and they are the questions that are actually answered directly by the data in the research.

Example Research topic Factors associated with the incidence of youth suicide. General research question 1.What is the relation between family background factors and the incidence of youth suicide? 2.What is the relationship between school experience factors and the incidence of youth suicide?

From general research question to specific research questions General research question: What is the relation between family background factors and the incidence of youth suicide? Specific research questions: 1.What is the relationship between the family income and the incidence of youth suicide? Or: Do youth suicide rates differ between families of different income levels? 2. What is the relationship between parental break-up and the incidence of youth suicide? Or: Do youth suicide rates differ between families where parents are divorced or separated, and families where they are not?

Data collection questions They are the questions at the most specific level. A data collection question is a question that is asked in order to collect data to help answer the research question.(more specific than research question)  Research question is the question the research itself is trying to answer.

The role of research questions They organize the project, and give it direction and coherence They delimit the project, showing its boundaries They keep the researcher focused during the project They provide a framework for writing up the project They point to the data that will be answered.

Hypotheses It is a predicted answer to a research question. We make prediction of the findings before we carry out the research.

Why do we have such prediction to the findings? Because another researcher did similar research and this is what was found. Explaining why we predict this involves propositions which we consider them as a theory.

Paraphrasing research questions as research objectives Research Question Research Objective Why have organizations To identify organization’s introduced early retirement ?objectives for introducing retirement schemes. What are the consequences To describe the consequences of of early retirement schemes ? Early recruitment for employees. To explore the effects of early retirement for the organization.

Considerations in selecting a research problem/topic interest, magnitude, measurement of concepts, level of expertise, relevance, availability of data, ethical issues.