Chapter 3 The Research Process - The Broad Problem Area and Defining the Problem Statement – (Stage 1 - 2 in Research Process) © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran 1

Stage 1: The Broad Problem Area Examples of broad problem areas that researchers (economists) could observe: 1- Government expenditures on health are improving medical equality. 2- The government subsidies of a product are not helping to reduce the inflation. 3- The introduction of flexible work hours has created more problems than it has solved in many government units. 4- Reduction in oil prices creates budget deficit in Kuwait. 5- Reducing tariffs among GCC states are not enhancing bilateral trade among them. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

Recall the Research process: Broad problem area Problem statement Theoretical Framework Generation of hypotheses Data collection: Data analysis: -------------- if Yes go to 7 ( if No go to back!!!) Report Writing( Interpretation of results) © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

Preliminary Information Gathering Nature of information needed to be gathered: Background information of the problem. (Why this problem?) Prevailing knowledge on the topic. (How??) © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

Step One: Why this Problem Job Research Interests Hot Topic Others © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

Step Two: Literature Review A good literature survey: Ensures that important variables are not left out of the study. Helps the development of the theoretical framework and hypotheses for testing. Ensures that the problem statement is precise and clear. Enhances testability and replicability of the findings. Reduces the risk of “reinventing the wheel”. Confirms that the problem is perceived as relevant and significant. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

A. Data sources Textbooks Academic and professional journals Theses Conference proceedings Unpublished manuscripts Reports of government departments and corporations Newspapers The Internet © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

B. Searching for Literature Most libraries have the following electronic resources at their disposal: Electronic journals Full-text databases Bibliographic databases Abstract databases © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

C. Conducting the Literature Based on the specific issues of concerns (raised in the literature) and factors (variables( identified, the literature review needs to be done on these variables. Make sure that the identified published/unpublished papers are available (or can have access to them) on the topic of interest. Gathering the relevant ones. Be ready to write the literature section after finishing this step. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

Stage 2: The Problem Statement After reading into the literature, the researcher now can narrow down the problem from the original broad. The question( problem) does not necessarily mean that something is seriously wrong. The problem (question) could indicate an interest in an issue, where finding the right answers might help to improve an existing situation. Thus, the problem statement is a clear, precise, and brief statement of the question to be investigated with the goal of findings an answer or solution. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran

The Research Proposal Key elements: Purpose of the study Specific problem to be investigated. Scope of the study Relevance of the study Research design: Sampling design Data collection methods Data analysis Time frame Budget Selected Bibliography © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran