Siddhant Kolase

UNIT 1:- RESEARCH PROBLEM

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH:
We can define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a
specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation. It is a systematized effort to
gain new knowledge. It is actually a voyage of discovery. research comprises defining and
redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and
evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the
conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis. Research is, thus, an
original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making for its advancement. It is the
pursuit of truth with the help of study, observation, comparison and experiment.

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM:

A research problem is defining a desired topic based on new advancements of a particular area of
interest.
There are two types of research problems:

those which relate to states of nature and

those which relate to relationships between variables.

At the very outset the researcher must single out the problem he wants to study, i.e., he must
decide the general area of interest or aspect of a subject-matter that he would like to inquire into.
The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem, thus, constitutes the first step
in a scientific enquiry.
Essentially two steps are involved in formulating the research problem,

understanding the problem thoroughly.

rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an analytical point of view.

Ways of understanding a research problem:

The best way of understanding the problem is to discuss it with ones own colleagues or
with those having some expertise in the matter.

In an academic institution the researcher can seek the help from a guide who is usually an
experienced man and has several research problems in mind.

In private business units or in governmental organisations, the problem is usually

earmarked by the administrative agencies with whom the researcher can discuss as to
how the problem originally came about and what considerations are involved in its
possible solutions.

The problem to be investigated must be defined unambiguously for that will help discriminating
relevant data from irrelevant ones.

CRITERIA OF GOOD RESEARCH PROBLEM:

It is expected that a scientific research should satisfy the following criteria:

The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used.

The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another
researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what
has already been attained.

The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are
as objective as possible.

The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and
estimate their effects upon the findings.

The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the
methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data
should be checked carefully.

Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited
to those for which the data provide an adequate basis.

Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good

reputation in research and is a person of integrity.

Good research is systematic: It means that research is structured with specified steps to
be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well defined set of rules. Systematic
characteristic of the research does not rule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject
the use of guessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions.

Good research is logical: This implies that research is guided by the rules of logical
reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction are of great value in carrying
out research. Induction is the process of reasoning from a part to the whole whereas
deduction is the process of reasoning from some premise to a conclusion which follows
from that very premise. In fact, logical reasoning makes research more meaningful in the
context of decision making.
Good research is empirical: It implies that research is related basically to one or more
aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for external
validity to research results.

Good research is replicable: This characteristic allows research results to be verified by

replicating the study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH PROBLEM:

Three characteristics of research

Gaining experience is an uncontrolled and haphazard activity, while research is

systematic and controlled.

Reasoning can operate in an abstract world, divorced from reality, while research is
empirical and turns to experience and the world around us for validation.

Unlike experience and reason, research aims to be self-correcting. The process of

research involves rigorously testing the results obtained, and methods and

results are open to public scrutiny and criticism.

In short:
Research is a combination of both experience and reasoning and must be
regarded as the most successful approach to the discovery of truth. (Cohen
and Manion, 1994, p. 5)

ERRORS IN SELECTING A RESEARCH PROBLEM

1. Population Specification
This type of error occurs when the researcher selects an inappropriate population or universe
from which to obtain data.
Example: Packaged goods manufacturers often conduct surveys of housewives, because they are
easier to contact, and it is assumed they decide what is to be purchased and also do the actual
purchasing. In this situation there often is population specification error. The husband may
purchase a significant share of the packaged goods, and have significant direct and indirect
influence over what is bought. For this reason, excluding husbands from samples may yield
results targeted to the wrong audience.

2. Sampling
Sampling error occurs when a probability sampling method is used to select a sample, but the
resulting sample is not representative of the population concern. Unfortunately, some element of
sampling error is unavoidable. This is accounted for in confidence intervals, assuming a
probability sampling method is used.

Example: Suppose that we collected a random sample of 500 people from the general U.S. adult
population to gauge their entertainment preferences. Then, upon analysis, found it to be
composed of 70% females. This sample would not be representative of the general adult
population and would influence the data. The entertainment preferences of females would hold
more weight, preventing accurate extrapolation to the US general adult population. Sampling
error is affected by the homogeneity of the population being studied and sampled from and by
the size of the sample.

3. Selection
Selection error is the sampling error for a sample selected by a nonprobability method.
Example: Interviewers conducting a mall intercept study have a natural tendency to select those
respondents who are the most accessible and agreeable whenever there is latitude to do so. Such
samples often comprise friends and associates who bear some degree of resemblance in
characteristics to those of the desired population.

4. Non-responsive
Nonresponse error can exist when an obtained sample differs from the original selected sample.
Example: In telephone surveys, some respondents are inaccessible because they are not at home
for the initial call or call-backs. Others have moved or are away from home for the period of the
survey. Not-at-home respondents are typically younger with no small children, and have a much
higher proportion of working wives than households with someone at home. People who have
moved or are away for the survey period have a higher geographic mobility than the average of
the population. Thus, most surveys can anticipate errors from non-contact of respondents. Online
surveys seek to avoid this error through e-mail distribution, thus eliminating not-at-home
respondents.

5. Measurement

Measurement error is generated by the measurement process itself, and represents the difference
between the information generated and the information wanted by the researcher.
Example: A retail store would like to assess customer feedback from at-the-counter purchases.
The survey is developed but fails to target those who purchase in the store. Instead, results are
skewed by customers who bought items online.

COMMON ERRORS IN SELECTING A RESEARCH PROBLEM

Making the choice of a problem an excuse to fill in gaps in your own knowledge. We all
welcome the chance to learn more for ourselves, but the point of research is not just
personal enlightenment, but making a contribution to public knowledge. Anyone can find
a problem that involves the gathering and duplication of information, but it requires an
additional effort to find one that requires data to be analysed and conclusions to be drawn
which are of wider interest.

Formulating a problem that involves merely a comparison of two or more sets of data. A
comparison of sets of data or records might fill up many pages (e.g. the average age of
marriage through the centuries), but without any effort to reveal something new from the
information, there is no research activity. The problem should clearly state the objectives
behind making the comparison.

Setting a problem in terms of finding the degree of correlation between two sets of data.
Comparing two sets of data to reveal an apparent link between them (e.g. the average age
of marriage and the size of families) might be interesting, but the result is only a number,
and does not reveal a causal connection. This number, or coefficient of correlation,
reveals nothing about the nature of the link.

Devising a problem to which the answer can be only yes or no. In order to improve on
our knowledge of the world we need to know why things are as they are and how they

work. A yesno solution to a problem skirts the issues by avoiding the search for the
reasons why yes or no is the answer, and the implications which the answer has.

SCOPE OF RESEARCH PROBLEM:

Research inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes the development of logical
habits of thinking and organisation.

The role of research in several fields of applied economics, whether related to business or to
the economy as a whole, has greatly increased in modern times. The increasingly complex
nature of business and government has focused attention on the use of research in solving
operational problems. Research, as an aid to economic policy, has gained added importance, both
for government and business.

Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic system. For
instance, governments budgets rest in part on an analysis of the needs and desires of the people
and on the availability of revenues to meet these needs. Through research we can devise
alternative policies and can as well examine the consequences of each of these alternatives.
Another area in government, where research is necessary, is collecting information on the
economic and social structure of the nation. Such information indicates what is happening in the
economy and what changes are taking place.

Research has its special significance in solving various operational and planning problems
of business and industry. Operations research and market research, along with motivational
research, are considered crucial and their results assist, in more than one way, in taking business
decisions. Market research is the investigation of the structure and development of a market for
the purpose of formulating efficient policies for purchasing, production and sales. Operations
research refers to the application of mathematical, logical and analytical techniques to the
solution of business problems of cost minimisation or of profit maximisation or what can be

termed as optimisation problems. Motivational research of determining why people behave as

they do is mainly concerned with market characteristics.

Research is equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships and in
seeking answers to various social problems. It provides the intellectual satisfaction of knowing
a few things just for the sake of knowledge and also has practical utility for the social scientist to
know for the sake of being able to do something better or in a more efficient manner.

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific
procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not
been discovered as yet. Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think
of research objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings:

To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (studies with
this object in view are termed as exploratory or formulative research studies);

To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group

(studies with this object in view are known as descriptive research studies);

To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated
with something else (studies with this object in view are known as diagnostic research
studies);

To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies are known as
hypothesis-testing research studies).

Question bank
1. Explain research. Explain research problem?
2. Explain criteria of good research problem? Also explain the characteristics of good
research problem?
3. Explain Errors in selecting a research problem?
4. Explain scope and objectives of research problem?