Chapter One - Introduction

Introduction
Background of study
Problem statement
Research questions
Research objectives
Significance of the study
Summary
 Identifying a Topic

Genuine Interest
Feasibility is it possible to do this study?
Significance
 Introduction/Background of
the study
What is this topic all about? (Introduce the phenomenon of interest
and its contribution in the present day

What do we already know about it? (A brief review

of the literature is placed here)

What dont we know, and why is it important to know this?

Introduce other study variables in relation to the main phenomenon

of interest and the research context.
 Identify issue or problem

Need to understand and define the issues or problems

clearly.
Requires some reading on your topic to get a bigger
picture of the whole situation.
Get the readers concerned about the problem by
explaining why it is important and give your rationale(s).
Once issues/problems identified, write the problem
statement.
 Research Problems Come
From:
Personal Experience
Deductions from Theory
Related Literature
Current Social and Political Issues
Practical Situations Information Needed for
Decisions
 The Problem Statement

This section briefly summarizes the major findings/ issues

related to the Phenomenon of interest and other study
variables and identifies exactly what the problem is (that is,
what we dont know/knowledge gap in the area of interest)

The problem statement highlights the unresolved issues where

the gaps in the knowledge are uncovered and justification
is given on why the Phenomenon of interest is important to
study in a specific context.
 The Problem Statement (cont)

The problem statement is a carefully constructed

essay that clearly and concisely states the
problem your research study will help to solve.
Persuades the reader through logic and
documentation that there is a pressing need for
your research
Why Phenomenon of interest is important to study
in this specific context
End the paragraph with a purpose statement
(The purpose of this study was to)
 The Broad Problem Area
Examples of broad problem areas that a manager could
observe at the workplace:
Training programs are not as effective as anticipated.
The sales volume of a product is not picking up.
Minority group members are not advancing in their
careers.
The newly installed information system is not being
used by the managers for whom it was primarily
designed.
The introduction of flexible work hours has created
more problems than it has solved in many companies.

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 Formulating the Research Problem
Specificity of the research question
too vague what effect does the environment have on
learning ability?
better what effect does the amount of exposure to words
have on the speed with which they are learned?
a specific statement helps ensure the researcher understands the
problem
specific problem statements help the researcher to determine
factors such as
participants, apparatus, instruments, measures
 The Problem Statement
Examples of Well-Defined Problem Statements
To what extent has the new advertising campaign been successful in
creating the high-quality, customer-centered corporate image that it was
intended to produce?
How has the new packaging affected the sales of the product?
What are the effects of downsizing on the long-range growth patterns of
companies?

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 Research Questions
The research questions are clear, focused, concise, complex and
arguable questions around which you center your research.

It focuses your investigation into a narrow topic area and guides

every aspect of the research project, including the literature
search, the design of the study, data collection, data analysis,
interpretation of results, and even the direction of the discussion.

The research questions arise from the problem statement.

Why? How? Qualitative
How? What? Quantitative
 Research Objectives
The research objectives are what you intend to do about the
problem or accomplish when you design your study.

The research objectives arise from the problem statement.

Use action verbs to convey your ideas in your statement of

objective
For example: to evaluate, to decide, to investigate, to
compare, to assess, to describe, to determine and so
on.
* The research questions are stated in question form, while
the objectives are stated in a statement form
 Research Significance
Reflects the value/originality of your study.
Highlight how the study relates to larger and much critical
issues in the future so that it is justified to approve a proposal.
Some considerations when presenting the significance of a
study:
Why the proposed study is important to the industry?
How the finding of your proposed study is useful to the industry?
Who is going to benefit from your proposed study?
What solutions/benefits your proposed study will provide?
What is the contributions of your proposed study to your organization,
to the society, or to the country, or the body of knowledge?
 Exercise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRpkubsE6yw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRfZ5Emwmp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEIUn02MHrc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=peXF9KXRwIk&t=17s