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. 1

www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran
 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. 2

www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran
  Recall the Research process:
1) Broad problem area

2) Problem statement

3) Theoretical Framework

4) Generation of hypotheses

5) Data collection:

6) Data analysis: -------------- if Yes go to 7 ( if No go to back!!!)

7) Report Writing( Interpretation of results)

© 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 3

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. 4

www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran
 Step One:
Why this Problem
 Job Research

 Interests

 Hot Topic

 Others

© 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 5

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. 6

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 Unpublished manuscripts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. 7
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. 8

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. 9
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. 10
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. 11
www.wileyeurope.com/college/sekaran