It will tell you about How to find a research problem from various places. How to define your area of research . Different types of research problems

1. STRATEGIES TO FIND A
RESEARCH PROBLEM
FOR INNOVATIVE
RESEARCH
GROUP 5
HUSSAIN NAMET
ABDUL QAYYAM
M. SHAHBAZ
ABDUL HASEEB
SARFRAZ HAIDER

2. CONTENTS
• What is research problem and why important?
• Identification of broad area of Problem
• Practical and theoretical research problem
• What is your research problem
• One hour glass concept
• Organizational Problem
• Opportunities Available to Organizations
• Newspaper, conferences , Events ,Assumptions
• Unsubstantiated Assumptions/Claims

3. WHAT IS RESEARCH PROBLEM AND WHY IMPORTANT?
• This is a process of thoroughly studying and analyzing the
situational factors surrounding a problem in order to seek out
solutions to it

4. WHAT IS RESEARCH PROBLEM AND WHY IMPORTANT?
• Your topic is interesting and you have lots to say about it, but
this isn’t a strong enough basis for academic research.
• You might end up repeating what other people have already
said, trying to say too much, or doing research without a clear
purpose and justification. You need a problem in order to do
research that contributes new and relevant insights.
• Whether you’re planning your thesis, starting a research paper
or writing a research proposal, the research problem is the first
step towards knowing exactly what you’ll do and why.

5. IDENTIFY A BROAD PROBLEM
AREA
• As you discuss and read about your topic, look for under-explored aspects and areas
of concern, conflict or controversy.
• Your goal is to find a gap that your research project can fill.
• For this you need to read everything about your research key words and the
concepts of your research .
• After reading all the things you would be able to identify the gap and the work
previously done.

6. PRACTICAL RESEARCH
PROBLEMS
• If you are doing practical research, you can identify a problem
by reading reports, following up on previous research, and
talking to people who work in the relevant field or organization.
You might look for:
1. Issues with performance or efficiency in an organization
2. Processes that could be improved in an institution
3. Areas of concern among practitioners in a field
4. Difficulties faced by specific groups of people in society.
• If your research is connected to a job or internship, you will
need to find a research problem that has practical relevance for

7. THEORETICAL RESEARCH
PROBLEMS
• Theoretical research focuses on
expanding knowledge and
understanding rather than
directly contributing to change.
You can identify a research
problem by reading recent
research, theory and debates on
your topic to find a gap in what
is currently known about it. You
might look for
• A phenomenon or context that
has not been closely studied
• A contradiction between two or
more perspectives
• A situation or relationship that
is not well understood
• A troubling question that has
yet to be resolved

8. “WHAT IS YOUR RESEARCH
PROBLEM?
• The first of these series is titled
“Discovering a Research(able) Problem and Topic”.
• It will ease your challenges in coming up with a researchable topic
and identify a research problem.
• This is the first critical step in research, and overcoming this
hurdle will ease the frustration and the procrastination that most
• beginning researchers go through as they start on their research
journey.

9. ONE HOUR GLASS

10. HOW TO IDENTIFY RESEARCH
PROBLEMS
• A reminder of what research is by:
• this is a process of thoroughly studying and analyzing the situational
factors surrounding a problem
• to seek out solutions to it.

11. ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEM
• What are some of the problems that an organization is
currently
• experiencing which you can identify through observation
• Data available in some published material?
• internal organizational problem could be related to the issue of
employee absenteeism,
• Absenteeism maybe evident through symptoms such as
employees
• coming to work late; staff calling in sick and many staff filling

12. ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEM
• Problems may also be external to the organization
• if the problem is not obvious, then the researcher needs to check for
the symptoms of the underlying problem.
• For example decline in pesticide sale . You don’t know why this
happened ,you may look for symptoms.
• One the basis of different situation you will carry out some research.
• Thus in summary, the practical problems that people experience
internally or externally in organizations is one of the common areas
to look for research problems. Could you think of possible
organizational problems that can be sources of a researchable
problem, relevant for your case

13. OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO
ORGANIZATIONS
• Research is normally considered to be problem-based, but not
all the time.
• The other side of the issue is to look at the opportunities
available internally or externally to organizations.
• Think of the Internet and its applications (such as social
networking) and the opportunities it offers organizations.
• For example the concept of marketing is currently changing as
organizations try to adopt electronic marketing through
websites.

14. OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO
ORGANIZATIONS
• How can an organization that is not currently engaged in
electronic marketing realize the benefits of the new concept?
• This may require that a study be done in order to ensure
successful adoption of such novel concepts.
• Opportunities are sometimes reported as current events.
Sometimes a phenomenon is noticed in popular culture before
it is taken up by academics. For example Internet gambling or
the use of mobile phones for chatting.

15. NEWSPAPER
• Pick any newspaper
• Look through the section on tenders
• where companies have invited other organizations or
consultants to respond to request for services.
• Read through the tenders and try and identify the problems or
opportunities that these tenders point to.
• Are they researchable ideas?

16. WHAT ARE THE PRIMARY SOURCES OF RESEARCH
IDEAS?
• We have seen that research problems can arise from existing
problems or from opportunities that an
• organization need to take advantage of But, where do you get
ideas regarding these problems
• opportunities that are the basis of research? There are a
number of sources for research ideas.

17. THESE COULD BE SUGGESTION FROM AN
ACADEMIC OR AN ORGANIZATIONAL
DEPARTMENT.
• Members of your department may point out where problems
are in the organization or in other organizations.
• Of course this may require that the researcher rely on the
organization’s information system (this is not necessarily an IT
system!) or even informal channels of communication.
• Academic department sometimes circulate possible
researchable ideas, especially if these are tied to some funding
or when linked to the interests of academic staff members in
the department. Therefore, student researchers should not
ignore this source.

18. PAST RESEARCH WORK BY STUDENTS AND
OTHER RESEARCHERS
• For most students, this is a good starting point in order to
understand the nature of research that is being undertaken
within their research departments/disciplines
• Past studies may also point prospective researchers to some
unanswered questions which the researcher may pursue.
• Therefore as you do your readings, pay close attention to the
suggestions that the authors of what you are reading are
suggesting as necessary for further study.

19. RECENT CONFERENCE PAPERS AND
JOURNAL PAPERS
• Recent conference papers and journal papers are also
important since they can point to the researcher to the critical
areas that researchers in that field deem to be important.
• Thus, the most recent studies in conferences or journals point
to what is being viewed as current in that particular domain.
• So , by attending these sort of conferences one might be able
to get some idea or suggestion related its field of study.

20. CURRENT EVENTS REPORTED IN THE MEDIA
• Sometimes, a phenomenon is noticed in a particular society or
community before it is recognized by the media.
• For example the innovation transfer of money through mobile was a
novel innovation that arose from the telecommunications sector.
• The innovation has provided many research opportunities to students
and managers in related organizations as well.
• Therefore, it necessary for the researchers to catch every innovative
activates being reported on media.

21. CALLS FOR CONFERENCE PAPERS, BOOK
CHAPTERS OR SPECIAL ISSUES OF JOURNALS
• Calls for conference papers, book chapters or special issues of
journals on a particular theme are a good pointer to what are
considered as ‘hot topics’ within the academic world.
• You can also just think up a topic. It has happened many times
in the history of research.
• However, this is a very difficult and challenging source of
research ideas.
• If you do, you still need to be able to really check that the
research has not been done, or that it may not be an important
issue.

22. ORGANIZATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS
• Within an organizational setup, clients, suppliers and other
partners may express certain needs whose solution may not be
obvious.
• This may call for some form of research.
• Think of the university for instance.
• One of the key stakeholders are students, who, regularly
express grievances to university management individually or
through their officials regularly.
• These ‘grievances’ could actually be opportunities for
universities to enhance their service delivery.

23. UNSUBSTANTIATED ASSUMPTIONS/CLAIMS
• You may also come across people making certain assumptions
or assertions with little supporting evidence.
• Are you able to carry out research to support or refute such
claims?
• Examples of such claims could be
• ‘Organizations that go online will perish’
• ‘Open source software is the future’