PROBLEM DEFINITION

1. Problem Definition

2. Review
• What is research?
• Characteristics of research?
• Applied vs Basic research?
• Inductive vs Deductive?

3. Problem definition
Problem definition

4. Lesson objectives
• Define research problem
• Write problem statement
• Describe quantitative and qualitative
research

5. The broad problem area
• The entire situation where one sees a
possible need for research or problem
solving
– Examples??

6. Background survey
• Justifying your choice of the area in
research
– What is there a need to do this research
• Need backing up
– Government policies
– Institutional reports/ strategic plans
– Research reports
– Press report/ speeches

7. Let’s search for ‘back-ups’

8. Narrowing your research
• Narrow it down to specific issues
• Broad, general area
• Begin with broad questions
• Narrow down, focus to
operationalize
• Observe
• Analyse data
• Reach conclusions
• Generalize back to questions

9. Problem definition
• Defining a problem
– Not necessarily something that is seriously
wrong
– Can be an issues of interest
• Find answers to improve existing situation
– A situation where a gap exist between actual
and desired state

10. Problem definition
• Could be
– An issue/ matter you want to understand
– Existing educational problems that you are
seeking to solve
– Situations that you want to improve
– Areas where some conceptual clarity is
needed
– Situations in which the researcher is trying to
answer a research question empirically

11. Problem definition
• Essential to define your research problem very
carefully,
– Ask why you’ve chosen it , why not another problem
• Helps you to choose a suitable method of
researching it
• Prevent you from reading rather indiscriminately
– you don’t know quite what you’re looking for
– make more notes than you need.

12. Formulating and stating the
research problem

13. The research problem is..
• a set of conditions needing discussion, a
solution, and information.
• implies the possibility of empirical
investigation, that is, of data collection and
analysis

14. The research problem is not..
• how to do something;
• a vague or too broad a proposition;
• a value question.

15. Try this..
• The purpose of the study is to determine:
– whether the suspension policy should be changed.
– the truth of the proposition that Malaysian education
has encouraged exam oriented learners who aim at
getting a string of As
– how housewives can be more business minded
– if there is a difference in the mean gain scores in
achievement between students taught using a
blended learning mode and those taught using
traditional lecture.

16. Try one ..
• Community engagement among the
Faculty of Education students
– What is the research problem?
– What is the background?
• Government policies
• Institutional reports/ strategic plans
• Research reports
• Press report/ speeches
– What to read in order to justify?
– What to research?

17. Research problem
• Be as deductive as you can
• Relate your research problem to a theory
– A theory is an explanation of events or phenomena or behaviour
– Phenomena in education - theories from cognitive psychology,
sociology, psycholinguistics, management, computer science.
• Example: Finding out whether university students
benefit from community engagement
– Theory?

18. Let’s find a research problem
Academic connectedness of
Postgraduate part time students

19. Questions
– What is the research problem?
– What is the background?
– What to read in order to justify?
– What to research?
• Purpose
• Context
• Scope

20. Differentiate
• A research topic is the broad subject matter
being addressed in a study.
• A research problem is an educational issue or
problem in the study
• A purpose is the major intent or objective of the
study.

21. Problem Tree

22. Drawing a problem tree
• Identify core problems
• Identify effects
• Identify causes
• Identify all possible causes and effects

23. Withdrawal, Deferment of
studies, Dropout
Failure to achieve
meaningful experience
Complaints Poor
grades
Anxiety
Frustration
Dissatisfaction
Learning outcomes not
achieved
Distance Learners not
able to learn effectively
Effects
CORE PROBLEM
Causes
Epistemological problems
(course structure, difficulty
level and so forth)
Learners cannot
manage their learning
environment
Learners cannot
manage their learning
activities
Institutional /
Administrative
Problems
Learners’ personal
problems and
characteristics
Lack of learning
skills/ Strategies
Ambiguous
instructions and
other pedagogical
issuesInability to sustain
motivation
Lack of self-
regulation
Procrastination
Poor time
management
Inability to
maintain strong
attention to goals
sought
Lack of discipline
Logistic/Infrastructure
problems
Isolation
Lack of
support and
feedback
Poorly
designed
learning
materials
Travel
problems
Communi
cation
problems
Anxiety, fear of
technology &
technology
failure
Minimal F2F
sessions
Role conflicts
Family problems
Financial problems
Learning style / approach
does not fit
Low academic self-concept
Learner problems
Unsure of new
learning mode
Lack readiness
Lack self-direction Lack of
structure and
direction
Lack technical
ability
Example

24. Let’s try one
There are incompetent
teachers teaching in
schools
Effects
CORE PROBLEM
Causes

25. Your problem?
Academic connectedness
Effects
CORE PROBLEM
Causes

26. Stating a research problem

27. Let’s look at your research problem
• The area of your research
• State whether
– Existing educational problems that you are
seeking to solve
– Situations that you want to improve
– Areas where some conceptual clarity is
needed
– Situations in which the researcher is trying to
answer a research question empirically
• Why do you choose this ‘problem?

28. Problem statement
• Problem statement
– A clear, precise and succinct statement of the
question/issue that is to be investigated
• How ?
– no one "right" way to state one
• American vs. British

29. Problem statement
• Introduces the reader to the importance of the
problem (the concern). The reader is oriented to
the significance of the study and the research
questions or hypotheses to follow.
– You could relate your problem to the findings of prior
research ( corroborated)
• Places the problem in a context
• Provides the framework for reporting the results.
Indicate what is probably necessary to conduct
the study and explain how the findings will
present this information.

30. Flow of Ideas in a Problem
Statement
Topic
Evidence for
the
Issue
Deficiencies
in the
Evidence
Remedying
the deficiencies
For whom?
Select
Audiences
FLOW OF IDEAS
Subject
Area
Educational
Issue
• A Concern
• A Problem
• Something
that needs a
solution
• Evidence
from the
literature
• Evidence
from practical
• experiences
• In this body of
evidence,
what is
missing?
• What do we
need to know
more about?
How will addressing
what we need to
know help:
researchers
– educators
– policy-makers
– individuals like
those in the study

31. Look at one..
Topic
Evidence for
the
Issue
Deficiencies
in the
Evidence
Remedying
the deficiencies
For whom?
Select
Audiences
Educational
Issue
Concern ?
Corroborated?
Context ?

32. Documenting/ Reporting
• Visualize the statement of the problem as
paragraphs
– Background – general info on the issue
– research problem – provide context
– justification – supporting literature, reports etc
– deficiencies – provide the gap in research
– relate the above to your purpose

33. Example 1
Example 2

34. Exercise
• Read the article
– http://www.eric-adler.com/en/social-competence/
• Find a research problem
• Draw a problem tree

35. Take a break
Next: Qualitative and Quantitative Research

36. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
See handout

37. Quantitative vs. Qualitative

38. Let’s look at one example

39. Let’s look at one example
• Research problem
– Since the Malaysian Prime Minister launched 1
Malaysia, there has been a number of government
projects initiated to disseminate the concept. Private
organizations and NGOs are also conducting events
to provide information and exposure to the public;
Media and television programs are also portraying the
concept in advertisements and documentaries. With
such huge spending on IT, it is interesting to find out if
the people actually understand and are aware of 1
Malaysia

40. Develop an idea for quantitative
research
• TOPIC:
• Sample: ___

41. Develop an idea for qualitative
research
• TOPIC:
• Sample: ___

42. Statistics anyone?
• Statistical analysis is helpful when there is
a need to determine certain facts, or
correlations between facts.
– Helpful when doing research on a broader
scale
– Generally, it provides an answer to ‘what?’
question
– ‘How’ question is better answered by
qualitative researching

43. Qualitative Problem statement
• Qualitative research problem statement
– The problem should be stated clearly and
unambiguously
– The problem should express what is it that
you want to explore , to understand
• What is the meaning of A?
• How does A exist ?
• Why A happens?

44. Quantitative Problem statement
• Quantitative research problem statement
– The problem should be stated clearly and
unambiguously
– The problem should express a relation between two
or more variables
• Is A related to B?
• How are A and B related?
• How is A related to B under condition C?
• Is there a difference between A and B in terms of C?
– Implies possibilities of empirical testing

45. Tasks
• Write your problem statement
– Conduct background reading
– Decide on qualitative or quantitative approach
• Post your problem statement online
– Let there be concern, corroboration and
context
– Ask yourself –
• Will data be accessible?
• Where and from whom will you get the data?

46. Next
Writing research questions

47. Differences
• A research topic is the broad subject matter
being addressed in a study.
• A research problem is an educational issue or
problem in the study
• A purpose is the major intent or objective of the
study.
• Research questions are questions the
researcher would like answered or addressed in
the study.
• Survey questions??