FORMULATION OF A RESEARCH

PROBLEM
DR.MGENI, T.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to;
 Define a research problem/issue
 The Importance of Formulating a Research Problem
 Criteria for selecting a research problem
 Identify sources of research ideas
 Recognize techniques used to select and refine
research idea
 Formulate a research problem
What Is a Research Problem?
 A research problem, or phenomenon, is the
topic you would like to address, investigate, or
study, whether descriptively or
experimentally. It is the focus or reason for
engaging in your research. It is typically a
topic, phenomenon, or challenge that you are
interested in and with which you are at least
somewhat familiar.
Define a Research Problem/Issue
 Broadly speaking, any question that you want answered
and any assumption or assertion that you want to
challenge or investigate can become a research problem
or a research topic for your study.
 However, it is important to remember that not all
questions can be transformed into research problems and
some may prove to be extremely difficult to study.
 Potential research questions may occur to us on a regular
basis, but the process of formulating them in a meaningful
way is not at all an easy task.
 It is essential for the problem you formulate to be able to
withstand scientific scrutiny in terms of the procedures
required to be undertaken. Thus, you should spend
considerable time in thinking it through.
The Importance of Formulating a Research Problem
 The formulation of a research problem is the first and most important
step of the research process.
 It is like the identification of a destination before undertaking a journey.
 As in the absence of a destination, it is impossible to identify the
shortest—or indeed any—route, in the absence of a clear research
problem, a clear and economical plan is impossible.
 A research problem is like the foundation of a building.
 The type and design of the building is dependent upon the
foundation.
 If the foundation is well-designed and strong you can expect the
building to be also.
 The research problem serves as the foundation of a research study: if it
is well formulated, you can expect a good study to follow.
 According to Kerlinger, “If one wants to solve a problem, one must
generally know what the problem is. It can be said that a large part
of the problem lies in knowing what one is trying to do.”
The Importance of Formulating a Research Problem cont….
 You must have a clear idea with regard to what it is that you want to find out
about and not what you think you must find.
 A research problem may take a number of forms, from the very simple to the
very complex.
 The way you formulate a problem determines almost every step that
follows:
 the type of study design that can be used;
 the type of sampling strategy that can be employed;
 the research instrument that can be used or developed; and
 the type of analysis that can be undertaken.
 The formulation of a problem is like the "input" into a study, and the
“output”—the quality of the contents of the research report and the
validity of the associations or causation established—is entirely
dependent upon it.
 Hence the famous saying about computers—”garbage in, garbage out”—
is equally applicable to a research problem.
 In the beginning you may become more confused but this is normal and
a sign of progression.
 Remember: confusion is often but a first step towards clarity.
clarity
 So, always take time over formulating your problem, for the clearer you
are about your research problem, the easier it will be for you later on.

Criteria for selecting a research problem
 Interest (aside from job requirements)
 Select a topic that really interests you: this is one of the most

important considerations.
 A research endeavor is usually time-consuming, and involves hard

work and possibly unforeseen problems.

 If you select a topic which does not greatly interest you, it could

become extremely difficult to sustain the required motivation, and

hence the completion time could be affected.
 Magnitude
 You should have sufficient knowledge about the research process to

be able to visualize the work involved in completing the proposed

study.
 Narrow the topic down to something manageable, specific and

clear.
 It is extremely important to select a topic that you can manage

within the time and resources at your disposal.

Criteria for selecting a research problem…..
 Measurement of concepts
 If you are using a concept in your study, make sure you are clear about its
indicators and their measurement.
 For example, if you plan to measure the effectiveness of a sales promotion
 program, you must be clear as to what determines effectiveness and how
 it will be measured.
 Do not use concepts in your research problem that you are not sure how to
measure.
 This does not mean you can’t develop a measurement procedure as the study
progresses.
 While most of the developmental work will be done during your study, it is
 imperative that you are reasonably clear about the measurement of these
 concepts at this stage.
 Level of expertise
 Make sure you have an adequate level of expertise for the task you are
proposing.
 Allow for the fact that you will learn during the study and may receive help
from your supervisors, colleagues and others, but remember that quite often
you will need to do most of the work yourself.
 In other words, don’t bit off more than you can chew!
Criteria for selecting a research problem……
 Relevance
 Select topics that are of relevance to you as a professional.
 Ensure that your study adds to the existing body of

knowledge, bridges current gaps or is useful in policy

formulation.
 This will help you to sustain interest in the study.

 Availability of data
 If your topic entails collection of information from

secondary sources (office records, client records, census or

other already-published reports, etc.), before finalizing
your topic, make sure that these data are available and in
the format you want.
 And …
Criteria for selecting a research problem….

 Ethical issues
 Another important consideration in formulating a research
problem is the ethical issues involved.
 How ethical issues can affect the study population and how
ethical problems can be overcome should be thoroughly
examined at the problem formulation stage.
Sources of Research Problems
 Since a research problem is usually something you have some knowledge
of, that personal experience is often a good starting point. Realistically, you
have to select something that you are interested in, because you are going
to commit yourself to a significant investment of time and energy. Thus, if
you are not personally interested, it will be difficult to sustain the effort
needed to complete the research with any measure of quality or validity.
You may want to talk to teachers, counselors, administrators,
psychologists, or others about some of the problems they face.

 Most research in the business revolves around four "P"s:

 People;
 Problems;
 Programs; and
 Phenomena.
 The emphasis on a particular "P" may vary from study to study but
generally, in practice, most research studies are based upon at least a
combination of two "P"s.
Sources of Research Problems cont..
 You may select a group of individuals (a group or a community as such),
either to examine the existence of certain issues or problems to ascertain
the attitudes towards different aspects of their lives, or to establish the
prevalence of a phenomenon.
 Your focus may be the study of an issue, an association or a phenomenon
per se.
 For example, the relationship between unemployment and street crime,
smoking and cancer or fertility and mortality, which is done on the basis
of information collected from individuals, groups, communities or
organizations.
 The emphasis in these studies is on exploring, discovering or establishing
associations or causation.
 Similarly, you can study different aspects of a program: its effectiveness,
its structure, the need for it, consumers’ satisfaction with it, and so on. In
order to ascertain these you collect information from people.
 The "people" provide you with the "study population" whereas the other
three "P’s” furnish the "subject areas". Your study population—individuals,
groups and communities—is the people from whom the information is
collected.
 Your subject area is a "problem", "program" or "phenomenon" about which
the information is collected.
Sources of a Research Problems cont…
Aspects of a Study About Study of

Subject Population People or Process Individuals, organizations,

groups, committees, runs,
batches
Subject Area •Problem •Issues, situations,
associations, needs,
population composition,
profiles, etc.
•Program
•Contents, structure,
outcomes, attributes,
satisfaction, consumers,
•Phenomenon service providers, etc.
•Cause and effect
relationships, the study of a
phenomenon itself, etc.
Sources of a Research Problems cont…
 The study of an aspect of a program can be carried out in any
area of business.
 For example, you can measure the effectiveness of

a program in the field of health, marketing,,

industrial management, or a economic program.
 Similarly you can gauge consumers’ opinions about

any aspect of a program in the these fields.

Formulating a Research Problem
Steps in the Formulation of a Research Problem
 Though the formulation of a research problem is the most important
aspect of a research study, there are few manuals detailing the specific
guiding principles.
 This task is really left either to the teachers of research methodology,
consultants, or to the you, the student.
 However, it is possible to offer some broad guidelines for developing a
research problem that would be of immense help to those starting out.
 In order to formulate a problem, two basic steps are undertaken. The first
is to identify a general idea which is related to your subject of interest.
(Adam & Kamuzora, 2008)
 The second step of problem formulation is to narrow down the general
problem to a specific one. This helps to reduce the study to few variables
which can easily be handled. This is important as your study need to have a
clear direction. (Adam & Kamuzora, 2008)
Formulating a Research Problem
Steps in the Formulation of a Research Problem cont….
 The process of narrowing the general problem to a specific one is not
simple and straight forward. Various techniques and skills are needed
before one can successfully refine his general idea to a more focused
study. some of the techniques you can depend on are as follows:
- Reviewing literature
- Attending academic gatherings such as seminars, conferences and
workshops.
- exposure such as field study and practical training
- consulting experts and experienced researchers in your area of
interest
- Discussions with colleagues, classmates, friends, potential supervisor
and other lecturers are all good sources of possible project ideas.
- Brainstorming
- Using the Delphi technique

(Adam & Kamuzora, 2008)

Steps in the Formulation of a Research Problem
cont….
 The following steps, based upon the principle of ”narrowing the problem”
or “zeroing in on the problem”, can be of help to you in formulating a
research problem:
(1) Identify a broad area of interest in your academic/professional field.
(2) Dissect the broad area into sub-areas (hold a brain-storming session
with yourself, peers, professionals and others to identify the sub-areas).
(3) Select a sub-area or areas in which you would like to conduct your
research. Start with a process of elimination.
(4) Raise research questions that you would like to answer through your
study.
(5) Formulate objectives, main and sub-, for your study (more in a bit on
this).
(6) Assess these objectives to ascertain the feasibility of attaining them in
the light of the time, resources (financial and human) and technical
expertise at your disposal.
(7) Double check that you are sufficiently interested in the study and have
adequate resources for undertaking it.
• Ask yourself: am I really enthusiastic about this study and do I
really have enough resources for it?
• Answer these questions with considerable thought. If your answer
to any one of the questions is “no”, re-assess your objectives.
Steps in the Formulation of a
Research Problem cont….
 Figures 2 to 4 operationalize these steps with examples from different
areas (health/population, social work/social sciences and health) that
should be familiar to everyone.
 Remember, every study in the business, as in the social sciences, has

two aspects:
 the research problem, which is the basis of your inquiry; and

 the study population—the source of information.

 As you narrow the research problem, similarly, you need to be

extremely specific in identifying the study population the source of

your information in order to select the appropriate respondents.
 The Formulation of Objectives
 Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in your study.
 Since these objectives inform a reader of what you want to achieve through the
study, it is extremely important to word them clearly and specifically.
 Objectives should be listed under two headings:
 main objectives; and
 sub-objectives.
 The main objective is an overall statement of the thrust of your study.
 It is also a statement of the main associations and relationships that you seek to
discover or establish.
 The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of the topic that you want to investigate
within the main framework of your study.
 Sub-objectives should be numerically listed.
 They should be worded clearly and unambiguously.
 Make sure that each objective contains only one aspect of the study.
 Use action-oriented words or verbs when writing your objectives.
 The objectives should start with words such as “to determine”, “to find out”, “to
ascertain”, “to measure”, “to explore.”
 The way the main and sub-objectives are worded determines how your research is
classified (e.g., descriptive, correlational or experimental).
 In other words, the wording of your objectives determines the type of research
design you need to adopt to achieve them.
 Figure 1 portrays the characteristics of the wording of objectives in relation to the
type of research study.
The Formulation of Objectives cont…..
 Characteristics of objectives
 Although these objectives clearly state the main thrust of the studies, they
are not specific in terms of the main variables to be studied and the study
populations.
 You cannot count the number of children living below the poverty line
until you decide what constitutes the poverty line and how to
determine it;
 You cannot find out the impact of immigration on family roles unless
you identify which roles constitute family roles;
 You cannot measure effectiveness until you define what effectiveness
is.
 On the other hand, it is equally important to decide exactly what you
mean by
 "children",
 "immigrants" or
 "young".
 Up to what age will you consider a person to be a child, i.e., 5, 10, 15
or 18? Who would you consider young?
 A person 15 years of age, 20, 25 or 30?
 Who would you consider to be an immigrant?
 A person who immigrated 40, 20 or 5 years ago?
 In addition, are you going to consider immigrants from every country
or only a few?
  In many cases you need to develop operational
definitions for the variable you are studying and
for the population that becomes the source of the
information for your study.
 The table shows the concepts and the population
groups to be operationalized for my examples.

Study Concept to be studied Population to be studied

1 • Poverty Line • Children
2 • Family Roles • Immigrants
3 • Effectiveness • The Young
Operationalize the concepts: Operationalize the study
Define in practical, observable, population, define in
and measurable terms identifiable terms children,
“poverty line”, “family roles”, immigrants, and young.
and “effectiveness.”
Examples of the research titles
 Assessing the role of work Motivation on Employee Performance in
Nyamwalenge Institute.
 Motivation and the performance of primary school teachers in Uganda a
case of kimaanya-kyabakuza division, Masaka district.
 Factors affecting the performance of women entrepreneurs in micro and
small enterprises (the case of Dessie town).
 Factors influencing the use of mobile banking: the case of SMS-based
mobile banking.
 Factors affecting employee's motivation in the fast food industry: the case
of KFC UK Ltd.
 Assessing factors influencing the diffusion of mobile banking in South
Africa. A case study of the company Wizzit.
 The Impact of the Motivation on the Employee’s Performance in Sugar
Industry of Tanzania. A case study of Mtibwa Sugar
 Effect of teacher's motivation on learners performance in physics in public
secondary schools in Kinonondi District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania.
 Guidelines and Examples for writing a
problem statement paragraphs
1. The Nature and Extent of the Need/Problem: This section should include:
– “What is the problem, and who is experiencing it?” In this paragraph you try
to provide a clear picture of the incidence, prevalence (magnitude) and
distribution of the problem (WE MAY WANT TO INDICATE GENDER, AGE,
EDUCATIONAL LEVELS, GEOGRAPHICAL STATUS ETC)
Example:. The number of people living in streets in Sub-Saharan Africa, and in
Tanzania in particular, is tremendously growing fast in the recent past. The
majority of homeless are single mothers and school age children. The
number of these two groups in streets is growing fast in Majimoto. For the
past five years the number of people living in streets has grown up to
2,000. The living in streets in poor living conditions lead to poor school
enrolment and attendance and childhood health problems. Almost all
these children are not attending school despite prior enrollment in school,
hence contribute to the proportion of school dropouts. Both these children
and the women are subjected to sexual abuse in streets which has
resulted in high prevalence of HIV amongst these populations.
 Guidelines and Examples for writing a
problem statement paragraphs cont..
2. Factors Contributing to the Problem or Conditions: This paragraph focuses on the
contributing factors in the study area or elsewhere where that problem is
experienced.
– The factors could range from poverty levels; social contradictions in families; lack
of skill, knowledge, or awareness; debilitating attitudes or harmful values; physical
or mental challenges and limitations; dysfunctional or problem behavior limited
resources or access to services; institutional and systemic barriers including
fragmented services; policies, practices, or laws that have negative consequences
(either intended or unintended) children
• HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE: In rural Majimoto 48% of the families live on one meal per
day compared to the national average figure of 32%. The levels of poverty have resulted
into women and children running out of homes to become homelesses living in streets of
Majomoto town A variety of conditions may ultimately lead to homelessness. Of the
homeless population, 2% have severe and persistent mental illness,32% and 17% of the
children living in the street h ave experienced domestic violence; 63% of the women
are widowed and or have recently divorced, and 85% of all come from very poor
families that have hardly one mill per day Mujinja et al, 2010; Maliyangu et al, 2005;
Chilamoto, 2013 etc)
 Guidelines and Examples for writing a
problem statement paragraphs cont..
3. Possible solutions: in what ways solutions to the
problem have been attempted? What has been
proposed? What are the results?
Example: A number of studies have been conducted
in Majimoto to find out the main causes of
homelessness and health problems. That affect them
while in the streets The Majimoto government has
gone further to forcefully take them back to their
homes and in some cases introduce special health
clinics where they can freely seek care while in the
streets or from their homes
 Guidelines and Examples for writing a
problem statement paragraphs cont….
4. Unanswered questions (Gap): what remains to be answered?
What areas have not been possible to understand,
determine, verify, or test?
Example: Studies have mainly focused on causes of leaving from
homes and health problems they generally have. Despite
the creation of health clinics which are free the health
status of these groups are still poor. The health facilities are
not utilized as expected. The utilization of health facilities
does not only depend on vulnerability of the person and
availability of the services, but also information on and
acceptability of that services that are provided in those
facilities, which have not been clearly explored in the
literature. This study will explore how the availability of
information and acceptability of the services affect the
utilization of health services in both street (homeless)
women and children in Majimoto.
 Guidelines and Examples for writing a
problem statement paragraphs cont…
5. Rationale for studying the problem: Why is the problem
important to be addressed and what is the usefulness of its
results?
• Example: Since homeless are more likely to infect each other
and other people who interact with them, it is important to
find out information that would be used to create conditions
that would improve their utilization of health services.
• Possible research Questions:
– How does availability of information on the health services
provided in health facilities affect the utilization of health
services among people living in streets in Majimoto
– What is the role of acceptability of health services
provided in health facilities on the utilization of health
services among people living in streets in Majimoto
Guidelines and Examples for writing a
problem statement paragraphs cont…
 Statement of the Problem
 Objective of the study
 Research Questions and/ Hypothesis
Example of a Statement of the Problem
Research Title: MOTIVATION AND THE PERFORMANCE OF
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN UGANDA: A CASE OF
KIMAANYA-KYABAKUZA DIVISION, MASAKA DISTRICT
 1.2 Statement of the Problem
The level of motivation of teachers remains central in the teaching job
performance debates. While about 40% of the teachers were on the
government payroll in 1996, this figure has risen to 85.1% in 2004 (Ward
et al, 2006). Government has improved the teacher payroll management
and made resources available for increase on the primary school teachers‘
salaries as a way of motivation. Most teachers are paid an equivalent
monthly salary ranging 100 to 150 dollars (Masaka District Teacher‘s
Schedules of salary payment, 2007/2008). Using the School Facilities
Grant (SFG), government constructed teachers‘ houses. Buitenlandse
(2008) reports that in 2005, approximately 25,000 teachers’ houses were
available for 124,000 teachers in government schools (including 6,300
houses that were under construction).
 Example of a Statement of the Problem
Research Title: MOTIVATION AND THE PERFORMANCE OF
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN UGANDA: A CASE OF
KIMAANYA-KYABAKUZA DIVISION, MASAKA DISTRICT Cont…..
 Despite the above motivational factors, there has been deteriorating
standards of professional conduct, including serious mis behaviour (in and
outside of work), poor preparation of teaching materials especially lesson
notes, lack of continuous pupil assessment and general poor professional
performance. Teacher absenteeism is unacceptably high and rising, time on
task is low and falling, and teaching practices are characterized by limited
effort with heavy reliance on traditional teacher-centred practices (Masaka
Municipal Education Inspection Report, October, 2007). It is such a situation
that prompted the researcher to conduct a study to establish the various
extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors and how they had affected
teachers‘ performance in primary schools in Kimaanya-Kyabakuza Division,
Masaka district.
Example of a Statement of the Problem
Research Title: MOTIVATION AND THE PERFORMANCE OF
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN UGANDA: A CASE OF
KIMAANYA-KYABAKUZA DIVISION, MASAKA DISTRICT Cont…..
1.3 Objectives of the study
1.3.1 General objective of the study
To find out the effects of motivation on the performance of primary school
teachers in Kimaanya-Kyabakuza division.

1.3.2 Specific objectives

1. To find out whether motivation of teachers has any effect on their morale
to perform.
2. To find out the effect of intrinsic motivation on the performance of
teachers.
3. To find out the effect of extrinsic motivation on the performance of
teachers.
Example of a Statement of the Problem
Research Title: MOTIVATION AND THE PERFORMANCE OF
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN UGANDA: A CASE OF
KIMAANYA-KYABAKUZA DIVISION, MASAKA DISTRICT Cont…..
1.4 Research questions
1. Does motivation of teachers affect their morale to perform?
2. How does motivation increase or decrease teachers‘
performance in a school?
3. To what extent does motivation affect the morale of teachers
to perform?
4. What is the effect of intrinsic motivation on performance of
teachers?
5. What is the effect of extrinsic motivation on performance of
teachers?