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Unit Three The Research Problem, Lecture notes of Research Methodology

Addis Ababa UniversityResearch Methodology

Researchers choose the topics that they study in a variety of ways, and their decisions are necessarily influenced by several factors.

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2017/2018

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Unit Three
The Research Problem
I. CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
Researchers choose the topics that they study in a
variety of ways, and their decisions are necessarily
influenced by several factors.
choosing a research topic will obviously be largely
influenced by the scientific field within which the
researcher works.
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Unit Three

The Research Problem

I. CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC

Researchers choose the topics that they study in a

variety of ways, and their decisions are necessarily

influenced by several factors.

choosing a research topic will obviously be largely

influenced by the scientific field within which the

researcher works. 04/20/19^1

Contd.

  • (^) As you can probably imagine, it would be quite difficult for a researcher in one scientific field to undertake a research study involving a topic in an entirely different scientific field
  • (^) Assuming that researchers have the proper training and experience to conduct research studies in their respective fields, let’s turn our attention to how researchers choose the topics that they study:

Problem Solving

  • (^) Some research ideas may also stem from a

researcher’s motivation to solve a particular

problem

  • (^) we have probably all come across some

situation or thing that has caught our attention

as being in need of change or improvement

  • (^) A great deal of research is currently being

conducted to make work environments less

stressful, diets healthier, and automobiles safer

Previous Research

  • (^) Researchers also choose research topics based on

the results of prior research, whether conducted

by them or by someone else.

  • (^) Theory:
    • (^) Theories often serve as a good source for

research ideas

  • (^) They typically function as a rich source of

hypotheses that can be examined empirically

  • (^) A theory is a conceptualization, or description, of a phenomenon that attempts to integrate all that we know about the phenomenon into a concise statement or question

Contd.

  • (^) As a researcher, you need to know the answers to the following questions concerning the research topic you are considering for investigation:
  • (^) Has the work already been done?
  • (^) Who are the experts in the field?
  • (^) What are the main theoretical perspectives?
  • (^) What are the common research methods in the topic?
  • (^) What are the main problems in researching the topic?
  • (^) Are there any major controversies in this topic area?
  • (^) Is the topic open to hypothesis testing?
  • (^) Is the topic a trivial one?
  • (^) The only way you can satisfactorily answer

these questions is by reading as much as you

can on research which is directly related to

your research topic and research which is

indirectly related to it and research which may

be related to it

Who are the Experts in the Field?

  • (^) There are many areas of business research where it is very difficult to identify any experts but there are areas where it is not. For example, in the field of ‘Service Quality’ in marketing research, it would be very difficult to avoid the work of A. Parasuraman (Parasuraman et al. 1991; Parasuraman and Zinkhan 2002) because this author has published widely on this topic and proposed an important theoretical model of Service Quality.
  • (^) In the field of ‘Bureaucracy in Organisations’, it is crucial that the work of Max Weber (1947, 1968) is consulted as well as the critiques of his work.

Contd.

  • (^) Alternatively, you could find a published article

related to your topic in an academic journal and

consult the reference list at the end of it—again it

is often the case that the same name is

referenced more than once.

  • (^) This is also a good way of establishing a ‘road

map’ for your literature review—by following up

references used in books or journals or academic

working papers or even in electronic websites.

This is because most of the references will be

strongly related to the topic of the article.

  • (^) It is critical that you are aware of all theories pertaining to your research topic, their strengths and their weaknesses
  • (^) In fact, it is often the case that the theoretical knowledge of a particular topic reveals gaps in our understanding of that topic—this often enables you to identify more important research questions.
  • (^) What are the Common Research Methods in the Topic?
  • (^) In reading the published academic literature on or closely related to your research topic, it is very important to try to identify the common characteristics of how the research was carried out

Contd.

  • (^) There are a number of aspects of this that need

to be clearly understood:

  • (^) (i) Is the published research in this topic mainly

of a qualitative or a quantitative nature?

  • (^) (ii) If qualitative, what is its most common basis?
  • (^) (iii) If quantitative, what is its most common

basis?

  • (^) (iv) Is the published research usually a mix of

qualitative and quantitative methods?

Contd.

  • (^) You need to be clear on the most common approach taken here—is it simple descriptive statistics, non- parametric methods, parametric methods, multivariate methods or another generally accepted statistical approach? The answers to questions (i) and (ii) above will inform you as to how you should be formulating your own research questions
  • (^) If, as is often the case, the published research is a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, then you need to decide where you will put the emphasis—and this will very much depend upon how you have formulated your specific research questions or how you hope to formulate them
  • (^) You also need to consider if the published

research derives its data from secondary sources

mainly or primary sources—this will also inform

you as to how and where you should be seeking

your own data

  • (^) Also consider what type of data is most

commonly used in the topic: cross-sectional,

time-series, or categorical, for example.

  • (^) In addition, what is the typical (if any) source of

this data—focus group, case study, survey or

published sources base?

Are there Any Major Controversies in this

Topic Area?

  • (^) The controversies may be of a methodological, theoretical or empirical nature. They may arise due to mishandling theory, data methodology, or choosing improper methods for empirical investigation
  • (^) It is one of the skills of literature reviewing to determine what the controversies actually are. This is also a very
  • (^) fruitful source for deriving your own research questions since the gaps in your understanding of the topic
  • (^) will be fairly clear from the debates and controversies you find in the literature

Is the Topic Open to Hypothesis

Testing?

  • (^) A hypothesis needs to be clear, unambiguous, focused and testable using an accepted statistical method.
  • (^) If the research topic is mainly investigated using qualitative methods, then it may be very difficult to generate testable hypotheses.
  • (^) However, a good piece of research does not need to contain testable hypotheses—it could contain a set of focused research questions (but not too many) or a set of clear propositions (derived from theory).
  • (^) In either case you can still ‘test’ these using a logical and discursive analysis and/or statistical methods appropriate to the type of data being used.