RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (RES5001)

DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT – I
FALL SEMESTER (2022-23)
SEMESTER – 1

TITLE – PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND

FORMULATION

SUBMITTED BY:- SUBMITTED TO:-

NAME – SHIVANI SINGH Dr. KANNABIRAN K

REG. NO. – 22MSM0019 PROFESSOR, SBST

CLASS – M.Sc. APPLIED

MICROBIOLOGY

SEMESTER – FIRST

SLOT – B1

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 INDEX

S.NO. TITLE

1. Introduction

2. Importance of research problems

3. Establishing the objectives

4. Classification of research problem

5. Selecting the problem

6. Defining the problem

7. Sources of research problems

8. Formulation of research problems

9. Conclusion

10. References

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 INTRODUCTION
A research problem, also called a research issue, is a statement about an area or field of
concern that professionals aim to understand and address. The aim of the research may be to
clarify a contradiction or fill a knowledge gap. Researchers may decide to conduct research to
solve a problem, contribute to social or scientific change, or add additional knowledge to an
existing topic. The purpose of research is typically to introduce readers to the research
purpose and provide a framework for reporting results that can highlight discovered
information. The characteristics of a research issue include:
❖ Having a clear problem variable
❖ Being specific and limited in scope
❖ Having a goal
❖ Usually being free from ethical constraints
❖ Typically generating research questions
❖ Often relating to one or more academic study fields
❖ The possibility of obtaining sufficient data

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS

A practical and well-defined problem can help you create a comprehensive research project.
It serves as a guide to the research to ensure the study's intended purpose and justification
while making it unique and innovative. The issue might contribute relevant insights into a
specific issue or challenge previously held ideas. Research issues can help identify the steps
to take when collecting data and outlining the procedures for the research.

ESTABLISHING THE OBJECTIVE

After the initial period of familiarisation with the problem, its subject scope, nature and
motives that underlie it, the researcher is in a position to formulate the objective. It is worth
repeating that this is an extremely important stage in the process and any temptation to hurry
matters should be resisted.
The objective is to encompass all of this in one clear, unambiguous sentence that fully
expressed the essential element of the research. The objective of the research is to test the
usefulness of training programmes in bringing about lasting changes in staffs attitudes and in
this way, then certain other questions should be asked:
❖ Does the project attempt too much?
❖ Is it too complicated?
❖ Do the people involved know what they are doing?

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CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS
There are different ways in which you can classify research issues. They include:
According to the research purpose
This classification focuses on the reason or purpose for the research. Research types under
this classification include:
❖ Theoretical or Basic research problems
This type of research helps provide information and knowledge in a specific area of study.
You can also call this type pure or basic research because it focuses on generating knowledge
regardless of its practical application. The results from this type of research help provide
basic meaning about the problem's nature, formulate relevant theories, and generate new
concepts to understand the situation better. The researchers develop their theories by
gathering data and addressing unresolved questions.
❖ Applied research problems
This research helps provide suitable and practical solutions to problems. It involves the
practical use of theoretical knowledge to gain information on the issue of the study.
Researchers include an exploratory hypothesis and typically test its accuracy. There generally
are two types of applied research: technological applied research and scientific applied
research.
According to the type of data used
This classification includes qualitative and quantitative research.
❖ Qualitative research problems
The research problems which generally includes no statistical data or numerals in
research or experiments.
❖ Quantitative research problems
The research problems which includes statistical data or numerals in research or
experiments.
According to the depth of scope
This classifies research according to the level of information available to solve the
problem and the depth of the scope. The types of research issues in this class include:
❖ Non-experimental research problems
This research is typically preliminary for problems in specific fields of study.
Researchers may not have enough information on the issue, but they establish a
reference frame and hypothesis. Exploratory research relies on data gathering to
identify patterns that can help explain the problem.
❖ Experimental research problems

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This research helps establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the problem and
the variables. It may have an advantage over descriptive research, as it provides
additional information about the situation, its effect, and its interaction with the
environment. This is typically the most common type of research.

SELECTING THE PROBLEM

The research problem undertaken for study must be carefully selected. Help may be taken
from a research guide in this connection. Nevertheless, every researcher must find out his
own salvation for research problems cannot be borrowed. A problem must spring from the
researcher’s mind. A research guide can at the most only help a researcher choose a subject.
However, the following points may be observed by a researcher in selecting a research
problem or a subject for research:
❖ Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen, for it will be a difficult
task to throw any new light in such a case.
❖ Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average researcher.
❖ Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.
❖ The subject selected for research should be familiar and feasible so that the related
research material or sources of research are within one’s reach. Even then it is quite
difficult to supply definitive ideas concerning how a researcher should obtain ideas
for his research. A researcher may discuss with others what he has in mind
concerning a problem. In this way he should make all possible efforts in selecting a
problem.
❖ The importance of the subject, the qualifications and the training of a researcher, the
costs involved, the time factor are few other criteria that must also be considered in
selecting a problem. In other words, before the final selection of a problem is done, a
researcher must ask himself the following questions:
➢ Whether he is well equipped in terms of his background to carry out the
research?
➢ Whether the study falls within the budget he can afford?
➢ Whether the necessary cooperation can be obtained from those who must
participate in research as subjects?
If the answers to all these questions are in the affirmative, one may become sure so far
. as the practicability of the study is concerned.
❖ The selection of a problem must be preceded by a preliminary study. This may not be
necessary when the problem requires the conduct of a research closely similar to one
that has already been done. But when the field of inquiry is relatively new and does
not have available a set of well-developed techniques, a brief feasibility study must
always be undertaken.
The subject or the problem selected must involve the researcher and must have an upper most
place in his mind so that he may undertake all pains needed for the study.

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DEFINING THE PROBLEM
The statement signifies the need for defining a research problem. The problem to be
investigated must be defined unambiguously for that will help to discriminate relevant data
from the irrelevant ones. A proper definition of research problem will enable the researcher to
be on the track whereas an ill-defined problem may create hurdles. Some questions crop up in
the mind of the researcher who can well plan his strategy and find answers to all such
questions only when the research problem has been well defined. Thus, defining a research
problem properly is a prerequisite for any study and is a step of the highest importance. In
fact, formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution. It is only on careful
detailing the research problem that we can work out the research design and can smoothly
carry on all the consequential steps involved while doing research.
Techniques involved in defining of research problems
The one wants to state the problem along with the bounds within which it is to be studied. In
other words, defining a problem involves the task of laying down boundaries within which a
researcher shall study the problem with a pre-determined objective in view.
A task that must be tackled intelligently to avoid the perplexity encountered in a research
operation. The usual approach is that the researcher should himself pose a question and set-up
techniques and procedures for throwing light on the question concerned for formulating or
defining the research problem. But such an approach generally does not produce definitive
results because the question phrased in such a fashion is usually in broad general terms and as
such may not be in a form suitable for testing.
Defining a research problem properly and clearly is a crucial part of a research study and
must in no case be accomplished hurriedly. However, in practice this a frequently overlooked
which causes a lot of problems later on. Hence, the research problem should be defined in a
systematic manner, giving due weightage to all relating points. The technique for the purpose
involves the undertaking of the following steps generally one after the other:
(i) statement of the problem in a general way;
(ii) understanding the nature of the problem;
(iii) surveying the available literature
(iv) developing the ideas through discussions; and
(v) rephrasing the research problem into a working proposition. A brief description
of all these points will be helpful.

In addition to what has been stated above, the following points must also be observed while
defining a research problem:
(a) Technical terms and words or phrases, with special meanings used in the statement of
the problem, should be clearly defined.
(b) Basic assumptions or postulates (if any) relating to the research problem should be
clearly stated.
(c) A straight forward statement of the value of the investigation (i.e., the criteria for the
selection of the problem) should be provided.
(d) The suitability of the time-period and the sources of data available must also be
considered by the researcher in defining the problem.
(e) The scope of the investigation or the limits within which the problem is to be studied
must be mentioned explicitly in defining a research problem.

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SOURCES OF PROBLEMS
The way in which one may be able to identify research problems or develop problem
awareness are:

❖ Reading
When we critically study books and articles relating to the subject of our interest,
pertinent questions may arise in our minds. Similarly, areas of research may strike us
when we read research reports.

❖ Academic experience
Classroom lectures, class discussions, seminar discussions and out of class exchange of
ideas with fellow students and professors will suggest many stimulating problems to be
studied.

❖ Daily experience
Life is dynamic. We learn new things and undergo new experiences every day. If we are
alert, inquisitive and sensitive to life situations, we may hit upon questions worth
investigating.

❖ Exposure to field situations

Field visit, internship training and extension work provide exposure to practical problems,
which call for study.

❖ Consultations
Discussions with experts, researchers, administrators and business executives help a
researcher identify meaningful problems for research.

❖ Brainstorming
Intense discussion by a group of interested persons may often be a means of identifying
pertinent questions, and of developing new ideas about a problem.

❖ Research
Research on one problem may suggest problems for further research.

❖ Intuition
Sometimes new ideas may strike one like a flash. A reflective mind is a spring of
knowledge.

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FORMULATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
The following are steps to formulating a research issue:

❖ Identify an area of interest

You can thoroughly examine the area you want to study that presents challenges. Create a
checklist for the research and include aspects such as the classification of the study you want
to do and the exact problem you want to solve. You can also outline stages for the research to
serve as a roadmap to guide you. With applied or action-based research, you might contact
other professionals in relevant or similar fields to get helpful information and resources.

❖ Specify the objectives of the research

You can prepare the research problem statement to help you in this process, which outlines
the concerns the research hopes to address. This can serve as the research objectives. This
statement can clearly define all the objectives, helping conduct a meaningful and practical
examination. A concise statement can help readers or examiners understand the answers your
research provides and the steps with which you achieved your results.

❖ Review your research context

This review can help you test and define the environmental variables within your research.
Doing this can clarify the research and help you stay focused on the problem. You can
identify specific environmental variables that may affect the research and develop effective
strategies to control them. With this review, you can also discover whether the findings from
the study can produce relevant information worth the cost and effort of the research.

❖ Determine the relationship between variables

Conducting a careful study on the research variables can help provide practical and
sustainable solutions to the problem. You can start by identifying the variables that can affect
the possible solutions to the research. Identify the most critical variables for the solution and
determine the functional relationship between existing variables. Taking this step helps
decide the degree to which you can control the variables in your research.

❖ Select the important variable

You can select important variables for the research and summarize how they might influence
the results. Doing this can help you understand the potential impact these variables may have
on the research. It can also be helpful to outline plans you have and consider these variables
and methods to handle adverse effects.

❖ Consider alternative actions and revise the research

You can consider the consequences of alternative courses of action and anticipate this to help
with adequate preparation. It's possible to revise your plan by reaching out to industry experts
and mentors for feedback on your research. This may present you with new information to
consider and edit an aspect of the study, helping you create meaningful and impactful
research.

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 CONCLUSION
Identification of a research problem is the pre-condition to conducting research. A research
problem is said to be the one which requires a researcher to find the best available solution to
the given problem. That is, the researcher needs to find out the best course of action through
which the research objective may be achieved optimally in the context of a given situation.
Several factors may contribute to making the problem complicated. For example, the
environment may alter, thus affecting the efficiencies of the alternative courses of action
taken or the quality of the outcomes. The number of alternative courses of action might be
very large and the individual not involved in making the decision may be affected by the
change in environment and may react to it favorably or unfavorably. Other similar factors are
also likely to cause such changes in the context of research, all of which may be considered
from the point of view of a research problem.

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 REFERENCES

❖ https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/research-problem
❖ https://accountablescience.com/issues/evaluating-research/common-research-
problems/
❖ Kothari,C.R.(2004). Research Methodology-Methods and Techniques:New age
international publishers(second revised edition).
❖ Murthy,S.N.,Bhojanna,U.(2009).Business research methods:Excel books(3rd edition).
❖ Krishnaswamy,K.N.Sivakumar,Appa Iyer.Mathirajan,M.(2009).Management
Research methodology:Dorling Kindersley(India) Pvt.Ltd.,licensees of Pearson
Education(3rd Impression).
❖ Shajahan,S.(2005).Research methods for management:Jaico publishing house(3rd
edition).

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