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LEARNING OUTCOMES

When you have completed this chapter you will be able to:
 Identify a research problem
 List the criteria of a good research problem
 Explain the different types of variables

2.1 Preamble

“It is already the 10 week and I still do not have a research

problem”

“The problem is finding a research problem”

“I think I am going to change my research problem”

"You do not need to do a research as everyone already knows the

answer"

The above statements are common dilemmas faced by graduate students. When asked,
some students do not even know the meaning of a "research problem". This is
understandable given the numerous definitions of the term :"research problem" which
further confuses the beginning researcher. Some supervisors fail to appreciate that for
many students, it is the first time they are conducting a 'research'. Learning the
intricacies of research is a long and winding process. To make matters worse, the
most difficult phase of the research process is the identification of the research
problem.

Identification of the research problem is the MOST IMPORTANT step of the research
process. It for this reason that a whole module has been devoted to this step. Not only
must you be clear about the research problem, you must also have a passion for it! "I
am already struggling trying to understand my research problem and now I need to

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have passion!". Let's see whether you will be able to explain your research problem
clearly as well as be passionate about it, after having completed this module.

2.2 What is a Research Problem?

 WordNet Princeton defines a problem as a state of difficulty that needs to be

resolved.
 Wikitionary defines a problem as a question to be answered
 According to Robert Gerber, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, "a
research problem is the situation that causes the researcher to feel
apprehensive, confused and ill at ease". Do you feel the same way about your
research problem?

Hence, a "research problem" is something that bothers you which needs to be resolved
by research. It is the beginning of the research process and ends with the solution to
the problem. So the next time, you are asked what is your research problem, would
you be able to state it orally or put it in writing.

But I don't have a research problem! Not to worry as there are several sources of
research problems:

1. You own experience or the experience of others may be a source of problem

supply.
2. Scientific literature; you may read about certain findings and notice that a
certain field was not covered. This could lead to a research problem.
3. Theories could be another source. Shortcomings in theories could be
researched.

I have a problem, but it is TOO BROAD. What do I do?

2.3 Identification of the Research Problem

Perhaps the most difficult phase of research is 'identification of the problem'.

In other words, the inability of students to state precisely and clearly what is it they
intend to investigate. Here we will try to help you with this difficult phase. Hopefully,
you have at least a broad area that that you want to study. Not too broad though! The
broader the problem, the more difficult is it to zero in.

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 You start with a broad area. For example,
BROAD AREA you are concerned by the poor critical
thinking skills of university graduates.

NARROW RESEARCH
PROBLEM You narrow down the broad area into
a Research Problem that:
 has a rationale and is of
interest to you is researchable
(measureable and sample is
State Purpose
accessible)
 is manageable in size (given
your time & resources)
 is within your range of
RESEARCH RESEARCH competencies & skills
QUESTION #2 QUESTION #3  is worth investigating and
makes a contribution to
knowledge
 has a theoretical basis

THREE SCENARIOS OF THE SAME BROAD AREA =

“POOR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS OF UNDERGRADUATES”

Scenario 1. EXPLORATORY - SURVEY METHOD

You are concerned about the poor critical thinking skills of undergraduates and you
narrow down the problem into a Research Problem that meets the above criteria.

You conduct a SURVEY to find out the factors influencing critical thinking skills
among undergraduates. You administer a Critical Thinking Test to a sample of
undergraduates and ask the following Research Questions:

Are female undergraduate better critical thinkers than male undergraduates?

 Is there a relationship between CGPA and critical thinking?
 Is there a difference in critical thinking between science and social science
students?
 Is there a relationship between critical thinking and age of students?

Scenario 2. CONFIRMATORY - EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

You are concerned about the poor critical thinking skills of undergraduates and you
narrow down the problem into a Research Problem that meets the above criteria.

You conduct an EXPERIMENT to test whether the critical thinking skills of

undergraduates can be
enhanced. You may ask the following Research Questions:

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  Is there a difference in critical thinking between the experimental group and
the control group?
 Is there a difference between high CGPA and low CGPA subjects?
 Is there an interaction between treatment and academic ability?

Scenario 3. INDEPTH UNDERSTANDING - QUALITATIVE APPROACH

You are concerned about the poor critical thinking skills of undergraduates and you
narrow down the problem into a Research Problem that meets the above criteria.

You conduct a QUALITATIVE INQUIRY to find out why the critical thinking skills
of undergraduates
is poor.
You may ask the following Research Questions:
 To what extent do university teachers encourage critical thinking in the
classroom?
 Are students presented with problems that lead to the development of critical
thinking skills?
 To what extent does teacher behaviour encourage the enhancement of critical
thinking?

2.4 The Research Problem

For some students this is the most difficult phase of the research process. Quite often
the Research Problem is vague. It is either too scanty or too lengthy but not precise.
Despite having written so many paragraphs, the student is unable to state clearly and
convincingly:

 what is the problem?

 why it is important?
 what should be done?

Perhaps, the following guidelines on the right may help you with this task.

i) What is the Problem?

You begin by first stating the problem. It is some aspect that your are worried about,
think about and want to find a solution for. e.g. Graduate are poor critical thinkers.

ii) Why is it important that the problem be investigated? i.e give a rationale for
why it is of concern.
For Example: Employers are complaining about the poor English speaking skills of
students. Questions about this problem has not been answered convincingly or are
inconclusive or answers have not been found up to the present - e.g. Very few studies
have addressed the speaking skills of students.

ii) What should be done? i.e. the Purpose

Your purpose is to solve the problem; i.e. find answers to questions put forward.

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State what should be done clearly and grammatically correct. Avoid meaningless
words. There should be no doubt in your mind what are your intentions. It is good
practice to divide you problem into sub-problems which are called research questions.
Research Questions guide the solution of the proble

Example: "Specifically, this study aims to answer the following research

questions:

 Is there a difference in speaking skulls between male and female students?

 Is there a relationship between performance in English and speaking skills?

B) RESEARCH QUESTION
The word "research" means 'finding out' or 'discovery' using a systematic method.
You "research" by asking questions and searching for answers to the questions. You
cannot "research" if you do not want to know anything, that is, you must have
something you would like to know more about before you can do "research".

You begin with QUESTIONS. If you have none, you will find no answers or will not
know when you have found one. Your task is to conduct RESEARCH. A study
without a question in mind will NOT be a RESEARCH study. You should
MAKE SURE that:

a) The Research Question is clear, straightforward and easily understood by

others
b) The Research Question states the relationship between two or more
variables.
c) The variables mentioned in the Research Question should be measurable.
d) The answer to the Research Question is not immediately obvious.
e) The Research Question indicates the method that is to be adopted, i.e.
the data collection techniques
f) The Research Question can be answered in the time available to you.
g) The Research Question can be answered with the resources available to
you.

2.5 Construct and Variable

A construct is deliberately and consciously invented or adopted for a special scientific

purpose. "Intelligence" is construct based on observation of presumably intelligent
and less intelligent behaviours or having a value of more or less. Constructs are used
in theoretical schemes and is related in various ways to other constructs. e.g. school
achievement is in part a function of intelligence. Intelligence is so defined and
specified that it can be observed and measured. e.g. administering intelligence tests,
interview teachers about their students.

Researchers somewhat loosely call constructs or properties they study as ‘variables’.

eg. gender, social class. A variable is something that varies. A variable is a symbol to
which numerals of values are assigned. For example, the symbol "intelligence" is
assigned a set of numerical values which may be IQ scores ranging from 50 to 150. In

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the case of the variable "gender" there are only 2 values and they are called
dichotomous variables, i.e. male (1) and female (0). Other examples of two-value
variables are: graduate-nongraduate, low income-high income, citizen-noncitizen.
Besides dichotomous variables, some variables are polytomies, eg. religion - Islam,
Christianity, Buddhism. Hinduism, etc

2.6 Types of Variables

There are many ways of classifying variables but in educational research, the two
most common methods of classification are as follows:

 Continuous and Categorical Variables

Continuous and Categorical Variables

 A continuous variable (also called ordinal variable) is capable of taking on an
ordered set of values within a certain range. For example, an attitude scale
towards smoking may have values ranging from 5 to 20 which expresses
differing amounts of attitude towards smoking.

 A categorical variable (also called nominal variables) may be made up of two

or more subsets or categories. Each subset or category possess certain
characteristics and individuals are categorised by their possession of those
characteristics that defines a subset. For example, the variable socio-economic
class (SES) may consist of 3 values such as high SES, middle SES and low
SES.

Operational Definition of Variables

“If you lead a good life, you will not suffer”. This is a specific prediction of the
future, but it cannot be scientifically tested. Such a prediction is not scientifically
tested because we cannot define it operationally. How do you define ‘good life’ and
how do you define ‘suffer’. According to Bridgman, 1927, operational definition
means that variables used in the study must be defined as it is used in the context of
the study and publicly observable. This is done to facilitate measurement and to
eliminate confusion. For example, when you state in your study that you are studying
'excellent principals, you should be able to explain what 'excellent' means. Once the
behaviours of an excellent principal have been identified the operational definition
will be unique to your study (see Figure 2.1).

However, it should be borne in mind that in education not all variables are directly
observable. For example, we cannot really observe learning, memory, reasoning, and
so forth. Though they cannot be observed they can be measured to see their traces.
With enough indirect evidence, researchers can make a convincing case for the
existence of these invisible variables (Mitchell and Jolley, 1988). For example, though
we cannot observe learning directly, we can see its effect on performance, i.e. we can
operationally define learning as an increase in performance. Thus, if we see students
improve their performance after practicing a task, we conclude that learning has

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occurred. Similarly, we can provide operational definitions for such intangible
variables such as self-esteem, racial stereotype, attitudes and so forth.

Operational Definition
The person:
Excellent  listens to teachers
Principal  looks after the welfare of teachers
 acknowledges effort
 consults teachers
 motivates teachers

Figure 2.1: Example of an Operational Definition of an Excellent Principal

LEARNING ACTIVITY
1. What is a variable?
2. What is the difference between a Continuous Variable and a
Categorical Variable? Give specific examples.
3. Why do you need to define variables operationally?
4. Make up operational definition for the following variables:
 Underachievement
 Parental bonding
 Aspirations [of teenagers]
 Autocratic Leader [principal or headmaster]
 Teacher Burnout
 Socioeconomic status
 Leadership
 Reading ability
 Delinquency
 Interests