CHAPTER TWO

Formulation of the Research

problem
WHAT IS RESEARCH PROBLEM?
Defining the research problem
 In research process, the first and foremost step happens to be that
of selecting and properly defining a research problem.
 Like a medical doctor, a researcher must examine all the
symptoms (presented to him or observed by him) concerning a
problem before he can diagnose correctly.
 Defining research problem is crucial and very hard part of a
research process. Because, the problem identified will provide
us;
 the topic of the designed research and

 the objective of the research

 a cause and effect

There is a sound in research that “The problem clearly stated is a

problem half solved”.
 Need of defining a problem
The definition of a problem:
1. sets the direction of the study.
2. reveals the methodology or procedure of the study.
3. helps the researcher to control subjectivity or biases of the
researcher.
4. suggests and specifies the variables to be taken
5. makes the research work practicable.
 Steps in defining a problem
1. Researcher should have to develop a conceptual (theoretical)
framework of the problem.
The conceptual framework should be such that it can be stated
into verbal form.
2. Delimiting the elements of the problem.
3. Classifying the elements in the homogeneous group.
4. Locating the key-points in the conceptual framework.
5. Evaluating the theoretical security of the problem.
6. The final form of the statement can be given into verbal form
to a conceptual framework of the problem.
7. Deciding the practical difficulty in conducting the study
The following points may be observed by a researcher in
selecting a research problem:
 Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen

 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

 The importance of the subject, the qualifications and the training

of a researcher, the costs involved, and the time factor
 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?
criteria for the selection of the problem
 Novelty (originality) and avoidance of unnecessary duplications

 Importance for the field represented and implementation.

 Interest, intellectual curiosity, and drive.

 Training and personal qualifications.

 Availability of data and method.

 Special equipment and working conditions.

 Approachability of the sample.

 Sponsorship and administrative cooperation.

 Cost and returns.

 Time factor.
Formulating and stating the problem
 The technique involved in defining a research problem has a
number of step:
1. Statement of the problem in a general way: First of all the
problem should be stated in a broad general way, keeping in
view either some practical concern or some scientific or
intellectual interest.
Then the researcher can himself state the problem or he can seek
the guidance of the guide or the subject expert in accomplishing
this task.
2. Understanding the nature of the problem: The best ways of
understanding the problem are:
 To discuss it with those who first raised it in order to find out
how the problem originally came about and with what objectives
in view
 To discuss it with those who have good knowledge of the
problem concerned or similar other problem.
3. Surveying the available literature: All available literature
concerning the problem must be surveyed and examined before
a definition of the research problem is given.
 the researcher must be familiar with the relevant theories in
the area.
 Theories has got the following role in over all research studies:
o Theories provides patterns of the interpretation of data
o It links on the study with others
o It supplies frameworks within which concepts and variables
acquire special significance
o It allows us interpret the large meaning of our findings for
ourselves and others
 Reviewing of research works on related problems help a
researcher to know;
 if there are certain gaps in the theories, or
 whether the existing theories applicable to the problem under
study are inconsistent with each other, or
4. Developing the ideas through discussions: a researcher must discuss his
problem with his colleagues and others who have enough experience in the
same area or in working on similar problems. Such practice is called
‘experience survey’.
5. Rephrasing the research problem: The researcher should narrow and
break down the problem in to its components variables and relationships.
problem should be expresses as:
 A relationship between two or more variables
 The problem should be stated either in question form or hypotheses form.
 Question form is appropriate mostly when the research is descriptive in
nature.
 What important is that when a researcher state the problem in question
form the formulated problem should be free from ambiguity and the
relationship among variables should be clearly expressed.
E.g: Does the relationship exist between income of university students and
score on their exam?
Is there a relationship between employees’ age and their productivity?
 The following are the main sources to which one may proceed for
a suitable research problem:
1. Personal experiences of the investigator in the field of education
are the main source for identifying suitable problem.
2. The extensive study of available literature - research abstracts,
journals, hand-books of research, international abstracts etc.
3. The researcher has to decide his field of investigation.
4. The new innovations, technological changes and curricular
developments are constantly bringing new problems and new-
opportunities for Social Studies Research.
5. The most practical source of problem is to consult supervisor,
experts of the field and most experienced person of the field.
They may suggest most significant problem of the area.
6. It is a general practice that researchers suggest some problems in
their research reports..
Delimiting a problem
A study should be delimited :
 to certain variables that should be mentioned clearly in the
problem.
 to the area or level as primary level, secondary level, and
college or university level.
 to size of sample. Considering the time, energy and money,
but it should be a representative.
 Method of Research

 Measuring Instrument

 These delimitations may help the researcher for conducting

the study and the findings of studies also confine to these
delimitations.
 Guidelines for the statement of the problem
three criteria of good Problem Statements.
 A problem should be concerned with relation between two
or more variables.
 It should be stated “clearly and unambiguously in question
form.”
 It should be amenable to empirical (experimental) testing.
MEANING OF HYPOTHESIS HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION

i. The word hypothesis consists of two words:

 Hypo + thesis = Hypothesis

 ‘Hypo’- means tentative or subject to the verification

 ‘Thesis’ - means statement about solution of a problem.

 The world meaning of the term hypothesis is a tentative statement about

the solution of the problem.
ii. Another meaning of the word hypothesis which is composed of two
words:
 ‘Hypo’- means composition of two or more variables which is to be
verified.
 ‘Thesis’- means position of these variables in the specific frame of
reference.
 Hypothesis is called a leap into the dark. It is a brilliant guess about the
solution of a problem.
 It is a statement temporarily accepted as true in the light of what is
known at the time about the phenomena.
DEFINITIONS OF HYPOTHESIS
 A hypothesis is a tentative generalization
 Guides the Thinking Process

 A proposition(plan) is to be put to test to determine its validity:

A hypothesis states what we are looking for.

A hypothesis looks forward. It is a proposition which can be put to a
test to determine its validity. It may prove to be correct or
incorrect.
 An expectation about events based on generalization:

 “ defined as an expectation about events based on generalization of

the assumed relationship between variables.”
 A tentative statement of the relationship between two or more
variables:
 A theory when it is stated as a testable proposition. clearly and
subjected to empirical or experimental verification is known as a
hypothesis.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS
A good hypothesis:
 is in agreement with the observed facts.

 does not conflict with any law of nature which is known to be

true.
 is stated in the simplest possible term.

 permits of the application of deductive reasoning.

 shows very clear verbalization. It is different from what is

generally called hunch (guess).
 ensures that the methods of verification are under control of
the investigator.
 indicates clearly the role of different variables involved in the
study.
 Importance of Hypothesis
 A well-grounded hypothesis provides the following
importance:
 Represent specific objective, which determine the nature of
the data needed to test the proposition.
 Offer basis for selecting the sample, the research procedure,
and the statistical analysis needed.
 Keeps the study restricted in scope thereby preventing it from
becoming too broad.
 Set a framework for reporting the conclusion of the study.
 SOURCES OF HYPOTHESES
The major sources of hypotheses are:
 Specialization of an educational field.

 Program of reading: Published studies, abstracts research

journals. Hand books, seminars on the issue, current trends on
the research area.
 Analyze of the area studied.

 Considering existing practices and needs.

 Extension of the investigation.

 Development of research studies in the field.

Foundation of Hypotheses
The researcher has to use two logical processes to drawn upon in
developing a hypothesis:
 Deductive thinking

 Inductive thinking

i. Deduction is a process which goes from the general to the specific.

When general expectations about problems or events based on
presumed relationships between variables are used to arrive at more
specific expectations
ii. Induction is a process which goes from the specific to the general.
In the induction process researcher starts with specific observations and
combines them to produce a more general statement of relationship
namely a hypothesis.
Induction begins with data’ and observations or empirical events and
proceeds toward hypothesis and theories,
Deduction begins with theories and general hypothesis and proceeds
towards specific hypothesis.
Basic concepts in the context of testing of hypotheses
a) Null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis: In the context of
statistical analysis, we often talk about null hypothesis and
alternative hypothesis.
If we are to compare method A with method B about its superiority
and if we proceed on the assumption that both methods are
equally good, then this assumption is termed as the null
hypothesis.
As against this, we may think that the method A is superior or the
method B is inferior, we are then stating what is termed as
alternative hypothesis.
The null hypothesis is generally symbolized as Ho and the
alternative hypothesis as Ha.
 Ho: A = B then Ha: A ≠ B

 Ho: A ≥ B then Ha: A ˂ B

 Ho: A ≤ B then Ha: A ˃ B

 The null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis are chosen
before the sample is drawn (the researcher must avoid the error of
deriving hypotheses from the data that he collects and then testing
the hypotheses from the same data).
 In the choice of null hypothesis, the following considerations are
usually kept in view:
i. Alternative hypothesis is usually the one which one wishes
to prove and the null hypothesis is the one which one wishes
to disprove. Thus, a null hypothesis represents the hypothesis
we are trying to reject, and alternative hypothesis represents
all other possibilities.
ii. If the rejection of a certain hypothesis when it is actually true
involves great risk, it is taken as null hypothesis because then
the probability of rejecting it when it is true is a (the level of
significance) which is chosen very small.
iii. Null hypothesis should always be specific hypothesis i.e., it
should not state about or approximately a certain value.
b. The level of significance: This is a very important concept in
the context of hypothesis testing. It is always some
percentage (usually 5%) which should be chosen wit great
care, thought and reason.
In case we take the significance level at 5 per cent, then this
implies that Ho will be rejected when the sampling result
(i.e., observed evidence) has a less than 0.05 probability of
occurring if Ho is true.
In other words, the 5 per cent level of significance means that
researcher is willing to take as much as a 5 per cent risk of
rejecting the null hypothesis when it (Ho) happens to be true.
Thus the significance level is the maximum value of the
probability of rejecting Ho when it is true and is usually
determined in advance before testing the hypothesis.
C. Decision rule or test of hypothesis: Given a hypothesis Ho and
an alternative hypothesis Ha, we make a rule which is known as
decision rule according to which we accept H0 (i.e., reject Ha)
or reject H0 (i.e., accept Ha).
For instance, if H0: is that a certain lot is good (there are very few
defective items in it) against
Ha: that the lot is not good (there are too many defective items in
it), then we must decide the number of items to be tested and
the criterion for accepting or rejecting the hypothesis.
E.g: We might test 10 items in the lot and plan our decision saying
that if there are none or only 1 defective item among the 10, we
will accept H0 otherwise we will reject H0 (or accept Ha). This
sort of basis is known as decision rule.
D. Type I and Type II errors: In the context of testing of
hypotheses, there are basically two types of errors we can
make. We may reject H0 when H0 is true and we may accept
H0 when in fact H0 is not true. The former is known as Type I
error and the latter as Type II error. In other words, Type I error
means rejection of hypothesis which should have been accepted
and Type II error means accepting the hypothesis which should
have been rejected. Type I error is denoted by a (alpha) known
as a error, also called the level of significance of test; and Type
II error is denoted by b (beta) known as b error. In a tabular
form the said two errors can be presented as follows:
Decision
Accept H0 Reject H0
 H0 (true) Correct decision Type I error (  error)
 H0 (false) Type II error ( β error) Correct decision