This document outlines the steps to formulating a research problem: 1. Identify a broad subject area of interest and dissect it into subareas. 2. Select the subarea of most interest and raise research questions about it. 3. Formulate research objectives by turning questions into statements using action verbs like "determine" and "identify". 4. Assess the feasibility and resources required to achieve the objectives. Considerations for selecting a problem include interest, scope, ability to measure concepts, expertise, relevance, available data, and ethics.

1. QURATULAIN
MUGHAL
BATCH IV
DOCTOR OF
PHYSICAL THERAPY
ISRA UNIVERSITY
FORMULATING A
RESEARCH PROBLEM
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2. CONTENTS
1. Research problem
2. Steps in the formulation of a research problem
3. Example
4. Considerations in selecting a research problem
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3. RESEARCH PROBLEM
 A situation or circumstance that
requires a solution to be described,
explained, or predicted.
 It is an unsatisfactory situation that
wants you to confront.
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4. Formulating a research
problem
 refers to identifying what it is that you
want to find out about.
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5. Steps in the formulation
of a research problem
1. Identify a broad field or subject area
of interest to you.
2. Dissect the broad area into
subareas.
3. Select what is of most interest to
you.
4. Raise research questions.
5. Formulate objectives
6. Assess your objectives 5

6. Step 1: Identify a broad field or
subject area of interest to you.
 Ex: If you are studying marketing you might
be interested in researching consumer
behavior (customer satisfaction).
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7. Step 2: Dissect the broad area
into subareas.
1- Profile of satisfied customers
2- Antecedents of customers satisfaction
3- The effect of customer satisfaction on
consumer related outcomes
4- Measurement of customer satisfaction
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8. Step 3: Select what is of most
interest to you.
 It is neither advisable nor feasible to
study all subareas.
 Go through your list and delete all those
subareas in which you are not very
interested.
  select: Antecedents of customers
satisfaction
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9. Step 4: Raise research
questions
1- What is the effect of customer
expectation on customer satisfaction?
2- What is the effect of service quality on
customer satisfaction?
3- What is the effect of word of mouth
communication on customer satisfaction?
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10. Examples of research ideas (topic) and their derived
focus research questions
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11. Step 5: Formulate objectives
 Your objectives grow out of your research
questions.
 The main difference between objectives and
research questions is the way in which they
are written.
 Research questions are obviously that—
questions.
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12. Step 5: Formulate objectives
 Objectives transform these questions into
behavioral aims by using action-oriented
words such as 'to find out', 'to determine', 'to
ascertain' and 'to examine‘, ‘to measure’, ‘to
explore’.
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13. Some examples…
 To describe the types of incentives provides by five star hotels in
Colombo to their employees.
 To find out the opinion of the employees about the medical
facilities provided by five star hotels in Colombo.
 To ascertain the impact of training on employee retention.
 To compare the effectiveness of different loyalty programmes on
repeat clientele.
 To ascertain if an increase in working hours will increase the
incidence of drug abuse.
 To demonstrate that the provision of company accommodation
to employees in hotels will reduce staff turnover. 13

14. Step 5: Formulate objectives
Example:
1- To determine the effect of customer
expectation on customer satisfaction
2- To find out the effect of service quality on
customer satisfaction
3- To identify how word of mouth
communication impact on customer
satisfaction
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15. Paraphrasing research questions as
research objectives
Research Question Research Objective
Why have organizations To identify organization’s
introduced early retirement ? objectives for introducing
retirement schemes.
What are the consequences To describe the consequences of
of early retirement schemes ? Early recruitment for employees.
To explore the effects of early
retirement for the organization.
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16. Step 6: Assess your objectives
 Examine your objectives to ascertain the
feasibility of achieving them in the light of
the time, resources (financial and human)
and technical expertise at your disposal.
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17. Step 7: Double-check
1. that you are really interested in the study
2. that you agree with the objectives
3. that you have adequate resources
4. that you have the technical expertise to
undertake the study
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21. Considerations in selecting a
research problem
 interest,
 magnitude,
 measurement of concepts,
 level of expertise,
 relevance,
 availability of data,
 ethical issues.
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22. REFERENCES
 Ranjit Kumar
Research_Methodology_A_Step-by-Step
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