This document discusses how to generate a research problem and formulate a research question. It explains that the research question is the most important part of a research proposal as it defines the research and guides the inquiry. The document provides guidance on developing a good research question, including that it should be feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant. It also describes different types of research questions such as those asking about existence, description, relationships, causality, and comparisons. Overall, the key aspects covered are identifying a research problem and narrowing it down to a specific research question.

1. GENERATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM/
QUESTION

2. Research Process
“ Research is organized curiosity ”
- Curiosity involves asking questions;
- If others do not know the answers, research is needed;
 What is research?
 “Research is the term applied to any form of systematic and
organised investigation to establish facts or collect information,
and is usually related to a problem that needs to be solved.”

3. Research Cycle
 Identify the Research Question:
 The first research problem is to find
something to research, which we call 'the
research question’…

4. The Research Cycle
Practical Problem
Research Problem
Research Question
Research Answer
motivates
definesfinds
helps to solve

5. Formulating Research Questions:
 A most important part of research,
 The first step in the research process is the selection of a
suitable problem from the field chosen by the researcher,
 The choice and fomulation of a suitable problem is one of the
most difficult tasks for a researcher,
 This problem is narrowed down to a more specific research
question, which then represents the central issue being
addressed,
 The features of a good research problem:
a) Significance,
b) Originality,
c) Feasibility,

6. 6
Cycles of Research Question Development

7. DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH QUESITON
 Research Question is:
 a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied
 a formulation of uncertainty about science … that you wish to
explore or resolve [Hulley SB & Cumming SR, 1988]
• It should be the central question of a research,
• It is a problem that someone would like to investigate,
• It is considered a situation that needs to be changed or addressed,

8. Overall research process
Question

9. These problems consist of:
Areas of concern Conditions to be improved
Research problem
Difficulties to be eliminated Questions seeking answers

10.  Your research question is the most critical part of your research
proposal— because it:
• defines the research,
• guides your inquiry, and
• provokes the interests of the reviewer;
 General characteristics:
 Implies the possibility of investigation;
 Identifies a need for the research;
 Provides focus;

11. Research Problems
 Two ways of stating the problem
 Research problems: typically a rather general overview of
the problem with just enough information about the scope
and purpose of the study to provide an initial understanding
of the research;
 Research statements and/or questions: more specific,
focused statements and questions that communicate in
greater detail the nature of the study;

12.  A general research problem:
 The purpose of this study is to investigate the
attitudes of high school students to mandated drug
testing programs
 Specific statements and questions:
 This study examines the differences between males’
and females’ attitudes toward mandated high
school drug testing programs,
 What are the differences between freshmen,
sophomore, junior, and senior students’ attitudes
toward mandated high school drug testing
programs?

13.  Researchable problems imply the possibility of
investigation:
What are the achievements and social skill
differences between children attending an
academically or socially oriented pre-school
program?
What is the relationship between teachers’
knowledge of assessment methods and their use
of them?
Researchable vs. Non-researchable Questions

14. Non-researchable problems include
explanations of how to do something, vague
propositions, and value-based concerns;
Is democracy a good form of government?
Can crime be prevented?
Should Islamic and ethical education
classes be dropped from the high school
curriculum?
Researchable vs. Non-researchable Questions

16. Factors to consider in Selecting a Research Problem
A good research question:
 Defines the investigation,
 Sets boundaries,
 Provides direction,

17.  A good research question is described by the acronym FINER
(Hulley & Cummings, 1998),
 Feasible
 Interesting
 Novel
 Ethical
 Relevant

18.  A strong research question should be:
 Evocative,
 Relevant,
 Clear,
 Researchable,

19. Evocative
 Evocative questions are ones that catch the interest of the
reviewer and draw her/him into the research,
 Questions tend to be evocative because of the ways they engage
with challenging topics,
 Make it timely:
 Evocative questions are often distilled from very contemporary
social or theoretical concerns,
 Frame it as a paradox:
 Frame your question around a provocative paradox,
why have indigenous organizations in Bolivia markedly declined while the
number and quantity of funding sources has increased?
 or
why have violent conflicts over forest resources increased in the last ten
years while the very people involved in these conflicts have become less and
less dependent on forest resources for their livelihoods?

20. Relevant
 Questions that clearly demonstrate their relevance to
society, a social group, or scholarly literature and
debates are likely to be given more weight by reviewers,

21. CLEAR
 Clear questions tend to be short and conceptually
straightforward,
 Work to keep your questions as lucid and simple as
possible,
 Keep your questions close to the topic or place you are
researching,
 Limit variables:
 If a question is burdened with too many variables, it will
become both difficult to read and difficult to research,
 “Was the decline of population growth in Brazil the
result of government policies?”
 “Was the decline in population growth in Brazil related
more to sex education, the distribution of birth control,
or resource depletion?”

22. RESEARCHABLE
 Research questions need to be clearly “doable”,
• One of the most common rationales for rejecting
proposals is that the question is simply too
expansive to be carried out by the applicant,

23. Common problems with research questions
 The question is too broad to be manageable:
 What is the history of Christianity?
 How are environmental disasters being fought?
 Is the United States seriously addressing the problem
of prisoner abuse?
Try instead,
 How did the conversion of Emperor Constantine affect
the history of Christianity?
 How effective are the current practices for cleaning oil
spills?
 To what extent has the U. S. military addressed the
problem of prisoner abuse since the Abu Ghraib
discoveries?

24.  The question is too narrow:
 Does Sweden have nationalized healthcare?
Try instead,
 What was the political process that enabled
Sweden to establish nationalized healthcare?
• How did the UAW affect the economy in
Dayton, Ohio in 1973?
Try instead,
 What influence did the automobile labor unions
have on the economy in the early 1970's?

25.  The question cannot be answered:
 What are the pros and cons of evolution?
 How many girls are forced into prostitution
each year?
Try instead,
 How does teaching of evolution in public
schools affect children who are raised in
religions that embrace creationism?
 What are the traits that make girls vulnerable
for being forced into prostitution?

26. Evaluation of the Research Problem
 The followings are points to consider when choosing a
research problem:
 Is the problem researchable?
 Is the problem new?
 Is the problem significant?
 Is the problem feasible?
 Can interest be sustained by it?
 Is the problem solvable?
 Will it lead to other research problems?
 Is it manageable in size?
 Are you, or will you become, competent to solve it?

27. Types of Research Questions
 Existence,
 Description and Classification,
 Composition,
 Relationship,
 Descriptive-Comparative,
 Causality,
 Causality-Comparative,

28. Existence Questions
 Does X exist?
• Design to systematically rule out rival
explanations:
– Does Al Qaeda exist?
– Can neonates perceive color?
– Is there such a thing as ESP?
– Do older adults suffer from general slowing?

29. Questions of Description and Classification
 What is X like?; Is it variable or invariant?;
What are its characteristics?
 Examples:
– What are the characteristics of attention?
– Is attention uni-dimensional or
multidimensional?
– Is attention variable or constant?

30. Questions of Description and Classification
 Usually call for more than simple description
• Answers tend to require:
– statements about the generality of the
description,
– statements of the description to the subclass,

31. Questions of Composition
 What are the components that make up X?
• Examples:
– What are the varieties of attention?
– What are the factors that make up IQ?
– What are the principle components of memory?
• Answers call for analysis or breakdown of whole
into its component parts,

32. Relationship Questions
 Is there an association between X and Y?
• Examples:
 – Is attention related to IQ?
 – Is working memory capacity related to GPA
(Grade Point Average)?
 – IS GRE (Graduate Record Examination) score
related to success in Grad School?

33. Descriptive-Comparative Questions
 Is Group X different from Group Y?
• Examples:
– Are women more aggressive than men?
– Do young adults have better memory than the
old?
– Are warning labels with pictographs more
effective than labels with words only?
• Expected that researcher will ensure that all is
the same between groups except issue in
question,

34. Causality Questions
 Does X cause, lead to, or prevent changes in Y?
• Examples:
– Does practice lead to skill?
– Does alcohol intoxication prevent fast RT?
– Does dividing attention degrade performance?

35. Causality-Comparative Questions
 Does X cause more changes in Y than does Z?
• Examples:
– Is aerobic exercise better than problem solving
exercises at enhancing cognitive performance
of older adult?
• Effects of X are compared with a rival treatment
(Z) not simply absence of treatment,