CH. 4 THE RESEARCH PROCESS

1. CH. 4THE RESEARCH PROCESS

2. Steps 1 to 3 • The broad problem area • Preliminary data gathering • Problem definition

3. The Research Process

4. Broad Problem Area • Broad problem area refers to the entire situation where one sees a possible need for research and problem solving. • Such issues might pertain to: • Problems currently existing in an organizational setting that need to be solved • Areas that a manager believes need to be improved in the organization • A conceptual or theoretical issues that needs to be tightened up for the basic researcher to understand certain phenomena • Some research questions that a basic researcher wants to answer empirically

5. Preliminary Data Collection • Interviews • Literature research: the documentation of a comprehensive review of the published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher.

6. Literature Survey • The purpose of the literature review : • To ensure that no important variable that has been in the past been found repeatedly to have had an impact on the problem is ignored • To prevent researcher to “discover” something that has already been thoroughly researched • Could be the basis of qualitative research • Provide the foundation for developing a comprehensive theoretical framework from which hypotheses can be developed for testing

7. Literature Survey (Cont’d) • Extracting the relevant information: • Detailed information on the problem that was researched • The design details of the study (such as sample size and data collection methods) • Ultimate findings

8. Problem Definition • Problem: many situations where a gap exists between the actual and the desired ideal states. • Problem definition or problem statement: a clear, precise, and succinct statement of the question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding an answer or solution