DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Laurie Strangman
Revised, Altered and Edited by Taggert Brooks
The definition of the problem stage in the research process is an extremely important one. Without a
properly defined problem the research cannot progress. One cannot design a research plan without a
very clear idea of what needs to be accomplished.
The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.
– Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)
This stage can also be a very challenging one. The definition of the problem means more than just
choosing a topic of interest. It means taking this topic and pulling it apart, laying it out, only to remold it,
reshape it into something that is compatible with data collection and analysis.
Think of this process like opening a new can of play-do and shaping it into an animal. You begin by
pulling the play-do apart and then you roll the individual pieces between your hands, molding and
shaping them until you’re satisfied with what you have created. The end product, however, looks very
little like what you started with.
Another way to visualize this process is to think of a Russian doll. With a Russian doll each layer is
successively opened and removed to find the tiny doll at the center. In a similar fashion the process of
problem definition begins with something rather large but through successive steps peels away different
layers associated with the problem to reveal a much more narrow, but also much more workable,
center. Unfortunately, though, it is a process that in many ways is difficult to teach and is best learned
by doing.
What is at the center of our Russian doll, though? What exactly are we trying to accomplish with this
first step in the research process? What does it mean to have a well-defined problem? And even more
so how do we get there?
Before we look at the train that will take us to our destination we need first to identify our final
destination. Before we can understand how to develop a well-defined research problem we need to
know what the goal or outcome of this process is.
The goal of this process of problem definition is to create research questions and
hypotheses….
What are theories, research questions and hypotheses?
A theory is a set of propositions used to explain behaviors or phenomena to provide prediction and
understanding.
Theories are the nets cast to catch what we call “the world”: to rationalize, to explain and to master it.
We endeavor to make the mesh ever finer and finer.
-Karl R Popper.
A research question is a question that can be answered directly through the analysis of data. In other
words, a research question is a question that is specific enough that we can create a survey question(s)
to answer it.
A hypothesis, on the other hand, is the researcher’s best guess to the answer of the research question.
Hypotheses are generated from our theories. Research questions are often attempts to refute/validate
DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Laurie Strangman
Revised, Altered and Edited by Taggert Brooks
theories through the testing of hypotheses. Though sometimes research questions are more information
collecting, and thus a-theoretical.
If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking
about solutions.
— Albert Einstein
The goal of this process of problem definition is to create research questions and
hypotheses that:
 Are measurable--quantifiable/testable
 Are well-defined--no ambiguous language
 Are useful in decision-making or in answering the overall problem (What is the goal
of business research?)
 Are directly connected to one another--hypothesis is not only a plausible answer to
the research question but also directly answers the research question
 Encompass the full scope of the problem-- Have all the important or relevant
questions been asked?
In addition to these specific characteristics, research questions and hypotheses typically attempt to
measure one or more of the following concepts:

awareness: measure of knowledge

behavior: measure of events that are or have taken place

motivation: measure of why people behave as they do

opinion: measure of impression of worth or quality

preference: measure of likes/dislikes

desire: measure of wants

interest: measure of concerns/curiosities

intention: measure of anticipated behavior

demographic: measure of respondent’s characteristics
DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Laurie Strangman
Revised, Altered and Edited by Taggert Brooks
Examples:
Broad Problem: Young adults binge drink beer too frequently.
Theory: The law of demand. Increases in price, reduces quantity demanded.
Research Question: Will a change in beer taxes alter consumption of beer?
Hypothesis: An increase in the beer tax will lower beer consumption.
Sometimes theory offers precise or sharp quantitative predictions while other times it merely suggests
the direction of the effect as in this case. Still other times the prediction is ambiguous, depending on the
relative size of competing effects.
Here are two other examples:
Research question: How many students voted in the previous presidential election?
Matching hypothesis: Less than sixty-five percent of undergraduate students voted in the previous
presidential election.
Research question: What do students feel is the most important political issue?
Matching hypothesis: The most important political issue to students is funding for education.
Notice the second two examples do not build on theories. Notice also that they have sharp quantitative
hypotheses. They are very different than the first example. Neither approach is better or worse than
the other, but rather one is based on a deductive approach while the other is more inductive. The best
approach for your project will depend on the nature of the project and the amount of background
research you can find.
How do we achieve all of these goals? How do we get research questions and hypotheses
that have all of these characteristics and also measure the concepts that we want to
measure?
To help us achieve our goals we will use two different tools: a question-map and a problemdefinition table.
The question-map will help us identify and visualize the many different aspects, characteristics, or
variables associated with the overall business problem as well as the relationships between these
different variables in order to discern the most important and key aspects of the overall business
problem. It will also allow us to see the full scope of the problem.
The problem-definition table, on the other hand, helps us to create research questions and
hypotheses that are directly related to one another and that also provide information that is useful
to business decision-makers, bearing directly on the broad business problem.
The Process of Problem Definition:
1. What is the broad business problem or question?
Example: How can UW-L attract 1,000 new students over the next several years?
(Provide some rationale for the problem. Put it in its proper context.)
DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Laurie Strangman
Revised, Altered and Edited by Taggert Brooks
2. Who is the decision-maker? From whose point of view are you looking at this issue?
3. Whose behavior is the decision-maker interested in?
4. What do you need to know as the decision maker to address this broad business problem?
What questions might you ask to attempt to answer this broad business problem?
Prompts to help students move through this process:
Have you considered all the stakeholders associated with the problem, or all the different
groups that may impact the situation or be impacted? (Brainstorming)
Can you connect related questions with arrows? Do those arrows mean:
 “impacted by”
 “depends on”
 “affects”
 “need to know”
Could you collect data to answer this question? (If the answer is no, then the question is x’ed
off the board)
Could you use the data to answer the broad research problem or to make a decision? Does
the decision-maker have control over this variable? (If the answer is yes, then the question is circled.)
Have you asked all the important or relevant questions? Have all the important issues been
identified?
The next step in this process of problem definition is to develop research questions and hypotheses that
are tied to the areas that we identified as important. Before we do this, however, let’s take a closer
look at the characteristics of research questions and hypotheses as well as some examples of each.
Recall:
A research question is a question that can be answered directly through the analysis of data. In
other words, a research question is a question that is specific enough that a survey question can be
created to directly answer it.
A hypothesis, on the other hand, is the researcher’s best guess to the answer of the research
question.
In addition, we want our research questions and hypotheses to have the following characteristics:
 Are measurable--quantifiable/testable
 Are well-defined--no ambiguous language
 Are useful in decision-making or in answering the overall problem (What is the goal of
business research?)
 Are directly connected to one another--hypothesis is not only a plausible answer to the
research question but also directly answers the research question
DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Laurie Strangman
Revised, Altered and Edited by Taggert Brooks
 Encompass the full scope of the problem
There is also a certain language or type of wording associated with research questions and hypotheses;
however, we will focus on just a few main question types.
To see what this language or wording looks like as well as how all the characteristics that we have
outlined fit together in a single research question and hypothesis let’s look at some specific examples.
(Be sure to emphasis the language as well as how it fits all of our criteria with each and every example.)
Research Problem: Evaluation of student satisfaction with the College of Business
Research question: Are CBA students satisfied with the pre-business core courses?
Matching hypothesis: The majority of students are satisfied with the pre-business core courses.
Or
Theory: Satisfaction is greatest when expectations are most closely met.
Research question: Are CBA students expectations being closely met?
Matching Hypothesis: The majority of CBA students are having their expectations exceeded.
Research Problem: Evaluation of the on-campus living requirement for in-coming freshmen
Research question: Is there a difference between on-campus and off-campus students in terms of
their knowledge of campus events?
Matching hypothesis: Students who live on-campus are more knowledgeable of campus events
than those who live off-campus.
Research Problem: Do drink specials promote binge drinking?
Research question: Do students drink more when drink specials are available?
Matching hypothesis: The majority of students drink more when drink specials are available.
Research Problem: How to increase student attendance at UW-L theatre productions
Research Question: Why do students attend theatre productions?
Matching hypothesis: The main reason that students attend plays at Toland Theatre is because it
is required for Theatre appreciation class.
**For more examples please see Exhibit 2-4 on page 55 in your Hair textbook.
With this knowledge and examples under our belts we are now ready to turn to the second tool that
we will use to help us define our research problem: the problem definition table. Can we use it to
develop research questions and hypotheses that are similar to the examples that we just looked at and
also meet all of the criteria that we have laid out?
DEFINING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Laurie Strangman
Revised, Altered and Edited by Taggert Brooks
Common Pitfalls in this Process:
Hypotheses have no measurable aspect.
Research Question: Would Altra’s current customers use an office in Holmen if it were available?
Research Hypothesis: Current customers would use an office in Holmen if it were available.
The problem: How do you determine if the answer is yes, or no? If one person uses the office the
answer to the question is yes. Would you want to open an office that would only be used by one
person? A better approach would be to understand the factors that affect the customer’s use of a
particular office, then ask questions of the customers that pertain to a Holmen office. Is it merely
location?
Not all terms are clearly defined.
Research Question: Are the GCA computer labs on campus being used effectively by students?
Research Hypothesis: At least 50 percent of students use GCA computer labs effectively.
The problem: What does the term “effectively” mean?
Hypotheses are “over-measured.”
Research Question: Why do students participate in extracurricular activities?
Research Hypothesis: The majority of students feel that the most significant benefit from participating in
extracurricular activities is social interaction with other students.
Survey questions are developed rather than research questions.
Research question: What factors influenced your decision to come to UW-L?
Scope of the project is either too big or too small.
Example: Proposed smoking ban project→ neglected to ask those students who didn’t support the ban
why they didn’t.
The project is not feasible as it is currently proposed.
Example: Project that wanted to collect information from high school seniors about what influenced
their choice of where to go to college
The problem: We cannot survey people under the age of 18.
Research questions and hypotheses do not yield useful information.
→ Related to variables outside of management’s control
“Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than an exact
answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise."
~J. W. Tukey (1962)