Chapter 3 The Research Process The Broad Problem

Stage 1: The Broad Problem Area § Examples of broad problem areas that researchers (economists) could observe: 1 - Government expenditures on health are improving medical equality. 2 - The government subsidies of a product are not helping to reduce the inflation. 3 - The introduction of flexible work hours has created more problems than it has solved in many government units. 4 - Reduction in oil prices creates budget deficit in Kuwait. 5 - Reducing tariffs among GCC states are not enhancing bilateral trade among them. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran 2

§ Recall the Research process: 1) Broad problem area 2) Problem statement 3) Theoretical Framework 4) Generation of hypotheses 5) Data collection: 6) Data analysis: ------- if Yes go to 7 ( if No go to back!!!) 7) Report Writing( Interpretation of results) © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran 3

Preliminary Information Gathering § Nature of information needed to be gathered: – Background information of the problem. (Why this problem? ) – Prevailing knowledge on the topic. (How? ? ) © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran 4

Step One: Why this Problem § Job Research § Interests § Hot Topic §

Step Two: Literature Review § A good literature survey: – Ensures that important variables are not left out of the study. – Helps the development of theoretical framework and hypotheses for testing. – Ensures that the problem statement is precise and clear. – Enhances testability and replicability of the findings. – Reduces the risk of “reinventing the wheel”. – Confirms that the problem is perceived as relevant and significant. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran 6

A. Data sources § § § Textbooks Academic and professional journals Theses Conference proceedings Unpublished manuscripts Reports of government departments and corporations § Newspapers § The Internet © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran 7

B. Searching for Literature § Most libraries have the following electronic resources at their disposal: – – Electronic journals Full-text databases Bibliographic databases Abstract databases © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran 8

C. Conducting the Literature § Based on the specific issues of concerns (raised in the literature) and factors (variables) identified, the literature review needs to be done on these variables. § Make sure that the identified published/unpublished papers are available (or can have access to them) on the topic of interest. § Gathering the relevant ones. § Be ready to write the literature section after © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 9 www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran finishing this step.

Stage 2: The Problem Statement § After reading into the literature, the researcher now can narrow down the problem from the original broad. § The question( problem) does not necessarily mean that something is seriously wrong. § The problem (question) could indicate an interest in an issue, where finding the right answers might help to improve an existing situation. § Thus, the problem statement is a clear, © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. brief statement of the question to 10 precise, and www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran

The Research Proposal § Key elements: – – – Purpose of the study Specific problem to be investigated. Scope of the study Relevance of the study Research design: • Sampling design • Data collection methods • Data analysis – Time frame – Budget – Selected Bibliography © 2009 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. www. wileyeurope. com/college/sekaran 11