Page 25 - DMGT404 RESEARCH_METHODOLOGY

Unit 2: Research Problem

2.2 Selection of the Problem Notes

The research problem undertaken for study must be carefully selected. The task is a difficult one,
although it may not appear to be so. Help may be taken from a research guide in this connection.
Nevertheless, every researcher must find out his own salvation for research problems cannot be
borrowed. A problem must spring from the researcher's mind like a plant springing from its
own seed. If our eyes need glasses, it is not the optician alone who decides about the number of
the lens we require. We have to see ourself and enable him to prescribe for us the right number
by cooperating with him. Thus, a research guide can at the most only help a researcher choose a
subject.
Inevitably, selecting a problem is somewhat arbitrary, idiosyncratic, and personal. Avoid
selecting the first problem that you encounter. Try to select the most interesting and personally
satisfying choice from among two or three possibilities. The problem selection should matter to
you. You should be eager and enthusiastic.
A good topic should be small enough for a conclusive investigation and large enough to yield
interesting results.

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Caution Remember that research must yield a publication for it to have meaning.
You may wish to query likely periodical editors to see if they might be interested in an article
on your research topic.

In some cases, as with a thesis or a dissertation, some sort of preliminary study may be needed
to see if the problem and the study are feasible and to identify snags. Such a PILOT STUDY can
be quite valuable.

Task Analyse what problems you might encounter while selecting a problem?

Selection Criteria

1. Your genuine enthusiasm for the problem.

2. Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average researcher.
3. The degree to which research on this problem benefits the profession and society.
4. The degree to which research on this problem will assist your professional goals and
career objectives.
5. Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.
6. The degree to which this research will interest superiors and other leaders in the field.
7. The degree to which the research builds on your experience and knowledge.

8. Ease of access to the population to be studied and the likelihood that they will be cooperative
Affordability.

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