Page 29 - DMGT404 RESEARCH_METHODOLOGY

Unit 2: Research Problem

Notes
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Caution Creativity aspect is fundamentally to be included by a researcher to look at
problems in a different perspective.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
14. Managers often want the results of research in accordance with their ........................
15. Assistance of any research organisation, which handles a number of projects of the
companies, can be sought to ........................... the problem.

2.6 Summary

 Proper problem formulation is the key to success in research.
 It is vital and any error in defining the problem incorrectly can result in wastage of time
and money.
 Several elements of introspection will help in defining the problem correctly.
 The task of defining a research problem, very often, follows a sequential pattern.

 The problem is stated in a general way, the ambiguities are resolved, thinking and
rethinking process results in a more specific formulation of the problem.
 It is done so that it may be a realistic one in terms of the available data and resources and
is also analytically meaningful.
 All this results in a well defined research problem that is not only meaningful from an
operational point of view.

 But is equally capable of paving the way for the development of working hypotheses and
for means of solving the problem itself.

2.7 Keywords

Marketing Research Problem: It is a situation where your company intends to sell a product or
service that fills a specific gap.
Objective of Research: It means to what the researcher aims to achieve.
Pilot Study: A small scale preliminary study conducted before the main research in order to
check the feasibility or to improve the design of the research.
Problem Definition: The process in order to clear understanding (explanation) of what the
problem is.
Research Problem: It focuses on the relevance of the present research.

2.8 Review Questions

1. The objective of research problem should be clearly defined; otherwise the data collection
becomes meaningless. Discuss with suitable examples.

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