Define Research Problem

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Define Research Problem
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• Management objectives
• To solve current problem facing company
• To improve efficiency
• To plan for future
• Current problems are mostly symptomatic
• Doctor patient scenario
• Management wants solution.

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What should Research achieve?
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• Research should provide solution. Therefore,
• Management problem is what action should be taken
  to solve problem and
• Research problem is what possible solutions
  should be evaluated to solve problem
• Evaluation for solutions requires data.

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• Hence, Management problem should be translated
  into Research problem that
• Determines what data should be provided and how
  to acquire it
• How to convert data into information

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• One can , therefore, state that
• Management problem is action oriented and
• Research problem is data oriented

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• For formulating Research problem researcher
  should understand
• Objective of decision maker and his environment
• Decision makers willingness to take risk
• Alternative courses of actions that are available
  to him
• Consequences of alternative courses of actions

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• Clear understanding between decision maker and
  researcher is necessary to make research useful.
  For this
• Prepare research request
• Prepare dummy report

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Research Request
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• Research request document should include
• Events that led to problem
• Possible solutions that are to be evaluated
• Questions that decision maker wants to answer
• Data required to evaluate possible solutions
• From where data will be collected how?
• How each data item collected would be useful to
  answer questions in point 3 above

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Research Proposal
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Research Proposal

• 1. Marketing Problem
• Brief description of general problem and reason
  for conducting research.
• Sum up preliminary discussions between researcher
  manager demonstrate knowledge of situation
  particular information needs.

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Research Proposal

• 2. Purpose of Research Project
• State goals objectives, with rationales.
• Describe scope of project (i.e., what will be and
  will not be investigated).
• Spell out specific questions to be answered.
  These are called investigative questions.
• Address possible limitations due to time or
  budget constraints (to avoid later disagreement).

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Research Proposal

• 3. Data sources and methodology
• Describe secondary data to be used.
• Describe how primary data will be gathered
  (surveys, experiments).
• Keep methods descriptions non-technical.
• Describe sample and proposed size.
• Include draft of questionnaire or focus group
  moderator outline (etc.), if applicable.

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Research Proposal

• 4. Time Personnel
• Provide time estimates for each phase of the
  research.
• Specify personnel required and their rates of
  pay.
• Calculate non-personnel costs (e.g., printing,
  mailing, etc.).

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Examples
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Example 1

• Sale of a product that was doing well has started
  declining.

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• Management Problem
• What should be done to the product?
• Research Problem
• What are reasons for such decline?
• Investigative questions
• Is decline seen in all territories?
• Is market declining?
• Is our market share declining?
• Is competitors sale declining?

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• Is there a new product satisfying same need?
• Is our product always available?
• And so on

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Example 2

• Management wants to decide sale target for
  companys existing product.

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• Management problem
• What should be sale target for companys product?
• Research problem
• What will be the growth of the market?
• Investigative questions
• What is the trend in the market size (increasing/
  decreasing)?
• What is the trend in our market share?
• What is the sale trend of competing products?
• At what stage of life cycle the product is?

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• Is there any possibility of introducing new
  product?
• What is the situation in international market?
• What could be governments policy towards
  concerned market?
• To what extent companys customers are brand
  loyal to companys brand?
• And so on.