Most research in the humanities revolves around four Ps:
People;
Problems;
Programmes;
Phenomena.
Researcher may:
Select a group of individuals or a community – ‘people’,
Examine the existence of certain issues or problems relating to their lives, ascertain their attitude towards an issue –‘problem’,
Establish the existence of regularity – phenomenon, evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention – ‘programme’.
Sources of research problems
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Aspect of study
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About
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Study of
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Value
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Study population
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People
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Individuals, organizations, groups, communities
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They provide you with the required information
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Subject area
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Problem
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Issues, situations, associations, needs, profiles
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They give information for you to find answers to research questions
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Programme
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Contents, structure, outcomes, consumers, providers.
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|
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Phenomenon
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Cause and effect, relationships
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Considerations in selecting a research problem
Interest
Magnitude
Measurement of concepts
Level of expertise
Relevance
Availability of data
Ethical issues
Interest
Interest should be the most important consideration in selecting a research problem. A research Endeavour is usually time consuming, and involves hard work and possibly unforeseen problems. If researcher selects a topic which does not greatly interest him, it could become extremely difficult to sustain the required motivation and put in enough time and energy to complete it.
Magnitude
Researcher should have sufficient knowledge about the research process to be able to visualise the work involved in completing the proposed study. He should narrow the topic down to something manageable, specific and clear. It is important to select a topic that researcher can manage within the time and with the resources at his disposal. Even if researcher is undertaking a descriptive study, he needs to consider its magnitude carefully.
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