The Problem Statement Alignment 02042015

The Problem Statement
Aligning the Problem, Purpose,
Research Question(s), Hypotheses,
Population, and Methodology
Dr. Gene Fusch

Problem Statement
• The Problem Statement needs to be succinctly written with a maximum of 150 words and has 4elements:
Hook (with citation from the literature *)

Anchor
(with
citation from the literature *)

General business problem

Specific business problem to be studied
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All Four Components of the Problem
Statement Must Flow and Align
 Hook (with citation from the literature)
WOW!
 Anchor (with citation from the literature)  General business problem
 Specific business problem to be studied 3

The Focus – The Specific Business Problem
Tell the reader that this is the specific business problem

Identify what the leader has limited supply of or is lacking The specific business problem is that some department store managers lack strategies to motivate their sales associates Identify that the leader has limited supply of or is lacking Add the condition some before the leader or often after the leader

Identify the specific business leader 4

Conceptualizing the Big Picture
 Avoid writing in silos
 Ensure alignment
– Specific Business Problem
– Research Question
– Purpose Statement (first sentence)
• Note: The purpose of every study is to answer the research question

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Alignment
 Make certain that your problem statement (specific business problem), purpose statement, and research question align
 To enhance the alignment put the specific business problem, research question, and first sentence of the purpose statement together on a blank document to ensure that you are using the same words
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Research Question Alignment (Qual. 1)
 The specific business problem is that some department store managers (or often in place of some) lack strategies to motivate their sales associates
 Research Question: What strategies do department store managers lack to motivate their sales associates?
 Research Question: What strategies do department store managers use to motivate their sales associates?
Using a positive statement (glass half full) may help gain access to participants
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Aligning the Purpose Statement to the Problem
Statement and Research Question (Qual. 1)
Specific
Business
Problem

• The specific business problem is that some department store managers lack strategies to motivate their sales associates

Research
Question

• What strategies do department store managers use to motivate their sales associates?

Purpose
(first sentence)

• The purpose of this (method design) study will be to explore the strategies that department store managers use to motivate their sales associates.

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Research Question Alignment (Qual. 2)
 The specific business problem is that some manufacturing frontline supervisors (or often in place of some) lack conflict resolution skills.
 Research Question: What conflict resolution skills do manufacturing frontline supervisors lack?
 Research Question: What conflict resolution skills do manufacturing frontline supervisors use?
Using a positive statement (glass half full) may help gain access to participants
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Aligning the Purpose Statement to the Problem
Statement and Research Question (Qual. 2)
Specific
Business
Problem

• The specific business problem is that manufacturing frontline supervisors often lack conflict resolution skills.

Research
Question

• What conflict resolution skills do manufacturing frontline supervisors use?

Purpose
(first sentence)

• The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study will be to explore the conflict resolution skills that manufacturing frontline supervisors use.

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Qualitative Problem Statement Example (3)
Hook: Small businesses fail at high rates (peer reviewed citation) Anchor: Sixty percent (find current percentage statistic) of small business owners fail to succeed in business beyond 5years (SBA, 2014)
General business problem: The general business problem is that people embark on small business initiatives without adequate preparation
Specific business problem: The specific business problem is that small retail business owners often lack the skills to succeed in business beyond 5 years

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Alignment for a Qualitative Study
Specific Business Problem
 The specific business problem is that small retail business owners often lack the skills to succeed in business beyond 5 years.
Research Question
 What skills do small retail business owners use to succeed in business beyond 5 years?
Purpose Statement (first sentence)
 The purpose of this qualitative explorative case study is to determine what skills small retail business owners use to succeed in business beyond 5 years.
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Alignment for a Quantitative Study
Specific Business Problem
 The specific business problem is that some construction managers have limited information about the relationship between motivation, employee satisfaction, and workplace performance. Research Question
 What information do construction managers need about the relationship between motivation, employee satisfaction, and workplace performance?
Purpose Statement (first sentence)
 The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to examine the information that construction managers need about the relationship between motivation, employee satisfaction, and workplace performance.
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?

Research Questions for a Quantitative Study
Research Question
 What information do construction managers need about the relationship between motivation, employee satisfaction, and workplace performance?
Research Sub-Questions
RQ-1 What is the relationship between motivation and employee satisfaction?
RQ-2 What is the relationship between motivation and workplace performance?
RQ-3 What is the relationship between employee satisfaction and workplace performance?
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Hypotheses
 For each research sub-question there needs to be a hypotheses set that matches (almost a repeat of the question in a statement form)
 Note: qualitative studies do not have hypotheses  RQ1 aligns with H1ₒ & H1ₐ
 RQ2 aligns with H2ₒ & H2ₐ
 RQ3 aligns with H3ₒ & H3ₐ
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Aligning Research Questions to Hypotheses
Research Sub-Questions
RQ-1 What is the relationship between motivation and employee satisfaction?

Hypotheses

RQ-2 What is the relationship between motivation and workplace performance?

H2ₒ There is no relationship between motivation and workplace performance.

RQ-3 What is the relationship between employee satisfaction and workplace performance? H3ₒ There is no relationship between employee satisfaction and workplace performance.

H1ₒ There is no relationship between motivation and employee satisfaction.
H1ₐ There is a relationship between motivation and employee satisfaction.

H2ₐ There is a relationship between motivation and workplace performance.

H3ₐ There is a relationship between employee satisfaction and workplace performance.

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Although the Research Sub-Questions & Hypotheses Align, they are in different sections in the DBA Template
Research Sub-Questions
RQ-1 What is the relationship between motivation and employee satisfaction?
RQ-2 What is the relationship between motivation and workplace performance?
RQ-3 What is the relationship between employee satisfaction and workplace performance? Hypotheses
H1ₒ There is no relationship between motivation and employee satisfaction.
H1ₐ There is a relationship between motivation and employee satisfaction.
H2ₒ There is no relationship between motivation and workplace performance.
H2ₐ There is a relationship between motivation and workplace performance.
H3ₒ There is no relationship between employee satisfaction and workplace performance. H3ₐ There is a relationship between employee satisfaction and workplace performance. 17

Aligning the Population to the Research Question
Research Question
What strategies do department store managers use to motivate their sales associates?

Population

What conflict resolution skills do manufacturing frontline supervisors use?

Manufacturing frontline supervisors that have conflict resolution skills

Department store managers that have strategies to motivate their sales associates What skills do small retail business owners use to Small retail business owners that have succeeded in business beyond five years succeed in business beyond 5 years?
• Construction managers that have
What information do construction managers employee motivation techniques need about the relationship between motivation,
• Employees to measure satisfaction employee satisfaction, and workplace from management motivation performance? Performance reports
•

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Qualitative Alignment Between the Research
Question and Interview Questions
• Make certain that the interview questions align with the research question
• Make certain that the interview questions align with the correct population (the business leader)
• Make certain that the interview questions address an applied
DBA business problem and not a theoretical PhD business problem. 19

Writing Qualitative Interview Questions
Research Question: What strategies do department store managers use to motivate their sales associates?
• Applied DBA Questions
 What strategies have you used to motivate your sales associates?
 What method did you find worked best to motivate your sales associates?  How did your sales associates respond to your different motivation techniques? • Speculative/theoretical PhD Questions
 What strategies should managers use to motivate sales associates?
 What method do you think will work best to motivate sales associates?
 What can other department store managers use to motivate sales associates? 20

Qualitative Alignment Between the Research
Question and Conceptual Framework
Make certain that the theory aligns with the research question
• Finding a theory for the conceptual framework:
– Critically read peer reviewed studies related to your topic and identify the theories that the sources found aligned with their studies.
– Critically read the seminal work on the theories that you found in peer reviewed studies related to your topic.
• Related studies may be about the concept and not the specific industry.
• For example, if one is studying how the family owned wrecking yard leaders succession plan, one could look at studies on leadership training and development in other types of organizations.

– Select the theory or conceptual model that best aligns with the research question.

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Selecting the Research Method & Design
Determine the most effective method and design to answer the research question and collect the data from the population
 Method
 The research question determines the research methodology.
 For a research question that needs exploration, description, or understanding use a qualitative methodology.
 For a research question that needs an experiment, cause and effect, or correlation between variables use a quantitative methodology.

 Design

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