Lecture 4

Research Problem

• Summary Notes
• Topics for Discussion
• Required Readings
• Favorite Links
• Student Work
• Assignments
• Sample Quiz
• References
• Additional Links

Summary Notes

Idea search and development

The researcher needs to generate ideas for an interesting research problem, choose a problem, and state a research question for that problem. But where do ideas for research come from?

Sources of research ideas according to Marken (1981):

1. Personal observation: Research ideas generated from direct observation of events, or from indirect observation such as hearing or reading about events.
2. Previous research: Research ideas generated from looking into what others have done. Most research concludes with suggestions for future research, and one may select one of those areas to pursue further.
3. Theory: Research ideas can be generated to test existing theory, refute an existing theory, extend an existing theory, or discover a new theory.
4. Practical problems: Research ideas generated to solve everyday practical problems.

What drives people to search for research ideas? Curiosity, personal interest, professional interest, or academic interest are examples of reasons why people search for new research problems. 

Other sources of research ideas may include grant-offering organizations that suggest problem areas that require investigation. Sometimes, common sense and intuition are sources for research ideas.

Concerns regarding the selected research idea:

1. Could be empirically tested: An idea that cannot be empirically tested is not worth spending time upon.
2. Would result in some sort of contribution: You should assess the potential benefits of the research project
3. Should be ethically acceptable: You should assess the potential gains versus the potential harm
4. Literature review must be conducted: To avoid unnecessary repetition and to build upon existing knowledge

B- Examples of research ideas in the field of architecture

• One might be interested in finding out what causes some people and not others to like a certain building.
• One might be interested in finding out what causes people to like a certain building more than another one of the same building type.
• One might want to know the consequences of using a new glass specification on the heat gain of a certain building.
• One might like to predict the behavior of a designed building towards weather conditions
• One might want to understand why a group of people have abandoned a certain neighborhood.
• One might want to explain why a certain structural element in a building has unexpectedly and suddenly collapsed.
• MORE EXAMPLES
• Do you need more resources on Architecture, check this site with multiple links on the web ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING
• Ideas for research on URBAN DESIGN, check this special issue of Urban Design Quarterly.

Review of the literature

Once a research idea is selected, one has to find out what has been previously been done on this problem area. This procedure is known as "review of the literature" or "literature review".

To be able to review the literature one needs to conduct a literature search. One has to search the periodicals, journals, books, references, abstracts, bibliographies, encyclopedias, indices, special collections, or other resources in both the library and the Internet.

The objective of the literature review is to discover background information about the selected problem area including previous work that has been done. If one finds that work has been done in the same area, then one may build upon such work and make use of the resources and try to overcome any problems that were encountered. After all, one need not reinvent the wheel. The whole idea of the literature review is to build upon others, since science is cumulative. The process of the literature review involves good search, followed by critical reading, and writing summaries or taking notes. Refer to the favorite links and the additional links for more on this subject.

Problem statement or research question

To state a research problem, one may need to ask oneself questions using the why? how? what if? what is? format or similar type formats. The research problem may be stated using one of two formats:

1. Problem statement: A definition of the research problem.

2. Research question: Expresses the research problem in the form of a question that requires answering. 

Conditions of a good research question (or a problem statement) according to Leavitt (1991) include:

• A good research question can be answered empirically: This condition implies that some questions cannot be answered empirically and therefore would not fall within the realm of science such as questions of value judgments or religious beliefs or definitions.

• A good research question indicates the nature of acceptable answers: This condition suggests that the questions need to be as specific as possible. Too broad or abstract type questions are difficult to answer.

• A good research question is worth answering: One should feel that some sort of benefit will come out of the research, whether it is a benefit of basic or applied nature.

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Topics for Discussion

The following items are topics for discussion during this lecture. Students should prepare their thoughts and ideas around these topics.

• How to get research ideas for architectural problems?

• How to search the library and the Internet?

• How to review previous literature about the problem?

• How to write effective research questions or formulate problem statements?

• What are the components of a research proposal?

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Required Readings

• On selecting research problems

1. Grosof, M.S. & Sardy, H. (1985). A Research Primer for the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Orlando, FL: Academic Press. (Chapter 2, pp.25-49, Choosing the Research Problem & Stating the Problem-Question).

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Favorite Links

• Ways to generate research ideas from previous research: 21 ways of generating ideas from previous research.
• Problem formulation: A good brief discussion of where research ideas come from. The discussion includes some tips on conducting a literature review.
• Critical reading: Some useful tips on the meaning of critical reading and ways to critically read.
• The literature review: Tips on how to do a literature review.
• Tips on how to do a library search.
• Searching the web: Tips on how to do an Internet search. Search engine math to do a power search. Boolean searching. A summary chart for largest search engines.

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Student Work

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Assignments

• Review the material for this lecture (notes, required readings, favorite links)
• Read the required readings for the next lecture
• Prepare your thoughts and issues related to the topics for discussion for next lecture
• Today is submission of Assignment 2: Research in Architecture.  

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References

• Grosof, M.S. & Sardy, H. (1985). A Research Primer for the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Orlando, FL: Academic Press. (especially chapters 2 & 3)
• Leavitt, F. (1991). Research Methods for Behavioral Scientists. IA: WCB Publishers. (especially chapters 2, 3, & 5)
• Marken, R. (1981). Methods in Experimental Psychology. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. (especially chapter 2)

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Additional Links

• Taking notes from research reading: Tips on how to take notes from research readings.
• How to get the most out of your reading? Tips on reading with a purpose.
• How not to plagiarize? Useful tips and common questions and answers for avoiding plagiarism. 
• Searching the CD-ROM version of the Social Science Citation Index: A site that explains how to search the SSCI that includes the literature of the social sciences and related disciplines.

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This page last revised: 09/05/03