User:Innolab8/Learning Outcomes/1. Ability to recognise and validate research problems

1.1. Introduction

A research problem is a topic area that a researcher would like to study, address or explore. It is the focus of every research. Therefore, it can be a topic, challenge or phenomenon. Frequently, a research problem is something that the researcher knows about or has experience in the past.

1.2. Personal strengths


 * Reading
 * Planning and organisation

1.3. Personal weaknesses


 * Limited research background
 * Academic writing

1.4. Addressing weaknesses


 * Attended Literature Review seminar
 * Submission and obtaining feedback from Literature review assignment
 * Self enrichment by reading academic books on writing
 * Self-directed learning 1 (Reading & Note taking)
 * Self-directed learning 2 (Researching)
 * Self-directed learning 3 (Writing an essay)
 * Self-directed learning 4 (Referencing more effectively)
 * Self-directed learning 5 (Critical thinking)
 * Self-directed learning 6 (Video – Getting started with academic)
 * Self-directed learning 7 (Research Tips)

1.5 Problems recognition


 * Understanding the roles of brand equity in higher education
 * What are the key factors affecting education brand equity?
 * How can brand equity be evaluated in the higher education industry?
 * What is an effective brand equity model for Higher Education

Learning objective 1 achieved


 * I have understood the role of the literature in research in general.
 * I am competent to select the type of literature review required based on their particular research.
 * I am able to critically analyse a piece of literature and consider its role in relation to my research area.
 * I am able to extend their literature search both in terms of the depth and the breadth of the literature being used and addressed.
 * I am able to recognised and validate the research problems in the area of brand management.

Reflection:

Validating a research problem is the key in implementing effective research approach to address the objective in research study. I realised that if the problem definition is not clear or vague, I will be wasting a lot of time and effort to examine and to understand the phenomenon. As a result, the research problem will need to be narrowed down and be more specific. This will enable me explore the outcome that I am seeking for. In addition, it is rational to research on topic that I am interested. I find that I am more motivation and committed to conduct a rigorous research in that field of study. Subsequently, searching and reviewing the existing literature of brand and branding can validate my research objectives. Likewise, I have also learned the importance of using the existing literature to clarify any unclear research outcome or where there are any gaps in the literature.

The identification of the research problem is not easy task and it is very crucial to the purpose of a research study. In the very preliminary stage, I asked myself the question of why I conduct the research and is there a problem or idea that I would like to explore and understand. By understand the problem, I have developed a plan to address the problem. However, in the process of identifying and validating the research problems, I am faced with a lot of obstacles. In the initial stage, I observed that company might have issues positioning themselves effectively in the marketplace. For instance, how does the consumer differentiate between NTUC Fairprice supermarkets from Cold storage? How does the customer perceive the supermarket brands? Do their selection base in terms of pricing, variety, satisfaction and loyalty, among others? After researching in this area of interest. I have learned a lot and realised that there are many research being carried out on products and service brands. By probing deeper in to brand and branding, I learned that by managing the service brand equity can better assist the company in understand their position in the marketplace better. While exploring brand equity in the service industry, it came to my mind that I can actually look into how a higher institution can better build a strong brand equity as a strategic marketing. This is inline with my interest in the education setting.

There are various tools that I have used to manage my literature review. First, I used resources such as e-library and Google scholar search. Our University of Canberra’s library is very comprehensive and it provides a wide range of resources such as database search facility. I specifically preferred to use the SCOPUS database search as it provides a better keyword search result. I have tried a number of management softwares such as Mandeley, Evernote, Endnote and Scriveners software, among others. I find that Mandeley is very easy to use and pickup. Mandeley helps me arrange my journals and notes in a very structured manner so that I can retrieve information easily. I have researched on specified keywords and themes such as brand, brand equity, higher education, perceived quality and value.