WHY RESEARCH QUESTION IS IMPORTANT?

Research Question

Your research question is the most critical part of your research proposal -- it defines the proposal, it guides your arguments and inquiry, and it provokes the interests of the reviewer. If your question does not work well, no matter how strong the rest of the proposal, the proposal is unlikely to be successful. Because of this, it is common to spend more time on the researching, conceptualizing and forming of each individual word of the research question than on any other part of the proposal.

To write a strong research question you will need time. Step away from your computer; consider what drew you to your topic. What about it animates and matters to you? Listen to yourself and start formulating your question by following your own interests. Remember, you will spend a lot of time researching and writing about the proposed project: if it does not interest you in the beginning, it will certainly become very difficult to write about in the end.

Next, extensively research your topic. What have people said about it? How have they framed their research? What gaps, contradictions, or concerns arise for you as you read, talk to people, and visit places? After you have done this you can go back to your computer or note pad and start crafting the question itself. When you do, consider that a strong research question should be evocative, relevant, clear, and researchable.

The Research Question Should Be Evocative

Evocative questions are ones that catch the interest of the reviewer and draw her/him into the proposal. Equally important, they easily adhere in the reviewers' memory after reading the proposal. Questions tend to be evocative because of the ways they engage with challenging topics: they pose innovative approaches to the exploration of problems, and because of this the answers found are far from obvious. There is no single way to form a conceptually innovative question. However, some of the following qualities are common to successful proposals.

Make it timely. Evocative questions are often distilled from very contemporary social or theoretical concerns. For example, questions regarding the energy crisis, international tribunals, nationalism, or the rise of anti-globalization protests are likely to peak the interests of others because they are questions whose relevance will be clearly discernable for reviewer.

Frame it as a paradox. Frame your question around a provocative paradox. For example, why have indigenous organizations in Bolivia markedly declined while the number and quantity of funding sources has increased? Or why have violent conflicts over forest resources increased in the last ten years while the very people involved in these conflicts have become less and less dependent on forest resources for their livelihoods? There are many potential answers to these questions, and your research may ultimately challenge your own expected explanation -- but this in itself is a relevant discovery. These types of paradoxes pull the reader into the proposal and set up a situation whereby the research will fill in a provocative piece of the puzzle and make clear a much-needed broader understanding.

Take a distinctive approach. Finally, a question that approaches an old problem in a refreshingly new way, or proposes a surprising angle of analysis on a difficult dilemma, is likely to prove evocative for reviewers. This could involve a new methodology, a new conceptual approach, or the linking of two previously disparate fields of knowledge. These innovative approaches both develop confidence in the intellect of the researcher and hold promise for new understandings and insights to old and difficult questions.

source : University of California, Institute of International Studies

WHAT IS RESEARCH QUESTION?

On 18 March 2008, I met my supervisor Assc Prof Dr Hamzah Jusoh and he ask me to find out what is Research Question?

DEFINITION

The word RESEARCH means "finding out" or "discovery", by use of systematic effort, information or answers to something you want to know. You RESEARCH by asking questions and by searching for answers to those questions which are satisfactory, methodological valid, and balanced. You cannot RESEARCH if you do not want to know anything, that is, you must have something you would like to know more about before you can do RESEARCH. You begin with a QUESTION or QUESTIONS. If you have none, you will find no answers or will not know when you have found one. Since you will be assigned to write a RESEARCH paper, a paper written without a question in mind will NOT be a RESEARCH paper.

The research question is one of the first methodological steps the investigator has to take when undertaking a research. The research question must be accurately and clearly defined. Choosing a research question is the central element of both quantitative and qualitative research and in some cases it may precede construction of the conceptual framework of study. In all cases, it makes the theoretical assumptions in the framework more explicit, most of all it indicates what the researcher wants to know most and first.

DEVELOPING RESEARCH QUESTION

It's absolutely essential to develop a research question that you're interested in or care about in order to focus your research and your paper (unless, of course, your instructor gives you a very specific assignment). For example, researching a broad topic such as "business management" is difficult since there may be hundreds of sources on all aspects of business management. On the other hand, a focused question such as "What are the pros and cons of Japanese management style?" is easier to research and can be covered more fully and in more depth.

How do you develop a usable research question? Choose an appropriate topic or issue for your research, one that actually can be researched.Then list all of the questions that you'd like answered yourself. Choose the best question, one that is neither too broad nor too narrow. Sometimes the number of sources you find will help you discover whether your research question is too broad, too narrow, or okay?If you know a lot about the topic, you can develop a research question based on your own knowledge. If you feel you don't know much about the topic, think again. For example, if you're assigned a research topic on an issue confronting the ancient Babylonian family, remember, by virtue of your own family life, you already know a great deal about family issues. Once you determine what you do know, then you're ready to do some general reading in a textbook or encyclopedia in order to develop a usable research question.

source : Empire State College, State University of New York http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc

VISIONS OF DEVELOPMENT

After 3 days reading books with title DEVELOPMENT IN THEORY AND PRACTICE : PARADIGMS AND PARADOXES by Jan Knippers Black and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT : THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR A DIVIDED WORLD by Stuart R.Lynn, I can make a conclusion in form of questions need to be addressed:

1. What lies behind the development and economic development discourse?


2. What interests and agendas have driven the development and economic development discourse?


3. Do development and economic development theory served served generally to strengthen human cooperation dan improve the quality of life?


4. What way can the relevance of development and economic development studies be revitalised and sustained?

The review attempted here hopefully can contribute towards re-vitalising development and economic development studies as scholarly fields and accord them their deserved status, as well as to provide a strong intellectual foundation to rededicate and reaffirm developent as an historic enterprise to advance human well-being and dignity.

QUESTIONS ON KUALA LUMPUR CITY REGION

In my literature review on city region, National Urbanization Policy and Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020, a few questions I try to answer in order to understand more the role of Kuala Lumpur as National Capital City:

1. In what ways are Kuala Lumpur City Region capabilities to generate wealth enhanced or threatened by international flows of capital, people, goods and information?
2. What policy strategies can be devised to create and sustain local competitive advantages and to ensure economic growth, while bringing wasteful inter-regional competition for mobile investments under control?
3. How can social well-being and environmental quality be secured in Kuala Lumpur City Region when these often seem to be endangered by increasing urbanization and globalization?
4. How do we plan for the public interest in Kuala Lumpur City Region with multiple publics?
5. What alternative institutional arrangements need to be developed to deal with strategic region-wide policy issues and to ensure effective governance of inter-regional relations in the emerging new world order?
6. Can Kuala Lumpur City Region be the architects of our own future?
7. Why is Kuala Lumpur City Region growing rapidly precisely at a moment in history when some analysts are claiming that the end of geography is in sight, and that the world is turning into a placeless space of flows?
8. How have forms of economic and social organization in Kuala Lumpur City Region responded to globalization, and what new problems have been created as a consequence?
9. What main governance tasks do Kuala Lumpur City Region face as they seek to preserve and enhance their wealth and well-being?
10. How can we define the public interest in culturally heterogeneous Kuala Lumpur City Region ?

KUALA LUMPUR IS A CITY REGION

GENERAL

A city region is an urban area comprising a number of cities, large towns and larger urban areas that, through population growth and expansion, have physically merged to form one continuous built up area. It is thus a polycentric form of agglomeration. A city region is easily confused with a metropolitan area. A metropolitan area actually consists of many neighborhoods, while a city region consists of many different metropolitan areas that are very close to or connected with one another. Most of the time these separate metropolitan areas that make up a city region are somehow dependent on each other and in conjunction economically and socially, hence the formation of one city region.

A city region is something which has always been around, but we have seen an increase in city regions in the era of globalization. City region have increased for many reasons, including:

· Globalization, which has brought the world closer physically and socially;

· Relocation of businesses and corporations outside city boundaries ;

· The loss of the centrality of the city ;

· Migration away from the city due to crime and greater affluence of suburbs;

· Exportation of labor moved industries away from cities

KUALA LUMPUR CITY REGION IN THE CONTEXT OF KLANG VALLEY

source : Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan, 2020

A more appropriate term of reference for Kuala Lumpur’s sub-national context is the Kuala Lumpur and its city region (KLCR). The KLCR refers to the entire Klang Valley Region as originally defined by the Klang Valley Study (1972) together with much of the Kuala Langat district and the remaining part of the Sepang district where the KLIA is located. It covers a total area of approximately 4,000 square kilometres, which is about 40 percent larger thanthe size of the Klang Valley Region of 2,843 square kilometres. The KLCR is one large urban entity which incorporates the complete range of urban functions. However, it is important to distinguish between Kuala Lumpur, which is an administrative unit and the much larger KLCR which represents the total urban entity within which Kuala Lumpur is located and functions in many ways as the nucleus of the KLCR. Kuala Lumpur’s role, status and specific functions within the overall KLCR must be defined within the context of the wider total urban entity. Similarly, in view of their symbiotic relationship, the planning of Kuala Lumpur must take full account of developments in the KLCR as a whole.

Kuala Lumpur’s principal functions will be redefined as a consequence of the MSC, the relocation of federal government administrative functions to Putrajaya and the wide range of city functions and activities that are now part of the KLCR. Furthermore, as the proportion of built-up land area and population of Kuala Lumpur declines in relation to that of the entire KLCR, the role of Kuala Lumpur is likely to be increasingly specialised. The City must focus on developing its strengths in the top-end services and manufacturing industries to enable them to operate within larger market catchments on an international, national and subnational scale.

The core urban functions will continue to be located within the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. Thus the headquarters of transnational companies, the top end hotels and shopping outlets, recreational and entertainment centres will be located in the city centre, as will specialised training facilities, professional services and specialist medical services. In addition, Kuala Lumpur will also be a focus for the development of knowledge-based and high value added manufacturing industries. As the capital of the nation, Kuala Lumpur will continue to house the major knowledge-based institutions, religious and cultural facilities. Befitting their international and national status, theseinstitutions and facilities must be enhanced considerably.

LITERATURE REVIEW ON CITY REGION

GENERAL

Today there are more than three hundred cities or city regions around the world with populations greater than one million people. In 1950, only one city – New York – had a population of at least 10 million people. According to the UN (2001), at least 16 cities or city regions had populations in excess of ten million by 2000. The projections for the next 50 years indicate that urban growth rates will rise steadily, particularly in the developing world. This development poses many deep challenges to researchers and policymakers alike, not only in the context of urban governance and management.

The outstanding importance of cities as nodal points of a world-wide network was recognized by Peter Hall back in 1966. Since then, most of the research conducted on cities or city regions has focussed primarily on the world’s leading financial and economic centres (i.e. New York, London, Tokyo, Frankfurt) and on their role in a network of globally connected cities (Sassen, Friedman). While the outcome of these pioneering projects has provided researchers with valuable insights, research on the changing role of larger cities in the developing world is less advanced – despite the fact that urban growth rates in these cities are much higher than in the cities of the north. According to the UN, twenty-four of the thirty largest cities or city regions will be located in less developed countries by 2015.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The challenge of conducting research on large and important cities is that the significance of any given city is defined very differently by the authors of various studies. This divergence of views reflects both the diverse nature of cities and also differences of approach taken in the study of cities. In this section, we provide a short overview of the different understandings of the significance of large cities by introducing the terms world city, global city, informational city, mega city, and global city-region. Of course this is only a narrow selection made from a wide range of terms used to describe cities. However, in the context of our own study on Global City Regions as Changing Sites of Governance, we consider the following definitions to be extremely valuable for developing a framework of analysis.

The concept of global city-regions can be traced back to the "world cities" idea of Hall (1966) and Friedmann and Wolff (1982), and to the "global cities" idea of Sassen (1991). We build here on these pioneering efforts, but in a way that tries to extend the meaning of the concept in economic, political and territorial terms, and above all by an effort to show how city-regions increasingly function as essential spatial nodes of the global economy and as distinctive political actors on the world stage. In fact, rather than being dissolved away as social and geographic objects by processes of globalization, city-regions are becoming increasingly central to modern life, and all the more so because globalization (in combination with various technological shifts) has reactivated their significance as bases of all forms of productive activity, no matter whether in manufacturing or services, in high-technology or low-technology sectors.

Sassen (1991) defines global cities as, "cities that are strategic sites in the global economy because of their concentration of command functions and high-level producer service firms oriented to world markets; more generally cities with high levels of internationalisation in their economy and in their broader social structure". Thus, they are both centres of production and innovation as well as a home to markets. Manuel Castells describes the new urban phenomena as the informational city, adapted to his global information society concept. The key issues within his definition are the new communication technologies and infrastructure. This includes information technology, telecommunications, air transportation, and the accordingly necessitated infrastructure. Furthermore, he takes financial and economic performance into consideration. The informational city is to be seen as embedded in a global system of networked information flows.

CONCLUSION

These city-regions are expanding vigorously, and they present many new and deep challenges to researchers and policy-makers in both the more developed and less developed parts of the world. The processes of global economic integration and accelerated urban growth make traditional planning and policy strategies in these regions increasingly inadequate, while more effective approaches remain largely in various stages of hypothesis and experimentation. Global City-Regions represents a multifaceted effort to deal with the many different issues raised by these developments. It seeks at once to define the question of global city-regions and to describe the internal and external dynamics that shape them; it proposes a theorization of global city-regions based on their economic and political responses to intensifying levels of globalization; and it offers a number of policy insights into the severe social problems that confront global city-regions as they come face to face with an economically and politically neoliberal world.

At a moment when globalization is increasingly subject to critical scrutiny in many different quarters, this book provides a timely overview of its effects on urban and regional development, one of its most important (but perhaps least understood) corollaries. Conventionally, if one lives in an apparently rural area, suburb or county town where a majority of wage-earners travel into a particular city for a full or part-time job then one is (in effect) residing in the city region. In studying human geography, urban and regional planning or the regional dynamics of business it is often worthwhile having closer regard to dominant travel patterns during the working day (to the extent that these can be estimated and recorded), than to the rather arbitrary boundaries assigned to administrative bodies such as councils, prefectures, or to localities defined merely to optimise postal services.

KUALA LUMPUR....GLOBALIZATION CITY?

Being the premier city and the capital of a nation with a highly trade oriented economy that aspires to be fully developed by the year 2020, Kuala Lumpur’s vision, goals, functions and growth must be seen both from the national and the broader global perspective, especially within the context of development of the Asia Pacific Region. With globalisation gathering pace, Kuala Lumpur will encounter more challenges within a new international development era. The nation’s capital should be made ready for a competitive international role in the world of the 21st Century. In the light of hanges in the last twenty years and anticipated changes in the near future for a holistic development and good governance

The decline in trade barriers, the vast improvements in transportation and communication systems and networks over the last few decades have enhanced the volume of international trade in goods and services. Accompanying these are the enhanced international mobility of human resources, short and long-term capital and the growth in the number, strength and influence of transnational companies. The world economy has consequently become more integrated and global in nature. Major economic activities especially manufacturing have become more dispersed globally as processes within the production chain of increasingly more complex consumer and capital goods move to places that offer the best competitive advantage.

The global dispersion of production and marketing activities of transnational companies requires the global dispersal of management, control and support. This is achieved by the establishment of regional headquarters offices in strategically located cities which can offer suitable infrastructure, supporting services, living environment and other ancillary activities. Many cities that have assumed an important role by providing a base for the efficient conduct of international business have attained the status of ‘global’ or ‘world’ cities. Examples of top ranked global city are London, New York, Paris and Tokyo. Others that play more of a regional or sub global role within the Asia Pacific Region are cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney.

In addition to the globalisation trend, another factor that is and will influence the growth of the nation and that of Kuala Lumpur is the increase in the importance of the knowledge-based economic activities especially those relating to the development of information and communication technology (ICT). Industries that generate knowledge such as research and development in biotechnology, computer software multimedia applications, new technology for the computer and other hardware and industries that process, distribute and manage information such as educational institutions, telecommunication and Internet systems, advertising and professional services are the key drivers of the Knowledge-Based Economy (K-Economy).

LESTARI ROUND TABLE DIALOGUE

Today I have a chance to attend one day a Round Table Dialogue "MODELLING THE COMPLEXITY OF LIVABLE URBANIZATION" organised by Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Centre for Advance Spatial Analysis (CASA), University College London, United Kingdom in Equatorial Hotel Bangi. The Livable City is a normative idea that has been developed to help guide thinking about the way our cities function and develop.

The purposes of the dialogue are :

a. To present the state of international and local effort in modelling the complexity of urbanization;

b. To discuss issues pertaining to information needs and modelling perspectives given the changing urbanization process for sutainable development; and

c.To develop a collaboration for future research in urbanization and sustainability modelling.

I met my friends from Federal Department of Town and Country Planning (FDTCP), Encik Kamalruddin Shamsudin, Deputy Director General 1, Puan Noraziah and Puan Shamsaini. Dr Jalaludin and Dr Siva from FSSK are also attended. A few interesting papers have been presented such as :

a. Modelling and Visualising Sustainable Urban Change: Current and Future Research Agendas by Prof Michael Batty from CASA, United Kingdom;

b. Local Variation of Racial Integration /Segregation in Seremban by Prof Dr Ruslan Rainis from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

c. Modelling the Reality in Planning and Decision Support System : Experience in Malaysia by Prof Dr Alias Abdullah from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)

d. Heuristic Approaches to Urban Liveability by Assoc Prof Dr Ray Wyatt from University of Melbourne, Australia

e. Decision Support System for Urban Sustainability Planning by Prof Dr Ahris Yaakup from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

f. Modelling the Complexity of Urbanization by Assoc Prof Abdul Hadi Harman Shah from LESTARI, UKM.

The conclusion from the dialogue:

a. The multiple and overlapping structures and actors that makeup the urbanization process have made attempts at managing it difficult;

b.Over time better tools and conceptualizations are developed to allow for a better understanding of the city;

c. Current efforts at achieving the good life in the city are oriented towards developing sustainable cities;

d. Human-oriented and environmentally friendly, with features that make it attractive and make living in it conveient, safe, and pleasant; a high degree of sustainability is a component of this characteristic;

e. The concept of livability is represent the characteristic that "depends on the attractiveness of an area as a place in which to live, work, invest, and do business;

f. A city may be physically beautiful, but if it suffers from high unemployment, it probably will also suffer from crime and other social problems; and

g. Economically viable and efficient