Statement of The Problem

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
After the investigator has clarified the rationale, identified the degree of seriousness of the problem,
provided the literature review, and set the overall objective, the formulation of the heart of the thesis-the
statement of the general and the specific problems ---must be done. The opening paragraph of this section
contains the general problem of the study.
Writing the General Problem in a Qualitative Study

In the book Principles of Qualitative Research: Designing a Qualitative Study, Creswell and Clark (2014)
provide the following criteria in writing the purpose statement:
1. It should use single and not compound sentences.
2. It should clearly express the purpose of the study.
3. It should include the central phenomenon.
4. It should use qualitative words, e.g., explore, discover, and explain.
5. It should identify the participants in the study.
6. It should state the research site.
A sample pattern for the purpose statement is provided below.

The purpose of this (narrative, phenomenological, grounded theory, ethnographic, case) is to
(understand, describe, develop, discover) the (central phenomenon of the study) for (the participants) at (the
site). At this stage in the research, the (central phenomenon) will be generally defined as (a general definition
of the central concept) (Creswell and Clark, 2014).
Below are some examples of a general problem.

Example 1:
The overall objective of this phenomenological study is to describe the intrapersonal and interpersonal
competencies of school principals, and their relationship to the school effectiveness in the Division of Bataan for
the school year 2001-2002. The result is used as a basis for an intervention program (Cristobal, 2003). Here,
intrapersonal is the school managers' own self-concept and personality while interpersonal is their
communication and expressions in dealing with subordinates.
Example 2:
The objective of this ethnographic study is to differentiate the customs and traditions of the Aetas and
the locals of Zambales enrolled in Olongapo National City High School for the school year 2014-2015. In this
research, the customs and traditions are defined as their practices in the celebration of feasts.
Example 3:
The objective of this grounded theory study is to characterize the general study habits of the high
school students that belong to the top ten of the class. The study habits are concentrated on the student's
preparation before attending classes daily.
The general problem is followed by an enumeration of the specific problems. These problems are usually
stated as questions that the researcher seeks to answer. Therefore, the specific problems must meet the following
criteria:
1. They must be in question form.
2. They must define the population and the samples of the study (respondents).
3. They must identify the variables being studied.
According to Creswell and Clark (2014), there are two types of research questions. These are as follows:
1. Central questions - These are the most general questions that can be asked.
2. Sub-questions - These questions subdivide the central question into more specific topical questions
and are only limited in number.
Creswell and Clark (2014) also provide some guidelines in formulating the research question:
1. The question should begin with words such as "how" or "what"
2. The readers should be informed of the information that will be discovered, generated, explored,
identified, or described in the study.
3. The question "What happened?" should be asked to help craft the description.
4. The question "What was the meaning to people of what happened?" should be asked to understand
the results.
5. The question "What happened over time?" should be asked to explore the process.
In addition, Cresswell and Clark (2004) also provide the following scripts as a guide in designing qualitative
central and sub-questions:
1. Central question script
A. “What is the meaning of/what does it mean to (central phenomenon)?"
Examples:
a. What is the meaning of intrapersonal competencies?
b. What does it mean to differentiate the customs and traditions of Aetas to those of the locals?
c. What does it mean to characterize the study habits of the top 10 students of the class?
B. "How would (participants) describe (central phenomenon)?"
Examples:
a. How would school managers describe intrapersonal competencies?
b. How would the Aetas and locals of Zambales differentiate their customs and traditions?
c. How would the top ten high school students characterize their general study habits?
2. Sub-question script
"What (aspect) does (participant) engage in as a (central phenomenon)?"
Examples:
a. What level of self-concept does the school managers engage in as a characteristic of interpersonal
competencies?
b. What nature of practices do the Aetas and locals of Zambales engage in as a part of their customs and
traditions?
c. What kind of preparation does the top 10 high school students engage in as an indicator of their
general study habits?
TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In general, there are two types of questions formulated in research. These are as follows:
1. Non-researchable questions - These are questions of value and are answerable by yes or no.
Examples:
a. Should all mothers breastfeed their babies?
b. Should high school teachers be watchful over their Grade 7 students?
c. Should the schools offering different majors in senior high schools require their students to have a
mandatory review before taking the National Assessment Exam?
d. Do all head teachers have a master's degree?
e. Are family members helping their children in reviewing their lessons?
2. Researchable questions - These are questions of opinions, perceptions, or policy that are raised to
accumulate data. Formulating a clear, significant question prepares the researcher for subsequent
decision-making on research design, data collection, and data analysis.
Examples:
a. What are the common preparations done by Grade 7 students during their first days in school?
b. How do senior high school students respond to their Math teacher?
c. What are the study habits of students who are poorly performing?
d. What is the relationship of the attitudes of the adviser to the classroom behavior of Grade 9
students?
e. How do the officers of the Parent Teacher Community Association assist in the improvement of
school facilities?
Dickoff et. al (as cited by Wilson, 1989) provide further classification to research questions.
These are as follows:
1. Factor-isolating questions - These ask the question "What is this?" These questions are sometimes called
factor-naming questions because they isolate, categorize, describe, or name factors and situations.
Examples:
a. What is the profile of school principals in terms of the following?
 Age
 Management experience
 Civil status
b. What are the levels of competencies of school principals as described by their respective teachers
and themselves in terms of the following?
 Intrapersonal
 Interpersonal
2. Factor-relating questions - These ask the question "What is happening here?" The goal of these questions
is to determine the relationship among factors that have been identified
Examples:
a. What is the relationship of the level of performance of the senior high school teachers to the OJT
performance of the students enrolled in the business track of Saint Paul School of Professional
Studies?
b. How does the performance level of volleyball teams of boys differ to that of the girls?
3. Situation-relating questions - These questions ask the question "What will happen if...?" These questions
usually yield hypotheses testing or experimental study designs in which the researcher manipulates the
variables to see what will happen.
Examples:
a. What are the effects of computer-learning assisted methods of teaching to the interest level of the
sophomores to their history subjects?
b. How significantly different is the performance of the call center agents who are well rested than
those who are not?
4. Situation-producing questions - These ask the question "How can I make it happen?" These questions
establish explicit goals for actions, develop plans or prescriptions to achieve goals, and specify the
conditions under which these goals will be accomplished.
Examples:
a. Based on the findings; what human relation intervention program can be adopted to enhance or
improve effectiveness of existing teaching methods?
b. What faculty development activities can be sponsored by the PTCA to improve the performance of
graduating students in the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT)?

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Writing the General Problem in a Qualitative Study

A sample pattern for the purpose statement is provided below.

Below are some examples of a general problem.

TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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