What is research problem?

A research problem refers to some difficulty which a researcher experiences in either a theoretical
or practical situation and want to get a solution for the same.

Another definition of research problem is an interrogative sentence or statement that ask what
relation exist between two or more variables.

Identification of research problem is the first and most important step in the research process,
generally a broad area is selected broad topic is delimited and narrowed down to specific one
sentence which is the statement of the problem.

In other words, a research problem is a specific issue, difficulty, contradiction, or gap knowing
that you will aim to address in your research.

You might look for practical problems aimed at contributing to change, or theoretical problems
aimed at expanding knowledge.
Bear in mind that some research will do both of these things, but usually, the research problem
focuses on one or the other.

The type of research problem you choose depends on your broad topic of interest and the type of
research you want to do.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

 The variables in the problem must be clear

 It should be limited in scope and should be specific,
 It must have a goal
 It should be free from ethical constraints
 Good research problems must be researchable.
 the researcher should be able to state the research problem clearly and concisely
 the research problem should be able to generate research questions
 it should relate to one or more academic field of study
 it should be able to be researched within the time frame or the given budget
 sufficient data to justify and conclude the solution to the research problem should be
available or capable of being obtained. Since research require data, it is important during
the planning that the researcher analyze beforehand whether or not data related to research
problem can be obtained. If not, the research problem should be changed. for example if
your research problem relate to confidential or top secret data it means even if you may
decide to peruse the chosen research problem you may fail to obtain the required data since
they are restricted hence fail to make the conclusion related to your research problem.
 the research problem should be new that is not yet answered sufficiently by other
researchers
  the research problem must base on the available research literature
 good research problem should be grounded on solid theory or conceptual framework

SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS

 Theory deduction – theories are ideas about how things relate to each other. Theories may
be general, commonly held beliefs (such as cats are cause of decline in bird’s population
in New York) or more technical ideas (for example global warming causes in decline of
certain species in the ocean). Theories may be useful in suggesting interesting questions
and generally guiding fieldwork, but should not restrict us from exploring alternative
explanation.
 Funding agencies – some of the organizations such as universities and non-government
organization provide funding to researchers to do research on certain research problem. for
example the university may provide funding to researcher to perform the research on
effects of climate change on tourism
 Past researches and literature review. a body of knowledge should be developed on the
sound foundation of research findings. Usually at the end of research further research
problems are suggested, basing on the shortcoming of previous research, which can be
investigated.
 Personal experience. Day to day personal experience of the researcher may serve as a good
source of ideas to formulate a research problem. For example a research may have
experience the violence from his or her alcoholic father and try to investigate the
relationship between alcohol consumption and violence. there may be so many life
experience that researcher may use to develop a research problem
 Practical experience. Research problem may be formulated from challenges and problems
experienced during day to day work for example nurses may get research problem ideas
from their clinical experience. For example a nurse may observe that application of ice at
site of heparin injection reduces chance of ecchymosis. such clinical experience could be
a rich source of ideas to identify a significant research problem

 Casual observation. Sometimes casual observation of what is going on in our life and
environment may trigger our desire to know more, and to have concrete knowledge of what
is going on it can lead to the formulation of a hypothesis and conducting of systematic
research.

 Related literature
 Current social and economic issues. Sometimes topics are suggested by more global
contemporary social or political issues. For example HIV/AIDS, female feticide, sexual
harassment, domestic violence and gender equality. The idea for a study may stem from a
familiarity with social concern or controversial social issue.
 Replication of previous studies. This occurs when the studies made in other fields or
areas are conducted in different fields and areas. For example, one can replicate the study
of the effect of population pressure on the environment which was done in one district to
another district to see if he will get the same results.
 Clarification of contradictory research results
  Consumer feedback. Research problem may be generated from the results of activities
aimed to solicit consumer feedback.
 Performance improvement activities. Performance improvement activities also known as
quality improvement activities, are used to improve processes and outcomes to meet
regulatory requirement. in the process of performance activities, several issues merge that
require answers through research. thus performance improvement activities also serve as
an importance source of research problem
 Brainstorming. Brainstorming sessions are good technique to find new questions, whereby
an intensified discussion among interested people of the profession is conducted to find
more ideas to formulate research problem.
 Intuition – traditionally, intuitions are considered good source of knowledge as well as
source to find new research problems. it is believed that the reflective mind is a good source
of ideas , which may be used to formulate a good research problem
 Folk roles – common beliefs could be right or wrong so research must be done to prove
them. For example it is believed that studying just before the test may decrease your score.
Researchers can conduct a research study on whether one should study just before the test
or not.
 Consultation with experts – experts are believed to have sound experience of their
respective field, which may suggest significant problems to be studied. In addition
experts may help in finding a current problem of discipline to be solved, which may serve
as the basis for formulation of research problem.

Points to be observed by researcher in selecting research problem or subject for research

 subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen, for it will be difficult task to
throw any new light in such a case
 controversial subjects should not become the choice of an average researcher
 too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided
 The subject selected for research should be familiar and feasible so that the related research
material or sources of research are within one’s reach.
 The importance of the subject, the qualification and the training of researcher, the cost
involved, the time factor are few other criteria that must also be considered in selecting a
problem. in other words, before the final selection of the problem is done, a researcher must
ask himself the following questions:

a) Whether he is well equipped in terms of his background to carry out the research?
b) Whether the study falls within the budget he can afford?
c) Whether the necessary cooperation can be obtained from those who must participate in
research as the subjects?

If the answers to all these questions are in the affirmative, on may become sure so far as the
practicability of the research is concerned

 The selection of the research problem must be preceded by a preliminary study. This may
not be necessary when the problem requires the conduct of a research closely similar to
one that has already been done. However when the field of inquiry is relatively new and
 does not have available the set of well-developed techniques, a brief feasibility study must
always be undertaken.
Techniques involved in developing research problem

Defining the research problem properly and clearly is a crucial part of research study and must be
in no case be accomplished hurriedly. Research problem should be defined in systematic manner,
giving due weightage to all relating points.

The techniques for the purpose of defining the research problem involves undertaking of the
following steps generally one after another:

 statement of the problem in general way

 understanding the nature of the problem
 surveying the available literature
 developing the ideas through discussion, and;
 rephrasing the research problem into working proposition

Types of research problems

Research problems are of five types: descriptive research problem, relational research problem,
causal research problem, casuist research problem and difference research problem

1. Descriptive research problem

Descriptive research problem focuses on answering questions like what is. With its main to
describe the situation, state or the existence of certain specific phenomena. They seek to depict
what already exist in a group or population

It usually uses survey or opinion polls to reach its conclusion because they require systematic
observation of social issues

Example of descriptive research problem are:

 What are main factors affecting consumer’s purchase decisions?

 What are causes of early pregnancy to primary school students in Lilongwe?

These problems use two different ways to collect data- cross-sectional studies and longitudinal
studies. Cross-sectional studies provide a snapshot of data at a certain moment in time. On the
other hand, longitudinal studies involve a fixed and stable sample that is measured repeatedly
over time. However, in both cases, methods that can be used to collect data include mail, online
or offline surveys, and interviews. When a researcher is dealing with a descriptive research
problem, there can be no manipulation in the variables and hypotheses as they are usually no-
directional.

2. Causal research problem

Causal research problem focuses on identifying the extent and nature of cause and effect
relationships. Such research problem help in assessing the impact of some changes on
existing norms and processes

Example of causal research problems ‘how does online education affect student learning
abilities?

In such cases, experiments are the most popular way of collecting primary data. Here, the
hypothesis is usually directional, i.e. explaining how one factor affects the behavior of another
one. Such studies give the researcher the freedom to manipulate the variables as desired. Data for
causal research can be collected in two ways: laboratory experiments and field experiments.
Laboratory experiments are generally conducted in the artificial environment which allows the
researcher to carefully manipulate the variables. On the other hand, field experiments are much
more realistic. It is sometimes not possible to control the variables. This makes it difficult for the
researcher to predict with confidence what produced a given outcome

3. Relational research problem

Relational research problem states that some sort of relationship between two variables need to be
investigated. The aim is to investigate the qualities or characteristics that are connected in some
way

Example of relational research problem is ‘how is experience of teacher related to his teaching
style

Method used to collect data in relational research problem include focus group, surveys and case
studies

4. Difference research problem

Typically ask the question, ‘is there a difference between two or more group or difference?’ this
type of problem statement is used when the researcher compares or contrasts two or more
phenomena.
What is research problem statement?

A problem statement is used in research work as the claim that outlines the problem addressed by
a study. A problem statement briefly explains the problem that the research will address.

For example if your topic of your research is causes of learning difficult in schools, you need to
first to identify why there is learning difficult among students in schools. Your problem statement
can explain that learning difficult in the school system is an important concern and points towards
the gap in research that shows that this problem has not been addressed.

What is the format for writing a statement of the problem?

A persuasive statement of the problem is usually written in three parts

 Part A ( the ideal): describes a desired goal or ideal situation; explain how the things should
be
 Part B (the reality): describes the condition that prevent the goal, state or value in part A from
being achieved or realized at this time; explains how the current situation falls in short of the
goal or ideal
 Part C (the consequence) ; identifies the way you propose to improve the current situation and
move it closer to the goal or ideal