IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION OF

RESEARCH PROBLEM
• RESEARCH PROBLEM
• The research problem is a general statement of an issue meriting research
or identifies the problem or situation to be studied. Its nature will suggest
appropriate forms for its investigation.
• A research problem is a definite or clear expression [statement] about an
area of concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be
eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory,
or within existing practice that points to a need for meaningful
understanding and deliberate investigation.
• A research problem does not state how to do something, offer a vague or
broad proposition, or present a value question. A research problem is a
specific issue, difficulty, contradiction, or gap in knowledge that you will aim
to address in your research.
• the components of a research problem may be summarised as:
• i. There should be an individual or a group who have some
difficulty or problem.
• ii. There should be some objective(s) to be pursued. A person
or an organization who wants nothing cannot have a problem.
• iii. There should be alternative ways of pursuing the objective
the researcher wants to pursue. This implies that there should
be more than one alternative means available to the researcher.
This is because if the researcher has no choice of alternative
means, he/she would not have a problem.
• . iv. There should be some doubt in the mind of the researcher
about the choice of alternative means. This implies that
research should answer the question relating to the relative
efficiency or suitability of the possible alternatives.
• v. There should be a context to which the difficulty relates. Thus,
identification of a research problem is the pre-condition to
conducting research. A research problem is said to be the one
which requires a researcher to find the best available solution to
the given problem
• Guidelines for selecting a research problem-
• Subject which is overdone should not be chosen
• An average researcher must not choose Controversial topics
• Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided
• The chosen subject should be familiar or feasible
• Significance and Importance of subject must be given attention
• Cost and time factor must be kept in mind
• Experience, Qualification and Training of the researcher must be
according to the problem in hand
FORMULATING A RESEARCH PROBLEM
• The steps involved in formulating a research problem are as
• follows-
• Develop a suitable title
• Build a conceptual model of the problem
• Define the objectives of the study
• Set up investigative questions
• Formulate hypothesis
• State the operational definition of concepts
• Determine the scope & limitations of the study
• There are Five ways to formulate the research problem:
• I. Specify your research objectives;
• II. Review its context or environment;
• III. Explore its nature;
• IV. Determine variable relationships;
• V. Alternative approaches.
• Specify research objectives A clear statement that defines all
objectives can help you conduct and develop effective and
meaningful research. They should be manageable to bring you
success. A few goals will help you keep your study relevant.
This statement also helps professors evaluation the questions
your research project answers and different methods that you
use to address them.
• II.Review the context of your research problem
• It’s necessary to work hard to define and test all kinds of environmental variables
to make your project successful. Why do you need to do that? This step can help
you define if the important findings of your study will deliver enough data to be
worth considering. Identify specific environmental variables that may potentially
affect your research and start formulating effective methods to control all of them.
• III. Explore the nature of research problem. Research problems may range from
simple to complex, and everything depends on a range of variables and their
relationships. Some of them can be directly relevant to specific research
questions, while others are completely unimportant for your project. Why should
you understand their nature? This knowledge enables you to develop effective
solutions. To get a deep understanding of all dimensions, think about focus groups
and other relevant details to provide the necessary insight into a particular
question.
• IV. Determine variable relationships
• Scientific, social, and other studies often focus on creating a certain sequence of
repeating behaviors over time. What does your project entail? Completing the
entire process involves: Identifying the variables that affect possible solutions to
your research problem; Deciding on the degree to which you can use and control
all of them for study purposes; Determining functional relationships between
existing variables; Choose the most critical variables for a solution of your
research problem. During the formulation stage, it’s necessary to consider and
generate as many potential approaches and variable relationships as you can.
• V. Alternative approaches Anticipate the possible consequences of alternative
approaches There are different consequences that each course of action or
approach can bring, and that’s why you need to anticipate them. Why
communicate possible outcomes? It’s a primary goal of any research process.
• Basic Steps in Formulating a Research Problem
• (i) Identify the Broad Study Area
• (ii) Dissect the Broad Study Area into Subareas
• (iii) Mark-up your Interest
• (iv) Study Research Questions
• (v) Set Out Objectives
• (vi) Assess your Objectives
• (vii) Check Back
• http://cuj.ac.in/E_Lecture/DCS/
L5%20Formulation%20of%20research%20problem.pdf
• Formulation of a research problem is a complex process. • It
includes the following steps.
• 1. SELECTION OF A RESEARCH AREA.
• 2. REVIEWING LITERATURE & THEORIES.
• 3. DELIMITING THE RESEARCH TOPIC.
• 4. EVALUATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM.
• 5. FORMULATING THE FINAL STATEMENT OF RESEARCH
PROBLEM.
 • 1. SELECTING A RESEARCH AREA • Formulation of a research problem begins with selection of a
broad research topic from personal experience, literature, previous research & theories.
• 2.REVIEWING / THEORIES • After obtaining a broad idea for research, the researcher needs to review
the nursing literature and theories.
• Literature is reviewed to know what has already been done in this selected area of research. •
Therefore, a researcher can plan a research topic to further expand the existing body of knowledge.
• Reviewing the theories provides an opportunity for the researcher to plan a research problem to
contribute towards either testing or development of a theory conceptual model.
3. DELIMITING THE RESEARCH TOPIC • Here the researcher proceeds from a general research area of
interest to more specific topic of research while conducting the study.
4. EVALUATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM • Once the researcher is clear about the research problem,
the research problem must be carefully evaluated for its significance, researchability and feasibility.
• Feasibility refers to feasibility in terms of time, cost availability of subjects, resources, administrative
& peer support, ethical consideration, researcher’s competence of the researcher and interest.
• The research problem may be evaluated using guidelines for evaluation
 •GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING RESEARCH PROBLEM
i] SUBSTANTIATIVE ISSUES • 1. Does the problem have significance to the profession.
• 2. Does the problem spell out the purpose of conducting the study.
3. Does the problem have any relationship with existing theories & models.
4. Does the problem flow from prior scientific information / experience in topic area.
Ii]. METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES
1• Does the problem statement clearly identify the research variables in measurable terms.
• 2. Does the problem identify the nature of population which is to be studied.
• 3. Does the problem clearly define about type or design of study.
4. Does the problem describe the research setting, place and time.
• 5. Does the problem comprise appropriate phrases.
Iii]. STYLISTIC ISSUES • 1.Is the problem statement complete, concise, clear in declarative form clearly suggesting answers to be
questioned.
• 2. Was the problem statement introduced promptly.
iv.] ETHICAL ISSUES • 1. Does the research problem require the use of human subject.
• 2. Does the problem imply potential risks for those subjects.

•https://www.slideshare.net/maheswarijaikumar/formulation-of-research-problem-108090664
 •V] PRACTICAL ISSUES .
• a)•Has the researcher appropriately delimited the scope of the problem, or is the problem too big or complex foe a single
investigation.
. • b) Is the researcher able to manage man, money, material, & appropriate permissions from authorities.
•5. FORMULATING FINAL STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM • Following the establishment of of the significance,
researchability and feasibility the researcher finally formulates the final problem statement.
•. • A statement of problem could be in declarative or interrogative format.
•A). DECLARATIVE FORMAT • 1. A descriptive study on prevalence of malaria among rural residents in chennai. • 2. An explorative
study on contributing factors of social problems in selected communities of Tamil Nadu.
•B). INTERROGATIVE FORMAT • In interrogative format the research problem is stated in question form. • 1. What is the influence
of mass media in promoting the sales of a selected commodities ?
•The choice of either of the format depends on the researcher’s preference and institutional policies. • However declarative format
is much popular.
•* PREFERED CRITERIA …. • a. Clear, Precise, Concise. • b. States variables, population & research setting.
• c. Variables are expressed in measurable terms. • d. The statement expresses the type of study.
. EXAMPLE • “ A descriptive study on the prevalence of anemia among women in a selected rural area (Name to be specified), Tamil
Nadu, India”. • It is an example of declarative form of statement.
1. RESEARCH STUDY TYPE : Descriptive. 2. VARIABLE : Prevalence of anemia. 3. POPULATION : Rural women. 4. RESEARCH
SETTING : Selected rural area.
• Quality of a Good Research Statement
• A good problem statement begins by introducing the broad
area in which your research is centred, gradually leading the
reader to the more specific issues you are investigating.
• The statement need not be lengthy, but a good research
problem should incorporate the following features.
1. Compelling Topic
The problem chosen should be one that motivates you to address it but
simple
curiosity is not a good enough reason to pursue a research study because
this
does not indicate significance. The problem that you choose to explore
must be
important to you, but it must also be viewed as important by your readers
and to
a the larger academic and/or social community that could be impacted by
the
results of your study.
 • 2. Supports Multiple Perspectives
• The problem must be phrased in a way that avoids dichotomies and instead
supports the generation and exploration of multiple perspectives. A general rule
of thumb in the social sciences is that a good research problem is one that would
generate a variety of viewpoints from a composite audience made up of
reasonable people.
• 3. Researchability
• This isn't a real word but it represents an important aspect of creating a good
research statement. It seems a bit obvious, but you don't want to find yourself in
the midst of investigating a complex research project and realize that you don't
have enough prior research to draw from for your analysis. There's nothing
inherently wrong with original research, but you must choose research problems
that can be supported, in some way, by the resources available to you.
Personalised approach to selecting a
research problem
PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN WHILE
SELECTING A RESEARCH PROBLEM.
• The following points must be taken into account while selecting a problem.

• Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen, for it will be a difficult task to throw any
new light in such a case.
• Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average researcher.
• Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.
• The problem should be chosen in such a way that the ingredients required for the study should be
within the reach of a researcher.
• The importance of the subject, the qualifications and the training of a researcher, the costs involved,
the time factor are few other criteria that must also be considered in selecting a problem.
• The selection of a problem must be preceded by a preliminary study.
• If the subject for research is selected properly by observing the above mentioned points, the
research will not be a boring drudgery, rather it will be love’s labour. In fact, zest for work is a must.
The subject or the problem selected must involve the researcher and must have an upper most
place in his mind so that he may undertake all pains needed for the study.