Tutorial I

Research Problem
Prof Tavonga Njaya, PhD
A research problem is a 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 in practice that points to the need
for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation (Bryman, 2007). A research problem does not state how
to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value question.
Purpose of a problem statement is to:
Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied. The reader is oriented to the significance of the
study and the research questions or hypotheses to follow.
Place the problem into a particular context that defines the parameters of what is to be investigated.
Provide the framework for reporting the results and indicates what is probably necessary to conduct the study and
explain how the findings will present this information.
Attributes of problem statement:

• Clarity and precision [a well-written statement does not make sweeping generalizations and irresponsible
statements],
• Demonstrate a researchable topic or issue [i.e., feasibility of conducting the study is based upon access to
information that can be effectively acquired, interpreted, synthesized, and understood],
• Identification of what would be studied, while avoiding the use of value-laden words and terms,
• Identification of an overarching question or small set of questions accompanied by key factors or variables,
• Identification of key concepts and terms,
• Articulation of the study's boundaries or parameters or limitations,
• Some generalizability in regards to applicability and bringing results into general use,
• Conveyance of the study's importance, benefits, and justification [i.e., regardless of the type of research, it is
important to demonstrate that the research is not trivial],
• Does not have unnecessary jargon or overly complex sentence constructions; and,
• Conveyance of more than the mere gathering of descriptive data providing only a snapshot of the issue or
phenomenon under investigation.

Four types of research problem

Casuist Research Problem: Relates to the determination of right and wrong in questions of conduct or conscience
by analyzing moral dilemmas through the application of general rules and the careful distinction of special cases.
Difference Research Problem: Asks the question, “Is there a difference between two or more groups or treatments?”
This type of problem statement is used when the researcher compares or contrasts two or more phenomena. This a
common approach to defining a problem in the clinical social sciences or behavioral sciences.
Descriptive Research Problem: Asks the question, "what is...?" with the underlying purpose to describe a situation,
state, or existence of a specific phenomenon. This problem is often associated with revealing hidden or understudied
issues.
Relational Research Problem: Suggests a relationship of some sort between two or more variables to be investigated.
The underlying purpose is to investigate qualities/characteristics that are connected in some way.
Sources of Research Problem
The identification of a problem to study can be challenging, not because there's a lack of issues that could be
investigated, but due to pursuing a goal of formulating an academically relevant and researchable problem that is
unique and does not simply duplicate the work of others. To facilitate how you might select a problem from which to
build a research study, consider these sources of inspiration:
Deduction from theory: From a theory, the researcher can formulate a research problem or hypothesis stating the
expected findings in certain empirical situations. The research asks the question: “What relationship between variables

1
will be observed if theory aptly summarizes the state of affairs?” One can then design and carry out a systematic
investigation to assess whether empirical data confirm or reject the hypothesis, and hence, the theory.
Interdisciplinary perspectives: A review of pertinent literature should include examining research from related
disciplines that can reveal new avenues of exploration and analysis. An interdisciplinary approach to selecting a
research problem offers an opportunity to construct a more comprehensive understanding of a very complex issue that
any single discipline may be able to provide.
Interviewing practitioners: The identification of research problems about particular topics can arise from formal or
informal discussions with practitioners or experts in the field (business leaders, lecturers) who provide insight into
new directions for future research and how to make research findings more relevant to practice. This approach also
provides some practical knowledge which may help in the process of designing and conducting your study.
Personal Experiences: Your everyday experiences can give rise to worthwhile problems for investigation. Think
critically about your own experiences and/or frustrations with an issue facing society, your community, your
neighborhood, your family or your personal life. This can be derived, for example, from deliberate observations of
certain relationships for which there is no clear explanation or witnessing an event that appears harmful to a person or
group or that is out of the ordinary.
Relevant literature: The selection of a research problem can be derived from a thorough review of pertinent research
associated with your overall area of interest. This may reveal where gaps exist in our understanding of a topic.
Research may be conducted to: 1) fill such gaps in knowledge; 2) evaluate if the methodologies employed in prior
studies can be adapted to solve other problems; or, 3) determine if a similar study could be conducted in a different
subject area or applied to different study sample [i.e., different groups of people]. Also, authors frequently conclude
their studies by noting implications for further research; read the conclusion of pertinent studies because statements
about further research can be a valuable source for identifying new problems to investigate.
What makes a good research problem?
A good problem statement begins by introducing the broad area in which your research is centered, 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:
Compelling topic: The problem that you choose to explore must be important to you, your readers, and to the larger
academic and/or social community that could be impacted by the results of your study. The problem chosen must be
one that motivates you to address it.
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.
Researchability: There is 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.
Avoid
Don’t be a martyr: In thinking about a research topic to study, don't adopt the mindset of pursuing an esoteric or
incredibly complicated topic just to impress your professor but that, in reality, does not have any real interest to you.
As best as you can, choose a topic that has at least some interest to you or that you care about.
Beware of circular reasoning: Do not state that the research problem as simply the absence of the thing you are
suggesting. For example, if you propose the following: "The problem in this community is that there is no hospital."
This only leads to a research problem where:
• The need is for a hospital
• The objective is to create a hospital
• The method is to plan for building a hospital, and
• The evaluation is to measure if there is a hospital or not.
This is an example of a research problem that fails the "So What?" test. In this example, the problem does not reveal
the relevance of why you are investigating the fact there is no hospital in the community [e.g., there's a hospital in
the community ten miles away]; it does not elucidate the significance of why one should study the fact there is no

2
hospital in the community [e.g., that hospital in the community ten miles away has no emergency room]; and, the
research problem does not offer an intellectual pathway towards adding new knowledge or clarifying prior
knowledge [e.g., the town in which there is no hospital already conducted a study about the need for a hospital].

Theoretical Framework
Theories are formulated to explain, predict and understand phenomena and, in many cases, to challenge and extend
existing knowledge within the limits of critical bounding assumptions. The theoretical framework is the structure that
can hold or support a theory of a research study. The theoretical framework introduces and describes the theory
that explains why the research problem under study exists.

Purpose
Think of theories as the conceptual basis for understanding, analyzing, and designing ways to investigate
relationships within social systems. To that end, the following roles served by a theory can help guide the
development of your framework:

• Means by which new research data can be interpreted and coded for future use,
• Response to new problems that have no previously identified solutions strategy,
• Means for identifying and defining research problems,
• Means for prescribing or evaluating solutions to research problems,
• Ways of discerning certain facts among the accumulated knowledge that are important and which facts are
not,
• Means of giving old data new interpretations and new meaning,
• Means by which to identify important new issues and prescribe the most critical research questions that need
to be answered to maximize understanding of the issue,
• Means of providing members of a professional discipline with a common language and a frame of reference
for defining the boundaries of their profession, and
• Means to guide and inform research so that it can, in turn, guide research efforts and improve professional
practice.