Someone said “A problem well stated is a problem half solved”.
A research problem is a very important part of the research. Without a clear
understanding of the problem, we cannot move further to dig the mine in that
area. That is why it is somehow considered as the most challenging and difficult
phase of the research process.
1/What is a research problem? (+ example)
(A problematic topic, a topic you want to discuss or investigate, a situation
to be changed, a question to be answered…)
It is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a
difficulty to be eliminated or a question that exists in theory that needs
meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation.
A difficulty that a researcher experiences in either a theoretical or practical
situation and want to get a solution.
Example “Hostage of an Exam-Centric Education System”
2/What are the different sources of educational research problem? Where can
they be identified?
The source of a research problem is the situation that causes the researcher to
feel confused. There are many problem situations that may give rise to research.
Here are some
1/ Deductive reasoning: concerned with developing a hypothesis based on
existing theories, and then designing a research strategy to test the hypothesis.
2/ Personal experience
3/ Unanswered questions
4/ Imbalances
5/Critical appraisal of literature
6/ Previous research
7/Existing theories
8/Social issues
3/ Why do we need research problems to conduct research? Give different
arguments
Without a clearly stated and succinctly written research problem, a researcher
will not know what research he/she needs to conduct in order to find answers. If
the researcher states his research problem clearly in a statement, the researcher
himself/ herself, or another researcher who looks at the problem statement, will
be able t understand how and what is needed to conduct a research to
successfully find answers for the problem. First, it is necessary to state the
research problem to introduce the reader to the importance of the topic
(problem) being studied and to orient him/ her to the significance of the study and
the research questions or hypotheses to follow. Second, stating the research
problem will place the problem into a particular context and provides the
framework for reporting the results. Finally, it is important to do so; to determine
the objective and the intention of the research to make both the researcher and
the reader aware of the situation being investigated.
4/ Where is a research problem stated in a research paper and how? Provide a
model for stating a research problem.
The research problem / question, the objective and the hypothesis of the study
help to set up context for what the researcher have done and why he choosed
such a particular topic/problem. Therefore, it should be included in the
introduction ( in the abstract at first; of course).
* First, a problem statement can be several paragraphs long as it can be
condensed into just few sentences.
*Second, it should frame the research problem in its particular context and give
some background on what is already known about it.
*Third, it should addresses the relevance of the research.
*Finally, your goal should not be to find a conclusive solution, but to seek out the
reasons behind the problem and propose more effective approaches to tackling or
understanding it.
Model for stating a research problem:
(After giving a general view about the topic being discussed)
Questions to be asked Steps to be taken Elements of the steps
What is the problem? Statement of the problem Problem identification
Why it should be studied? Problem prioritization
justification
What information is already Literature review Sources
available? Reviewing
How to conduct the Formulation of aim and Aim, goals
Research? objectives General and specific objectiv
Hypothesis
