Formulating Problem Statements:

Using Audience Awareness to Contextualize Your Research Goals

A persuasive problem statement consists of three parts: 1) the ideal, 2) the reality, and
3) the consequences for the reader of the feasibility report. Well constructed problem
statements will convince your audience that the problem is real and worth having you
investigate. Your strategy is one of contrast: by situating the ideal scenario next to the
situation as it exists, you can not only persuade the reader that a problem exists, but
then go on to emphasize the consequences of ignoring or addressing the problem.

Remember, your problem statement is the backbone of the proposal and the feasibility
report. By giving careful consideration to how you construct it now (for the proposal),
you can use it when doing your research and writing for the proposal as well as the
progress and the feasibility report.

STATEMENT 1 (DESCRIPTION OF THE IDEAL SCENARIO)

Describe the goals, desired state, or the values that your audience considers
important and that are relevant to the problem.

(BUT)

Connect statements 1 and 2 using a term such as "but," "however,"

"Unfortunately," or "in spite of";

STATEMENT 2 (THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION)

Describe a condition that prevents the goal, state, or value discussed in statement 1
from being achieved or realized at the present time.

STATEMENT 3 (THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE AUDIENCE)

Using specific details, show how the situation in statement 2 contains little promise of
improvement unless something is done. Then emphasize the benefits of research by
projecting the consequences of possible solutions as well.

RESEARCH (YOUR PROPOSED RESEARCH TO INVESTIGATE THE

POSSIBILITY OF MAKING THE REALITY MORE LIKE THE IDEAL.)
Describe the areas of inquiry you will use that could lead to solutions to the problem---
how will you research the problem? What sources of information, types of research
(primary or secondary),or tools will you use to help you find solutions and make
recommendations to resolve the clash?

PROBLEM STATEMENT EXAMPLES

Example #1

STATEMENT 1

In order to provide excellent patient care at a minimal cost, Middletown Hospital needs
diagnostic procedures that are safe, efficient, and accurate. In addition, the procedures
should not be overly painful for the patient.

STATEMENT 2

Right now, Middletown Hospital's main diagnostic tools are CAT scans and
myelograms (spinal taps). The CAT scan fails to make clear diagnoses 60% of the time.
When the CAT scan fails, doctors must resort to the myelogram. While the myelograms
are accurate, this procedure is very painful and sometimes dangerous for the patient.

STATEMENT 3

If Middletown Hospital continues to do the two procedures, they will not only be
wasting time and money, which jeopardizes their overall efficiency and earning
potential. Also, undue suffering could lead patients to choose another hospital with
more advanced facilities.

RESEARCH

A new diagnostic technique, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) may surpass the CAT
scan in accuracy and reduce the need to resort to the myelogram. I propose to research
the feasibility of establishing an NMR lab at Middletown hospital. I will investigate the
accuracy, efficiency, and safety of NMR as well as implementation issues.
Example #2

Audience:

This proposal is directed to Alfred Academy’s headmaster, Dr. Smith Nyman. Alfred
Academy is a private high school with approximately 200 students in attendance. Dr.
Nyman is the primary liaison between the administration, the students and their parents.
Nyman works with private educational funds and the alumni in order to raise money
for student programs, e.g., a lecture series. Nyman then creates a task force of parents
and students who execute the program for him.

STATEMENT 1

In order to continue the fifty-year tradition of pacifist values, Alfred Academy's

administration needs a multifaceted mediation program that includes the
administration, the faculty, the students and the students' parents. This mediation
program needs to (1) serve as a preventative measure, (2) encourage peaceful
interactions, and (3) adapt to the changing needs of the school.

STATEMENT 2

Currently, Alfred has three mediation, i.e., problem solving, resources: (1) an unofficial
peer mediation group, (2) an unofficial student court, and (3) a lecture program entitled
Peaces. Unfortunately, at the present time, only one of those three methods are being
utilized: lectures. These lectures are not mandatory as a result, the majority of students
do not attend. Furthermore, neither the peer mediation group nor the student court are
legally certified and are, therefore, not credible resources and remain unused.

STATEMENT 3

Without an effective mediation program to help Alfred Academy achieve its educational
goals, violence will continue to escalate. A new, interactive approach to non-violent
problem solving is needed. A long-term mediation-training program may help the
administration to (1) reinstate the school’s pacifist values, (2) prevent aggressive
behavior from escalating, and (3) promote peaceful interactions in the school. Current
mediation programs are both abundant and diverse in nature.

RESEARCH
I propose to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the various current
mediation-training programs to determine which adequately suits Alfred’s present and
future needs.
Example #3

AUDIENCE:

I am writing to Mrs. Kelly. She is the RAINBOWS director at Hills High School, in
P****, New Jersey. RAINBOWS is an international organization that is run through
schools, churches, and other organizations. It helps youth deal with a significant loss
in their life, mainly death or divorce. The program in PHHS is a pilot program that has
been in effect for about 4 years.

STATEMENT 1

In order to help individuals learn to deal with grief after a major loss has occurred in
their life, the Spectrum division of the RAINBOWS program in Hills High School aims
to provide each student in the program an environment in which they feel safe,
comfortable, and normal. The goal of RAINBOWS is to help students learn,
understand, deal with, and move on from their loss.

STATEMENT 2

However, often, students don't know other students in the optional weekly group
meeting very well, which causes them to be uncomfortable and hesitant about speaking.
In the presence of their peers, a student does not feel safe about speaking or expressing
their feelings in fear that they may be judged. Also, optional weekly meetings send the
message that it is optional to deal with the loss, when in fact the students must learn
about their loss and how to live with it.

STATEMENT 3

By not feeling comfortable or safe in the program, students are not able to fully learn,
understand, deal with, or move on from their loss.

RESEARCH

I would like to investigate different strategies such as family involvement, individual

meetings, more awareness of the program, and mandatory involvement and see if they
maybe might help a student to recover from their loss. I would also like to look into
the probability of the implementation of these strategies.
Example #4

STATEMENT 1

Ideally, the mission of the University Park Allocation Committee is dedicated to

allocating both University General Funds money as well as a portion of the Student
Activity Fee income. These funds are made available in order to enhance student life
and the out-of-class experience or improve the educational climate at University Park.

STATEMENT 2

One of the main focuses of the committee is consistency. Unfortunately, consistency

in allocating funds to student organizations requires prior knowledge of previous
allocations and established practices. The current internal rotation system allows
committee members the ability to experience all four sub-committees, but in an
extremely quick and arbitrary manner.

STATEMENT 3

Continuing with this current rotation system prevents consistency and causes decisions
to become grossly political, which in turn inhibits the committee of fully enhancing the
out-of-class experience of the students at University Park. Developing a more informed
rotation system could allow the committee to still fulfill the mission statement of the
committee.

RESEARCH

I would like to explore options for a new internal rotation system that would focus on
consistency. To do this, I will consult with representatives from two other big-ten
universities to look at how students are involved in the allocations decisions. I will also
survey existing members of PSU’s committee to find out preferences as well as how
long it would take for each member to familiarize themselves with student
organizations.
 Research objectives
The final part of clarifying your research project involves thinking in more detail about
your research objectives. Research objectives should be closely related to the
statement of the problem and summarise what you hope will be achieved by the study.
For example, if the problem identified is low utilisation of antenatal care services, the
general objective of the study could be to identify the reasons for this low uptake, in
order to find ways of improving it.
Writing your research objectives clearly helps to:

 Define the focus of your study

 Clearly identify variables to be measured
 Indicate the various steps to be involved
 Establish the limits of the study
 Avoid collection of any data that is not strictly necessary.

What do you think might happen if you started a research project, but hadn’t written any
clear research objectives?
Objectives can be general or specific. The general objective of your study states what
you expect to achieve in general terms. Specific objectives break down the general
objective into smaller, logically connected parts that systematically address the various
aspects of the problem. Your specific objectives should specify exactly what you will
do in each phase of your study, how, where, when and for what purpose.
How should your objectives be stated?
Your objectives should be stated using action verbs that are specific enough to be
measured, for example: to compare, to calculate, to assess, to determine, to verify, to
calculate, to describe, to explain, etc. Avoid the use of vague non-active verbs such as:
to appreciate, to understand, to believe, to study, etc., because it is difficult to evaluate
whether they have been achieved.
Case Study 13.3 General and specific objectives for a counselling project
A research study designed to assess the accessibility and acceptability of the Voluntary
Counselling and Testing (VCT) Services for HIV infection in kebele X had the following
general and specific objectives:
General objective: To identify factors that affects the acceptability of VCT services and to
assess community attitudes towards comprehensive care and support for people living
with HIV/AIDS.
Specific objectives:
 To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community towards HIV/AIDS
and VCT services.
 To identify barriers and concerns related to VCT and its uptake.
 To assess the awareness and perception of the study community regarding
comprehensive care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.