Formulation of Research Problem Statement – In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bringing about a certain goal, like acquiring knowledge or verifying knowledge claims. This normally involves various steps, like choosing a sample, collecting data from this sample, and interpreting the data. The study of methods concerns a detailed description and analysis of these processes. It includes evaluative aspects by comparing different methods.
In this way, their benefits and drawbacks are evaluated, as well as the research goals for which they may be used. These descriptions and evaluations are predicated on philosophical background assumptions; examples include how to conceptualize the phenomena under study and what constitutes evidence in favor of or against them. In its broadest sense, methodology encompasses the discussion of these more abstract issues.
Formulation of Research Problem Statement
Definition of Research Problem
According to Ellis and Levy:
“A problem statement is a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them (or created by them) before they try to solve the problem”
According to Chris Jordan:
“A problem statement is the description of an issue currently existing which needs to be addressed. It provides the context for the research study and generates the questions which the research aims to answer. The statement of the problem is the focal point of any research.”
According to Charles:
“A problem statement is a set of conditions needing discussion, solution and information.”
According to Marilynn J Wood:
“The research problem is the full exposition of the idea that you want to study.”
(Ref by-Seenidurai Paulraj/Introduction to Nursing Research/1/19)
Sources of Research Problem
At the most basic level, research topics originate with the researcher interest. Explicit sources that might fuel the researcher curiosity included the following:
| Experience: | The nurse every day experience provides a rich supply of problems for investigation. |
| Nursing Literature: | Ideas from studying books and articles related to the subject of interest may trigger patient questions in our mind. |
| Social Issue: | Global social issue of relevance to the health care community suggest the problem area, e.g. domestic violence, gender inequity. |
| Political Climate: | The political climate which place emphasis on cost containment and improving the standers of health has provided many avenues for research. |
| Theories: | Verification of untested nursing theory provides a relatively uncharted territory from which research problems can be derived. |
| Ideas from External sources: | Researcher, administrators, nurses, nursing faculties or field visit will help a researcher to identify meaningful problems of research. |
| Intuition: | Sometimes new ideas may strike to one’s like flash. Reflective mind is a spring of knowledge. |
| Research: | Research on one problem may suggest problems for further research. |
| Brainstorming: | Intensified discussion with a gap of interested persons may often been a means of identifying pertinent questions and of developing new ideas about a problem. |
| Practical Needs: | Clinical practice provides a wealt.. of experience from which research problem can be derived. |
| Empirical Interest: | Sudden answer or insight of something that has not been noticed or noticing things in a different way is another source of research. |
| Popular Conception: | While taking care of health, certain traditional practices have been practiced according to their cultural belief or certain old practice of new world. |
(Ref by- Nirmala V/Research Methodology in Nursing/1/24)
Important Qualities of Research Problem
To be good, a research problem selected for study should have the following three qualities:
1. Importance
2. Feasibility
3. Ethical acceptability
Importance:
The following importance type of work is generally considered of value:
- Work that tests important theories.
- Work that is undertaken to test that certain phenomenon exists rather than that which is undertaken to show that a certain phenomenon does not exist.
- Work that will yield results having wider application and influence.
- Work that tries to find solutions for relatively more serious problems.
- Work that will yield results of current or near future applicability rather than that having for future application.
- Work that which other people are also interested.
Feasibility and Answerability:
The researcher should also ask himself
- Is the investigation financially, or expertise wise feasible?
- Will valid answer be forthcoming?
Any work that is financially not feasible or for which huge amounts of funds are needed with disproportionately low benefits or any work that is known to have very small yield of valid information is not a worthwhile area to begin by a new worker.
Ethical Acceptability:
No matter how important and urgent it may be to find out solution to a prevailing problem, it is not right to conduct research which may either directly or indirectly cause physical psychological or financial harm to the people or which encroaches upon the privacy of life of the people among which it is conducted; unless on the promise of confidentiality of all information, they provide and (upon knowing the details of the nature of study) they have voluntary agreed to participate and given their informed consent. Even then there are limits and conditions to be fulfilled which should be learnt by the researcher before undertaking the work.
(Ref by- Sadeka Tahera Khanom/Research Methodology/2/19)
Criteria of the Research Problem
- The problem should be original, while selecting a research problem novelty should be maintained.
- The problem should be neither narrow nor vague.
- The problem should be significant, useful and social relevant. It should contribute to nursing practice or nursing theory in a meaningful way.
- The subject selected for research should be familiar and feasible so that the related research material or sources of research are within one’s research. The problem should be suitable for a particular research to study.
- It should specify the nature of the population to be studied.
- The problem should be stated clearly and unambiguously either in a declarative or interrogative form.
- The problem should express the relationship between two or more variables.
- Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average researcher.
- The problem should be such as to imply possibilities of empirical testing.
- The problem should be interesting for the researcher himself.
- Every research activity needs the patronage of a guide and the approval and sanction of competent authority. There should be possibility of guidance from experts.
Components of Research Problem.
- There must be an individual, group, organizations or communities, which have some difficulty or the problem.
- There must be a problem, which may be an issue, situation or need.
- There must be some objectives to be attained by doing the research.
- There must be an alternative means for obtaining the objectives. This means there must be at least two means available to a researcher for if he has no choice of means, he cannot have a problem.
- There must be some environment to which the difficulty pertains.
Format of Research Problem
It can be formatted in three ways as:
- Declarative statement.
- Interrogative statement.
- Hypothetical statement.
| Declarative statement. | It includes information about what the researcher intends to do (describe) the settings of the study and the subject of the study, e.g., a study to describe the effect of guided imagery on reducing pain for postoperative clients in the hospital setting. |
| Interrogative statement. | It is written as a question. So the purpose of the study is to answer the questions, e.g what is the relationship between the dependency label of CABG clients and their rate of recovery? |
| Hypothetical statement. | It is stated in a testable form and that predicts a particular relationship between 2 and more variables, e.g. Primi women who receive individualized instruction on breastfeeding will have significantly successful breastfeeding experience in their home setting, than women who receive structured group instruction on breastfeeding |
Evaluating process of Research Problem:
The important considerations in evaluating the research problem are:
1. Significance
2. Research ability
3. Feasibility of the problem
4. Interest to the researcher
| Significance | The study should have the potential of contributing to nursing knowledge, practice, administration, clients, and the medical community in general and society. Its theoretical relevance must be established. |
| Research ability | Problems or questions of moral ethical in nature, although provocative are incapable of being researched. When a new area of enquiry is being pursued, it may be impossible to define the concept of interest in precise terms. The problems then may be stated in fairly broad terms to permit full exploration of the concept of interest. |
| Feasibility | The feasibility of the research problem must be examined in the light of pragmatic considerations such as time availability of study participants, money, facilities and equipment, experience of the researcher, subjects” willingness to participate in the study and the ethical issues. |
| Interest to Researcher | Genuine interest in and curiosity about the chosen research problem are critical requisites to a successful study. Personal interest in a research problem is least likely to be high when the topic has been suggested or assigned to the researcher by others. |
(Ref by- Nirmala /Research Methodology in Nursing/11/30)
Types of Research Problem:
There are three types of research problem
1. Theoretical research problem
2. Applied research problem
3. Action research problem
A. Theoretical Research Problem: It is the theoretical explanation of a research problem. It gives only theory and meaning of the problem. It defines the problem theoretically. This type of research has no need of hypothesis and verification.
Features
- It is exploratory
- It is theoretical in nature
- It provides basic meaning
B. Applied Research Problem: An applied social research problem is a practical use of the theoretical knowledge. In that type the field work and visits to the problematic situation is necessary. It has the design of hypothesis and verification.
Features
- It is practical in nature
- It has exploratory hypothesis
- It wants the verification
C. Action Research Problem: Action research problem is that one for which the immediate solution is required. It has millions of problems in the world that type of research is continuous and needs quick solution in emergency basis.
Features
- It is welfare oriented.
- It is service oriented.
- It is sensitive and immediate decision required for solution.
Characteristic of Research Problem
- Any research is a difficult task to achieve and research needs to do a great effort. Selection of research topic is the first step to success.
- Research topic must be very clear and easy to understand. It should not distract people.
- If a topic is well defined is the only way to successful research. The topic should not create doubt and double impression.
- Easy language is a key to success. Use technical words if necessary otherwise focus of simplicity.
- Research title should be according to the rules of titling. There are different rules of titling, a researcher must aware before writing a research title.
- While selecting a research topic current importance of a researcher should also be considered. Topic should not be obsolete and it should have great importance in the current day.
Selection of Research Problem
There are some suggestion for the graduate students and researchers which are drawn from the different areas of education, social sciences as well as psychology. There are two factors in the selection of topic external and personal. External criteria involve how the topic is important for the field, availability of both data and data collection methods and the administration is cooperative or not. Personal Criteria means researcher own interest, time and cost. Criteria for selection of research problem depend on the following characteristics.
| Personal Inclination. | The chief motivation in the way of selecting research problem is the personal inclination of the researcher. If a researcher has personal interest in, the topic, he would select that problem for his research work. |
| Resources Availability. | During the selection, a researcher will see to the resources available. If these resources like money, time, accommodation and transport are available to the selection place, then the selection of the problem is easy. |
| Relative Importance. | The importance and the problem also play a vital role in the selection of research problem. If the problem is relatively important, then the researcher tends towards the selection of the problem. |
| Researcher Knowledge. | The researcher knowledge should play a vital role in the selection of the research problem. The wisdom and experience of an investigator is required for well collection of the research-data. He can bitterly select a problem. |
| Practicality: | Practicality is also responsible for the selection. The practical usefulness of the problem is the main motivation for a researcher to attend it. |
| Time-lines of the Problem. | Some problems take little time for its solution while others take more time. So, it depends on the time in which we have to complete his research work. |
| Data Availability | If the desired data is available to the researcher, then the problem would be selected |
| Urgency | Urgency is a pinpoint in the way of the selection of research problem. Urgent problem must be given priority because the immediate solution can benefit the people. |
| Feasibility | Feasibility is also an important factor for the selection of the research problem. The researcher qualification, training and experience should match the problem. |
| Area Culture | The culture of the area for which a researcher conducts his research is also responsible for the selection of research problem. |
Identification of Research Problem
Identification is a sense of consciousness and awareness about a social phenomenon. Identification of a problem is very difficult and has no specific rules and principles but following are some sources for identification of a social problem.
- Researcher Knowledge
- Keen observation
- Careful Investigation
- Cause and effect relationships
Formulation of Research Problems
| Identify the Broad Study Area | This is a great idea to thinking about the subject area of your interest. You should identify the field in which you would like to work a long time after your academic study or graduation. It will help you tremendously to get an interesting research topic. For example- if you do graduation in sociology, you must decide your research study area in socjology. You might choose social problems like unemployment, road accident, community health, HIV/AIDS etc. |
| Dissect the Broad Study Area into Subareas | In this stage, you need to dissect and specify your research broad study area into some subareas. You would consult with your supervisor on this regard. Write down subareas. For example- if you select unemployment as your broad study area, then dissect it into unemployment & social stability, unemployment & crime, unemployment & individual frustration etc. |
| Mark-up your Interest | It is almost impossible to study all subareas. That’s why you must identify your area of interest. You should select issues in which you are passionate about. Your interest must be the most important determinant of your research study. Once you selected your research study of interest, you should delete other subareas in which you do not feel interested. |
| Study Research Questions | In this step, you would point out your research questions under the area of interest as you decided in the previous stage. If you select unemployment as your study area, your questions might be “how unemployment impact on individual social status?” “How it affects social stability?” “How it creates frustration on individuals?” Define what research problem or question you are going to study? |
| Set Out Objectives | Formulate your research main objectives and sub-objectives. Research objectives necessarily come from research questions. If you do study “Impact of unemployment on individual social status as your research problem or research question. Then, set out what would you like to explore to address. For Example your main objective might be to examine the unemployment status in a particular society or state. |
| Assess your Objectives | Now, you should evaluate your objectives to make sure the possibility of attaining them through your research study. Assess your objectives in terms of time, budget, resources and technical expertise at your hand. You should also assess your research questions in light of reality. Determine what outcome will bring your study. Then, go to the next step. |
| Check Back | In this final step, you should review all the things what you have done till now in the purpose of your research study. Ask yourself about your enthusiasm. Do you have enough resources to step up? If you are quite satisfied, then you forward to undertake your research work. |
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