Presentation on Selection of Research Problem

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Selection of a research area: (शोध क्षेत्र का चयन): Compile By:
Dr. V.Singh
Formulate of a research problem begins with selection of a broad research topic from personal
experience, literature, previous research, & theories in which researcher is interested & has significance
for nursing profession.
For example, a researcher gets an idea to conduct a study on the female feticide.
Therefore, he or she initially begins with such broad research topic.
Reviewing literature & theories: (िाहहत्य औि सिद्ाांिों की िमीक्षा)
After getting a broad idea for research, he or she needs to review the nursing literature & theories.
Literature is reviewed to know what has already been done in this selected areas of research.
Review of nursing theories provides an opportunity for nurses researcher to plan a research problem to
contribute towards either testing or development of a theory/conceptual model.
Delimiting the research topic: (शोध पवषय का परििीमन )
In this step, researcher proceeds from a general area of interest to more specific topic of research to
conduct a study.
For example, initially a researcher decide to conduct a study on female feticide; later in this stage
researcher limits it to specific research topic ‘a study on perception of women about causes &
prevention of female feticide in selected rural communities of district mehsana, Gujrat’.
In this stage, a researcher clearly identifies variables, population, & setting of research study.
Evaluating the research problem (शोध िमतया का मूलयाांकन)
Once researcher is clear about the specific research problem, next the research problem must be
carefully evaluated for its significance, researchability, & feasibility.
Feasibility of the research problem should be evaluated for time, cost, availability of subjects &
resources, administrative & peer support, ethical consideration, & researcher’s competence & interest.
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Formulating final statement of research problem: (शोध िमतया किन का अांतिम िूत्रीकिण)
After establishing the significance, researchability, & feasibility, then researcher finally formulates a final
statement of a research problem.
A statement of research problem could be in declarative or interrogative format
WHAT IS A PROBLEM STATEMENT? एक िमतया किन तया है
 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. A good problem statement is
just one sentence (with several paragraphs of elaboration). For example it could be:
 "The frequency of job layoffs is creating fear, anxiety, and a loss of productivity in middle management
workers."
 The statement of the problem should clearly indicate what is to be investigated.
 The actual statement may be in a declarative or in a question form.
 The statement should indicate the variables of interest and the specific relationship between the
variables that are to be studied.
 An example question might be: this proposal poses the question, "What is the relationship between
farm productivity and farmer use of fertilizer"? The information needed is (1) productivity levels and (2)
some measure of fertilizer use. A bad example might be: "What is the best way to train for use of
fertilizer"? This is insufficient because:
 What are the variables?
 What will be measured?
 What relationships will be examined?
 There should be a close relationship between the title of the proposal and the problem statement
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question. For example, in the good example above, the title of this research project would be something
like this:
"Fertilizer use by small scale farmers in Bungoma district and their farm productivity"
Be Concise: िांक्षक्षप्ि िखें: If there's one thing to keep in mind when writing problem statements, it's this.
Problem
statements shouldn't be any longer than they need to be to accomplish their task of laying out the problem
and
its solution for the reader. No sentence should be wasted.
Write for your audience. अपने दशाकों के सलए सलखें :When making a problem statement, it's important to
remember
that you're writing for someone else, not for yourself. Different audiences will have different sets of
knowledge,
different reasons for reading, and different attitudes toward your problem, so try to keep your intended
audience in mind as you write.
 As you write, try to ask yourself questions like:
 "Who, specifically, am I writing for?"
 "Why am I addressing this audience?"
 "Does this audience know all of the same terms and concepts as I do?"
 "Does this audience share the same attitude as I do towards this problem?"
 "Why should my audience care about this problem?"
Don't use jargon without defining it. (बबना परिभापषि शब्दजाल का उपयोग न किें) As noted above, your
problem
statement should be written so that it's as easy for your audience to understand as possible.
Remember the "five Ws".(पाांच Ws को याद िखें) Problem statements should be as informative as possible
in as few
words as possible, but shouldn't delve into minute details. If you're ever in doubt of what to include in your
problem
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statement, a smart idea is to try to answer the five Ws (who, what, where, when, and why), plus how.
Addressing the
five Ws gives your reader a good baseline level of knowledge to understand the problem and solution
without treading
into unnecessary levels of detail.
 For instance, if you're writing a problem statement to propose a new building development to your local
city
council, you might address the five Ws by explaining who the development would benefit, what the
development would require, where the development should be, when construction should begin,
and why the development is ultimately a smart idea for the city.
a. Declarative format: (घोषणात्मक प्रारूप)
In this format, a research problem is stated in declarative statement.
For example:
 ‘A descriptive study on prevalence of bedsores among unconscious patients admitted in intensive care
unit of Lions hospital, Mehsana’.
 ‘A exploratory study on contributing factors of maternal mortality in selected rural communities of
district Mehsana, Gujrat’.
 ‘A comparative study of educational practices of India and Britain at Kindergarten stage’
(‘बिटेन औि भािि में बालवाड़ी तिि पि सशक्षण प्रयािों का एक िुलनात्मक अधयन्न’)
b. Interrogative format: (प्रश्नवाचक प्रारूप)
In interrogative format, a research problem is stated in question form.
For example:
 ‘What is the influence of level of hemoglobin on pin site infection among patients with external skeletal
fixators admitted in orthopedic wards of Lions hospital, Mehsana.
 ‘What is the effect of ginger or morning sickness on pregnant women in selected urban communities of
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district Mehsana, Gujrat.
 ‘What is the impact of B.Ed. Teachers over non-B.Ed. Teachers in terms of their teaching effectiveness.
The choice of either of these two types of format formulation of a research problem depends on the
researcher’s preference & institutional policies.
Declarative format much popular among researchers.
For the formulation of a research problem it is preferable it it fulfils the following features:
 Research problem is clearly, precisely articulated.
 It clearly states the variables, population, & research setting under study.
 Variable are expressed in measurable terms.
 The type of study also may be included in the statement of research problem.
Example of a well-formulated research problem
“Effectiveness of planned teaching on the knowledge of staff nurses working in psychiatric unit regarding
Physical
Restraints for psychiatric patient in selected hospital of Vidharbha region”.
It is an example of declarative form of the statement of problem, where it is precisely &
concisely stated & include most of the required components of a research statement, which are
 Research study type: Quasi-experiment
 Variable(s): it has two research variable i.e knowledge & planned teaching
 Population: Nurses working in selected psychiatric hospital
 Research setting: Psychiatric hospital in Maharashtra.
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