Formulation of a Research Problem is the first and most important step in conducting researches

1. Formulation of a research
problem
Dr . Hinda Hassan Khideer Mahmood
MBBS(U of K),MRCP,Nephrology Fellowship(SMSB)

2. A research problem, in general,
refers to some difficulty which a
researcher experiences in the
context of either a theoretical or
practical situation and wants to
obtain a solution for .

3. Research is not fishing in the dark. If you
decide to go into a forest to see what is there
or if you throw a net in the river to catch
something, this is exploration and not
research. There should be a question or a
problem which requires an answer or a
solution .

4. The research question:
This is by far the most important step in
research. The research question drives the
entire study. It is the question you want to
solve. The question should be clear and
focused. You can put forward a tentative
answer (hypothesis) which could guide you
through.

5. Why is it important to state and define the
question well?
1. It forms the foundation for the further
development of the research proposal
(objectives, methodology, work plans and
budget).
2. Make it easier to find information and
reports of similar studies in the literature.
3. help to discriminate relevant data from the
irrelevant ones

6. To clarify a problem, one should answer the
following questions.
1. What are we trying to find out?
2. What questions is this research trying to
answer?
3. What are the research questions?
This approach makes research questions central.

7. Example: Schistosomiasis in young adults:
Research topics to answer this question may include:
1. Schistosomal infection rate in different age groups
2. Factors associated with the incidence of schistosomiasis in
young adults.
3. Young adults perception and knowledge of
schistosomiasis.
We can then state the research questions from these topics:
1. What is the relationship between age of an adult and
schistosomal infection rate?
2. What is the relationship between schistosoma infection
rate and the job of the adult individuals?
3. What is the relationship between adults' perception and
knowledge of schistosomiasis and intensity of infection?

8. Identifying a good research question is one
of the most difficult tasks in doing a research.
Once you identify a question further
questions may spring and you will be able to
formulate a few more questions .
You may have observed a phenomena which
requires more investigations and you raise
some research questions.

9. Example, you noticed that most patients with hepatocellular
carcinoma come from Kordofan State and are peanut farmers.
You raise a general question that development of this type of
cancer may be related to the geographical locality and job of
the patient. Then, you zoom in with some specific questions:
1. Does living in a specific area in Kordofan predispose
individuals to the development of HCC?
2. What is the relationship of scarification used by Kordofan
tribes and the development ofHCC?
3. Does eating uncooked peanuts predisposes individuals
toHCC?
Reading the journals will provide a rich source of ideas and
research questions.You could consult a senior colleague, a
teacher or you can join a group of researchers who are
pursuing research on a particular area, when many questions
are made waiting to be picked up.

10. Format of a research question
The research question should contain the
following,
1. A characteristic, relationship or effect that
the investigator wishes to study
2. One or more variables (possible factors
influencing problem)
3. Study participants

11. Criteria for prioritizing problems for
research
1. Relevance
2. Avoidance of duplication
3. Feasibility
4. Political acceptability
5. Applicability
6. Urgency of data needed
7. Ethical acceptability

12. 1. Relevance
Topic chosen should be a priority problem
Questions to consider include
How large or widespread is the problem?
Who is being affected?
How severe is the problem?
Who perceives the problem to be important?
If a topic is not relevant drop it out.
There is no need to other criteria.

13. 2. Avoidance of Duplication
 Has the topic been investigated before?
 Are there other studies that have similar
results?
Results should be reviewed to explore
whether major questions that deserve further
investigations remained unanswered
Avoid subject which is overdone ,
Controversial or Too narrow or too vague
problems

14. 3. Feasibility
 How easy is it to implement this research problem?
 Do I have the resources? Thought should be given to
Personnel ,time ,equipment and money locally available
(i.e.sources of research are within one’s reach).
For this purpose:
1- a researcher should contact an expert .
2- review published literature available on the subject
3-He may discuss with others what he has in mind
concerning a problem.

15. 4. Political Acceptability
Always research on a topic that has the
interest of the authorities. This increases the
chances that the results of the study will be
implemented . At times you might need to
show that certain government policy needs
adjustment.
Involve the policy makers concerned at
an early stage to limit confrontation.

16. 5. Applicability
 Is it likely that the recommendations from this study will be
applied?
This depends on
• the blessing of the authorities.
• the availability of resources to implement the
recommendations.
• The opinions of potential recipients and responsible staff
6. Urgency of Data Need
 How urgently are the results needed for making decision?
Which research should be done first and which one can be
done later?

17. 7. Ethical Acceptability
 Are you not inflicting harm on others while carrying out
research?
Review your research with the view of ethics in whatever you are
doing
Ethical Questions
1. How acceptable is the research to those who will be studied
2. Can informed consent be obtained from the research
subjects
3. Will the condition of the patient/subjects be taken into
account
4. If individuals are identified during the study, who requires
treatment? Will the treatment be given, even if it interferes
with your results?

18. Scales for rating research topics: score (1 - 3)
Relevance
1. Not relevant
2. Relevant
3. Very relevant
Avoidance of duplication
1. Sufficient information already available
2. Some information is available
3. No information (sound information) is available
Feasibility
1. Study not feasible considering available resources
2. Study feasible
3. Study very feasible

19. Political acceptability
1. Topic not acceptable by policy makers
2. Topic more or less acceptable
3. Topic fully acceptable
Applicability
1. No chance of implementing recommendations
2. Some chance
3. Good chance
Urgency
1. Information not needed
2. A delay of some time is acceptable
3. Data very urgently needed for decision making
Ethical acceptability
1. Major ethical problems
2. Minor ethical problems
3. No ethical problems

20. Pilot study
The selection of a problem must be
preceded by a preliminary study. This may not
be necessary when the problem requires the
conduct of a research closely similar to one
that has already been done. But when the
field of inquiry is relatively new and does not
have available a set of well developed
techniques, a brief feasibility study must
always be undertaken.

21. So for the final selection of a problem, a researcher
must ask himself the following questions:
(a) Whether he is well equipped in terms of his
background to carry out the research?
(b) Whether the study falls within the budget he
can afford?
(c) Whether the necessary cooperation can be
obtained from those who must participate in
research as subjects?

22. Techniques of defining a research problem
(i) statement of the problem in a general way; (do some field
observation: pilot survey, seek the guidance from the
expert )
(ii)understanding the nature of the problem(discussion with
those who have a good knowledge ,consider the
environment)
(iii) surveying the available literature for relevant theories in
the field, research already undertaken, type of difficulties
,new lines of approach to the present problem etc….
(iv) developing the ideas through discussions with others who
have enough experience for the formulation of the general
approach to reach a possible solutions and
(v) rephrasing the research problem into a working
proposition.

23. Finally you must justify your choice by
(a)Clearly define (1) Technical terms with special
meanings used in the statement of the problem.
(2) Basic assumptions (if any)
relating to the research problem .
(b)Provide the criteria for the selection of the
problem .
(d)Consider the suitability of the time-period and
the sources of data available .
(e) the limits within which the problem is to be
studied must be mentioned explicitly in defining a
research problem

24. Development of working hypotheses
Working hypotheses are a set of suggested
solutions or explanations of a research problem
which may or may not be the real solutions. The
task of research is to test and establish such
hypotheses , which should be:
-clearly and precisely stated in simple terms
-testable within a reasonable time
- state relationship between variables.
- consistent with most of the known facts

25. The role of the hypothesis is to: guide the
researcher to keep him on the right track. It sharpens
his thinking and focuses attention on the more
important facets of the problem. It also indicates the
type of data required and the type of methods of
data analysis to be used.

26. the following approach helps in developing the
working hypotheses
(a) Discussions with experts about the problem, its
origin and the objectives in seeking a solution
(b) Examination of data and records, if available,
concerning the problem for possible clues
(c) Review of similar studies in the area or of the
studies on similar problems; and
(d) Exploratory personal investigation which
involves original field interviews on a limited
scale with interested individuals to have idea
about the practical aspects of the problem.

27. It may as well be remembered that occasionally
we may encounter a problem where we do not
need working hypotheses, specially in the case of
exploratory or formulative researches which do
not aim at testing the hypothesis. But as a
general rule, specification of working hypotheses
in another basic step of the research process in
most research problems

28. Thanks