Problem statement of research

PROBLEM STATEMENT
OF RESEARCH
PREPARED BY
RICHARD OPOKU ASARE
MPhil, M.Ed (Course work), B.Ed (Hons), Dip (RMN), Cert.Ed, RN

The Basics of Writing a Statement
of the Problem for your Research
Proposal
 Statement of the Problem
asareor@yahoo.com © 2021 2

Introduction
• Research is a systematic investigative process
employed to increase or revise current knowledge by
discovering new facts. It can be divided into two
general categories:
1) Basic research, which is inquiry aimed at
increasing scientific knowledge, and
2) Applied research, which is effort aimed at using
basic research for solving problems or developing new
processes, products, or techniques.

•The first and most important step in any
research is to identify and delineate the research
problem: that is, what the researcher wants to
solve and what questions he/she wishes to
answer.
•In other words, Identification of research
problem leads in conducting a research.

• From these general descriptions we can deduce that
research is used to:
1) Establish or confirm facts,
2) Reaffirm the results of previous research work,
3) Solve new or existing problems,
4) Support theorems, or develop new theories,
5) Expansion on past work in the field,
6) Test the validity of instruments, procedures, or
experiments, and/or,
7) Replicate elements of prior projects, or the
projects. asareor@yahoo.com © 2021 5

Definition of Research Problem
• A research problem may be defined as an area of
concern, a gap in the existing knowledge, or a deviation
in the norm or standard that points to the need for
further understanding and investigation (Bwisa, 2018).
• Although many problems turn out to have several
solutions (the means to close the gap or correct the
deviation), difficulties arise where such means are
either not obvious or are not immediately available.
This then necessitates some research to reach a viable
solution.

What is a Research Problem?
•It is the topic we would like to address, investigate,
or study, whether descriptively or experimentally.
•It is the focus or reason for engaging in our
research.
•It is typically a topic, phenomenon, or challenge
that we are interested in and with which we are at
least somewhat familiar with its applications.

Sources of Research Problem
Potential sources of research problems include:
•School library (reading through literature or
archival material)
•Community (consultations or narrations or
public participation processes)
•Own experiences (observations)
•Classroom lectures (narration and disputation)
•Class discussions (argumentation)

• Seminars/workshops/paper presentations (narrations,
disputations, argumentation)
• Internet (narrations or observations)
• Research reports and term papers (investigations)
• Theory of one’s own interest
• Daily problems
• Technological changes
• Unexplored areas
• Discussions with other people

Guidelines for Selecting a Research Problem
1) The research problem should be such (or one) in which researcher
may be deeply interested.
2) The research problem should be focused in the sense of being
related to the researcher’s overall logic. A diffuse and unfocused
problem reduces the efficiency of the effort put in a research
project.
3) The problem selected should not necessarily be a new one. It may
be old problem or one on which work has already been done.
4) The problem should be within meaningful limits, i.e., it should not
be too comprehensive.

Considerations in Selecting a Research Problem
1. Interest: a research endeavor is usually time consuming,
and involves hard work and possibly unforeseen problems.
One should select topic of great interest to sustain the
required motivation.
2. Magnitude: It is extremely important to select a topic that
you can manage within the time and resources at your
disposal. Narrow the topic down to something
manageable, specific and clear.
3. Level of expertise: Make sure that you have an adequate
level of expertise for the task you are proposing since you
need to do the work yourself.

4. Relevance: Ensure that your study adds to the
existing body of knowledge, bridges current
gaps and is useful in policy formulation. This
will help you to sustain interest in the study.
5. Availability of data: Before finalizing the topic,
make sure that data are available.
6. Ethical issues: How ethical issues can affect the
study and how ethical problems can be
overcome should be thoroughly examined at
the problem formulating stage.

Criteria of a Good Research Problem
1) Novelty: It should be original. It should not involve duplication of
prior research.
2) Interest: The problem should be interesting for the researcher and
their team.
3) Importance: If the research is not worthwhile, if neither adds to
knowledge nor leads to any improvements in the current practices
then it should not be done.
4) Immediate Application: The investigator should ask himself the
question, will my research help in solving an urgent or practical
problem.
5) Feasibility or Amenability: Feasibility in research includes the
following:

a) Availability of data required for a meaningful research.
b) Potential of cooperation from participants and
relevant institutions.
c) Availability of expertise and guidance in the field of
research.
d) Availability of requisite research facilitates and
instruments.
e) Experience and creativity of the researcher or research
team.
f) Coverage or scope of the research and confidence of
the researcher in embarking on the research.

What is the Statement of the Problem?
•A statement of the problem is used in
research work as a claim that outlines (or
points to) the problem addressed by a
study.
•The statement of the problem briefly
addresses the question: What is the
problem that the research will address?

What are the Goals of a Statement of the
Problem?
•The ultimate goal of a statement of the
problem is to transform a generalized
problem (something that bothers you; a
perceived lack) into a targeted, well-defined
problem; one that can be resolved through
focused research and careful decision-
making.

•Writing a statement of the problem should help
you clearly identify the purpose of the research
project you will propose.
•Often, the statement of the problem will also
serve as the basis for the introductory section of
your final proposal (i.e., research project),
directing your reader’s attention quickly to the
issues that your proposed project will address
and providing the reader with a concise
statement of the proposed project itself.

•A statement of problem need not be
long and elaborate: one page is more
than enough for a good statement of
problem.

What are the Key Characteristics of a
Statement of the Problem?
A good research problem should have the
following characteristics:
1.It should address a gap in knowledge.
2.It should be significant enough to
contribute to the existing body of
research.

3. It should lead to further research.
4. The problem should render itself to
investigation through collection of data.
5. It should be of interest to the researcher
and suit his/her skills, time, and
resources.
6. The approach towards solving the
problem should be ethical.

What is the Format for Writing a Statement of
the Problem?
•A persuasive statement of problem
is usually written in three parts:

Part A (The Ideal): Statement 1
•It describes a desired goal or ideal
situation;
•It explains how things should be.

Part B (The Reality): Statement 2
•It describes a condition that prevents
the goal, state, or value in Part A from
being achieved or realized at this time;
•It explains how the current situation falls
short of the goal or ideal.

Part C (The Consequences): Statement 3
•It identifies the way you propose to
improve the current situation and move
it closer to the goal or ideal.

EXAMPLES OF STATEMENT OFTHE
PROBLEM

STATEMENT 1
•The Ministry of Youth and Sports is
dedicated to allocating funds to both the
GFA and NSC. These funds are made
available in order to start ventures that
create and expand employment.
(Provide relevant statistics and quote)

STATEMENT 2
•One of the main focuses of the ministry is
consistency. Unfortunately, consistency in
allocating funds to the next generation of
recipients requires prior knowledge of previous
allocations and established practices. The
current continuous disbursement method does
not allow for adequate analysis of previous
disbursements before a current disbursement is
done.

STATEMENT 3
•Continuing with this current disbursement
method prevents consistency and causes
decisions to become grossly political, which in
turn inhibits the achievement of the goals of
the funds. Developing a more informed
disbursement system could help better
implement the consistency focus of the
ministry and at the same time help the
ministry better monitor and evaluate its funds.

STATEMENT 3 – cont’d
•This proposed research aspires to
explore options for a new funds
disbursement system that would focus
on consistency. To do this, the
researcher will carry out a full
stakeholder analysis and use it to
propose appropriate policy
interventions.

OTHER EXAMPLES - 1
• Nyame and Biritwum (1997) reported that literate adults in
urban population of Ghana are ignorant of the cause of
epilepsy. On a recent field survey (October 3, 2016 to
November 11, 2016) by the researcher to the Asutifi North
District Health Directorate in Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, it
was observed that among the top 10 diseases in the district,
epilepsy was not captured. This could partly be due to the
fact that epileptic cases are either reported to Saint Elizabeth
Hospital, Hwidiem at the Asutifi South District, under
reported to the health centres of the health directorate, or
there are no community psychiatric nurses in the Asutifi
North District to attend to these individuals.

• Data gathered from the GHS District Health Information
Management System (DHIMS) indicated that the Brong
Ahafo Region had recorded 17,666 for cases of epilepsy in
2012, with 104 cases of epilepsy for Asutifi South District,
but none for the Asutifi North. In 2013, there was a rise in
reported cases of the condition up to 1,888, but a slight
decline in Asutifi South with reported cases being 100.
However, the Asutifi North Health Directorate recorded no
figures. In 2014 and 2015, the number of reported cases
increased to 3,166 and 3,495 respectively, whilst the Asutifi
South recorded 128 and 125 within the same period, but
none for the Asutifi North Health Directorate.

• However, there was a sharp fall in the reported cases of
epilepsy in the Region with a figure of 1,377, with the Asutifi
North Health Directorate recording 10 cases from January to
June, 2016, and in the same duration Asutifi South recorded
33 cases (GHS, 2016).
• Though efforts to improve care of people living with epilepsy
are a major concern, little has been done to identify the
extent of the subjective knowledge, attitude and practice
among nurses. This research therefore seeks to study the
knowledge, the attitude and the practice regarding epilepsy
among the nurses in the Asutifi North District.

OTHER EXAMPLES - 2
• Adolescence is a period of central physical and cognitive
development. The U.S. National Library of Medicine states
that adolescents are capable of understanding conceptual
ideas, establishing relationships by learning to share the
confidence, having a sense of purpose in life, and increasing
independence (Mannheim, 2011). Adolescents are easily
predisposed by external factors that predispose them to
engage in risky behaviors because they are searching for a
sense of self. In modern societies, the frequency of
adolescents using drugs and alcohol is alarmingly high.
Adolescents abuse substances as a way to avoid problems,
deal with stress and boost their mood and for purposes of
socialization (Low et al., 2011).

• Regardless of Ghana’s present strict laws that support
severe punishment meted on users of marijuana and
prescribed use of opioids such as tramadol in the country,
available evidence suggests that drug use is on the
ascendency in the country (UNODC, 2017). Tramadol is
meant to be used under a doctor’s monitoring and
supervision. Nevertheless, attempts to subject the drug to
constant use unsteadily leads to addiction which can result
in death in some situations. Moreover, the thought of good
feeling that leads to abuse and misuse of tramadol can lead
to long term adverse consequences such as weakness,
sleepiness, insomnia, panic attacks and other symptoms of
opioid dependence.

• In effect overdose of tramadol and abuse of marijuana
may lead to difficulty in breathing, mental health
issues and mortalities. Tramadol abuse liability is
underrated and the evidence of abuse and
dependence is fast developing (Bassiony et al., 2015a).
• Drug operators are found all over the 275
administrative districts in all 16 regions of Ghana, and
with this about 35,000 are students from junior/senior
high schools and tertiary institutions between ages 12
and 35 while the 15,000 are adults, with 6,000
females and 9,000 being males (Ghana Web, 2015).

• . It has many detrimental health and social
consequences especially among the youth and it is
disheartening to know that more than 50,000
Ghanaian youth engage in tramadol abuse and out of
this, the five regions or sectors of the North are
leading in terms of numbers (Peacefmonline.com,
2014) .
• This makes the study area culpable with a young
population of 48.8 percent aged 19 years or less
(Ghana Statistical Service, 2014) and could easily fall
prey to drug users and peddlers.

• However, very little empirical research has
investigated the use of some substances such as
marijuana and tramadol in the five Northern sectors
of Ghana, especially in the Sagnarigu Municipality in
the Northern Region.
• This research, therefore, seeks out to investigate the
knowledge and attitudes of junior high school
adolescents towards marijuana and tramadol abuse,
thus factors that initiate usage of such substances,
and their perceptions on the health effects of
substance abuse.

SUMMARY
•Research problems are questions that indicate
gaps in the scope or the certainty of our
knowledge.
•They point either to problematic phenomena,
observed events that are puzzling in terms of our
currently accepted ideas, or to problematic
theories, current ideas that are challenged by
new hypotheses.

SUMMARY – cont’d
• A statement of the problem is used in research work as a
claim that outlines the problem addressed by the study.
• A good research problem should address an existing gap in
knowledge in the field and lead to further research.
• To write a persuasive problem statement, you need to
describe
a) The ideal,
b) The reality, and
c) The consequences.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• Bwisa, H. (May 15, 2018). The basics of writing a statement of the problem for your research
proposal. Available at https://www.editage.com/insights/the-basics-of-writing-a-statement-
of-the-problem-for-your-research-proposal.
doi: https://doi.org/10.34193/EI-A-5275
• Asare, R. O. (2019). Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding epilepsy among nurses in
Asutifi North District. Available at
https://www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh/handle/123456789/2277?mode=simple
• Jomo Kenyatta University. (2016/17). ABP 3101 – Research Methods 1. Kenya: Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology.
• Brickman, Leonard., & Debra J. Roy (Eds). (1998). Handbook of applied social research
methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
THANK YOU
asareor@yahoo.com © 2021
40

Problem statement of research

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Problem statement of research

More from Richard Asare

Recently uploaded

Problem statement of research