Research Problem

A research topic is the broad subject matter addressed by the study.

A research problem is a general issue, concern, or controversy addressed in research that narrows the
topic.
A purpose is the major intent or objective of the study used to address the problem.
Research questions narrow the purpose into specific questions that the researcher would like answered
or addressed in the study.

Guidelines in Choosing a Research Topic

1. Interest in the subject matter. Your real interest in the subject pushes you to research, investigate, or
inquire about it with full motivation, enthusiasm, and energy.
2. Availability of the information. Check availability of reading materials on your chosen topic.
3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic. Unless it’s a pure or historical research, the topic is relevant if it
yields results that are instrumental in societal improvement.
4. Limitations on the subject. Link your chosen topic with course requirements.
5. Personal resources. Assess your research abilities in terms of financial standing, health condition, and
time allotment to complete your research.

Research Topics to be Avoided

1. Controversial topics. Topics that depend greatly on the writer’s opinion, which may tend to be biased or
prejudicial.
2. Highly technical subject. For a beginner, researching topics that require an advanced study, technical
knowledge, and vast experience is a very difficult task.
3. Hard-to-investigate subjects. If there are no available reading materials or materials that are not up-to-
date.
4. Too broad subjects. Too broad topic will prevent you from concentrated or in-depth analysis of the
subject matter.
5. Too narrow subjects. These subjects are so limited or specific that an extensive or thorough searching
or reading for information about these is necessary.
6. Vague subjects. Choosing topics like these will prevent you from having clear focus on your paper. For
instance, titles beginning with indefinite adjectives such as several, many, some, etc. as in “Some
Remarkable Traits of a Filipino” or “Several People’s Comments on the RH Law,” are vague enough to
decrease the readers’ interests and curiosity.
Can and should problems be researched? You can research a problem if you have access to participants
and research sites as well as time, resources, and skills needed to study the issue. You should research a
problem if the study of it potentially contributes to knowledge or adds to the effectiveness of practice.

Five ways to assess whether you should research a problem:

1. Study the problem if your study will fill a gap or void in the existing literature.
2. Study the problem if your study replicates a past study but examines different participants and different
research sites.
3. Study the problem if your study extends past research or examines the topic more thoroughly.
4. Study the problem if your study gives voice to people silenced, not heard, or rejected in society.
5. Study the problem if your study informs practice.

The statement of the problem section includes the actual research problem as well as four other aspects:
1. The topic. The opening sentences of a “statement of the problem” section need to encourage readers to
continue reading, to generate interest in the study, and to provide an initial frame of reference for
understanding the entire research topic. Given these factors, it makes sense to start with a broad topic
that readers can easily understand. In this way, you bring readers into a study slowly and encourage
them to read beyond the first page.
2. The research problem. An issue, concern, or controversy that the researcher investigates. Authors may
present it as a single sentence or as a couple of short sentences. Also, authors may frame the problem
as a deficiency in the literature (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2005).
3. A justification of the importance of the problem. Presenting reasons for the importance of studying the
issue or concern. This justification occurs in several paragraphs in an introduction in which you provide
evidence to document the need to study the problem. You can justify the importance of your problem
by citing evidence from:
• Other researchers and experts as reported in the literature
• Experiences others have had in the workplace
• Personal experiences
4. The deficiencies in our existing knowledge about the problem. Our present state of knowledge—both
from research and from practice—is deficient. A deficiency in the evidence means that the past literature
or practical experiences of the researchers does not adequately address the research problem.
Deficiencies in the research may require a need to extend the research, replicate a study, explore a topic,
lift the voices of marginalized people, or add to practice.
5. The audiences that will benefit from a study of the problem. It consists of individuals and groups who will
read and potentially benefit from the information provided in your research study.

Strategies for Writing the “Statement of the Problem” Section

1. A Template. One strategy you can use as you write your “statement of the problem” section is to visualize
this section as five paragraphs, with each paragraph addressing one of the five aspects of the section.
Take sections in order beginning with the topic, the research problem, the justification, the deficiencies,
and the audience. See Figure 2.4 on the next page.
2. Other Writing Strategies. Another writing strategy is to use frequent references to the literature
throughout this introductory passage. Multiple references add a scholarly tone to your writing and
provide evidence from others, rather than relying on your own personal opinion. The use of references
in your study will build credibility for your work. A third strategy is to provide references from statistical
trends to support the importance of studying the research problem (quantitative research). Another
writing strategy is to use quotes from participants in a study or from notes obtained from observing
participants to begin your “statement of the problem” introduction (qualitative research).
 See Sample “Statement of the Problem” Section

Dividing the Research Problem into Subproblems

Subproblems—sometimes in the form of specific questions—that are easier to address and resolve. By
viewing the main problem through its subproblems, a researcher can often get a better idea of how to
approach the entire research endeavor.

Characteristics of Subproblems
1. Each subproblem should be a completely researchable unit.
2. Each subproblem must be clearly tied to the interpretation of data.
3. The subproblems must add up to the totality of the problem.
4. Subproblems should be small in number.

Identifying Delimitations and Limitations

The statement of the research problem describes what the researcher intends to do. But it is also important
to know what the researcher does not intend to do. What the researcher is not going to do is stated in the
delimitations.

Good researchers also acknowledge that their research projects have certain weaknesses, or limitations, that
might cast shadows of doubt on results and conclusions.

Sources:
1. Educational Research 4th Edition (2012) by John W. Creswell
2. Practical Research 1 (2016) by Esther L. Baraceros
3. Practical Research: Planning and Design (2015) by Paul D. Leedy and Jeanne Ellis Omrod
Sample “Statement of the Problem” Section
Statement of the Exploring the Conceptions and Misconceptions of Teen Smoking in High
Problem Elements Schools: A Multiple Case Analysis

Tobacco use is a leading cause of cancer in American society (McGinnis & Foefe,
1993). Although smoking among adults has declined in recent years, it has
The Topic actually increased for adolescents. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
reported that smoking among high school students had risen from 27.5 percent
in 1991 to 34.8 percent in 1995 (USDHHS 1996). Unless this trend is dramatically
The Research Problem reversed, an estimated 5 million of our nation’s children will ultimately die a
premature death (Center for Disease Control, 1996).
Previous research on adolescent tobacco use has focused on four primary
topics. Several studies have examined the question of the initiation of smoking
by young people, noting that tobacco use initiation begins as early as junior high
school (e.g., Heishman et al., 1997). Other studies have focused on the
Evidence Justifying prevention of smoking and tobacco use in schools. This research has led to
the Research Problem numerous school based prevention programs and intervention (e.g., Sussman,
Dent, Burton, Stacy, & Flay, 1995). Fewer studies have examined “quit attempts”
or cessation of smoking behaviors among adolescents, a distinct contrast to the
extensive investigations into adult cessation attempts (Heishman et al., 1997).
Of interest as well to researchers studying adolescent tobacco use has been
the social context and social influence of smoking (Fearnow, Chassin, & Presson,
1998). For example, adolescent smoking may occur in work-related situations, at
home where one or more parents or caretakers smoke, at teen social events or
at areas designated as “safe” smoking places near high schools (McVea et al., in
press).
Minimal research attention has been directed toward the social context of
high schools as a site for examining adolescent tobacco use. During high school
students form peer groups which may contribute to adolescent smoking. Often
peers become a strong social influence for behavior in general and belonging to
an athletic team, a music group, or the “grunge” crowd can impact thinking about
Deficiencies in smoking (McVea et al., in press). Schools are also places where adolescents spend
Evidence most of their day (Fibkins, 1993) and are available research subjects. Schools
provide a setting for teachers and administrators to be role models for abstaining
from tobacco use and enforcing policies about tobacco use (O’Hara et al., 1999).
Existing studies of adolescent tobacco use are primarily quantitative with a
focus on outcomes and transtheoretical models (Pallonen, 1998). Qualitative
investigations, however, provide detailed views of students in their own words,
complex analyses of multiple perspectives, and specific school contexts of
different high schools that shape student experiences with tobacco (Creswell, in
press). Moreover, qualitative inquiry offers the opportunity to involve high school
students as co-researchers, a data collection procedure that can enhance the
validity of student views uncontaminated by adult perspectives.
By examining these multiple school contexts, using qualitative approaches
and involving students as co-researchers, we can better understand the
conceptions and misconceptions adolescents hold about tobacco use in high
The Audience schools. With this understanding, researchers can better isolate variables and
develop models about smoking behavior. Administrators and teachers can plan
interventions to prevent or change attitudes toward smoking, and school officials
can assist with smoking cessation or intervention programs.