CHAPTER 2

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

What is a Research Problem
Selecting the Problem
Statement of Problem
Formulate Objectives

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 What is a Research Problem?

 It is a problem that someone would

like to investigate.
 It is considered a situation that
needs to be changed or addressed.
 In educational research, the
research problem is typically posed
as a question.

enazizah@unisza.edu.my
 These problems consist of:
• Areas of concern
• Conditions to be improved
• Difficulties to be eliminated
• Questions seeking answers

enazizah@unisza.edu.my

Examples
 Drugs used as cancer treatment.
 Current treatment used to destroyed cancerous
cells.
 Awareness of Saudi population toward the a
obesity

enazizah@unisza.edu.my
 Identify a broad field or subject area of
interest to you.

 Ex: If you are studying marketing you might be

interested in researching consumer behavior
(customer satisfaction).

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Problem!
 Choosing good
problems is
essential for
being a good
scientist.
 what is a good
problem, and
how to choose
one?
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Picking a research problem..
 You should have a personal interest in
the topic.
 Pick a topic that you already have
some expertise about.
 Pick an area on the basis of the
interest of the outcome.
 Go to talk and read papers outside
your area of interest.

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Continue...
 Anticipate the results before doing the
first study.
 Choose research that is unique.
 Think Carefully before you choose a
controversial topic.
 Pick a manageable topic.
 Read, listen, discuss and think critically.
 Focus, Focus, Focus.

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The Research Question
 The foundation of the research process
 It all begins with a question

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Finding a Research Question
 From where ???????
 Curiosity
 Information Gaps
 Controversy
 Replication
 Literature Review
 Other People
 ...???

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Problem Distillation
 The process of refining the question or idea
into a problem and making it sufficiently
specific so that it is amenable to investigation
 This process should lead to the development of
a “statement of the problem” that is clear,
concise, and definitive

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CHAPTER 2

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

What is a Research Problem
Selecting the Problem
Statement of Problem
Formulate Objectives

12
Selecting a Research
Problem

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 Factors to consider in Selecting a
Research Problem
 The topic should be important (significant)
 Writing a thesis or dissertation is an exercise to
learn how to conduct research.
 However, graduate students can learn the
research process on an important topic just as
easy as learning the research process on daily
topic!

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Factors to Consider in Selecting
a Research Problem
 You should have a personal interest in the
topic.
 By the time you are done, you may really be
tired of the topic

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More Factors to Consider…

 Consider the feasibility of the project.

 How much time do you have available
 How difficult is it. Are data available?
 How much will it cost?

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More Factors…
 Make sure the topic is ethical to study.

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More Factors to Consider…
 The “newness” of the topic may hold you
interest longer, however there is some value in
repeating previous research

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More Factors…
 Make sure the research question is clear.

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What do we do with Problems?

 Ignore them

 Talk about them

 Try to solve them

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Criteria for Selecting a Problem

 Interest
 Most important
 Significance
 Theoretical value
 Practical value
 Timeliness
 External review
 Manageability
 Expertise, time, resources
 Free from personal bias

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CHAPTER 2

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

What is a Research Problem
Selecting the Problem
Statement of Problem
Formulate Objectives

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Statement of the Problem
 A very specific statement which clearly
identifies the problem being studied; will
usually identify the key variables as well as
give some information about the scope of the
study
 May be in either question or declarative form
 May include inherent sub-problems, if
appropriate
 Formulation of problem statement takes place
after an initial review of related literature and
the distillation process

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Problem Statements
 “The problem of this study was to …”
 “This study was concerned with …”
 “This study is designed to …”
 “The purpose of this investigation is to …”

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Sample Problem Statements
1. The problem was to investigate the effects of
exercise on blood lipids among college-age females.
2. This study was designed to determine the
relationship between stability performance and
physical growth characteristics of preschool children.
3. The present study was designed to identify those
characteristics which differentiate between students
who binge drink and those that do not.
4. The problem of the study was to determine is there
is a relationship between self-efficacy and self-
reported alcohol usage among middle-aged adult
females.

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CHAPTER 2

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

What is a Research Problem
Selecting the Problem
Statement of Problem
Formulate Objectives

26
 Formulate objectives

 Objectives transform these questions into

behavioral aims by using action-oriented words
such as 'to find out', 'to determine', 'to ascertain'
and 'to examine‘, ‘to measure’, ‘to explore’.

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 Formulate objectives

Example:
1- To determine the effect of customer expectation on
customer satisfaction
2- To find out the effect of service quality on customer
satisfaction
3- To identify how word of mouth communication
impact on customer satisfaction

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Example
 To design effective filament spool winder for 3D
printing additive technology to reduce the uses
of excesses spool.

 To fabricate the efficient tools for 3D printer in

order to minimize the cost of raw material for
production purpose.

 To test the effectiveness of the filament spool

winder, toward the users in production.

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 Considerations in selecting a
research problem

 interest,
 magnitude,
 measurement of concepts,
 level of expertise,
 relevance,
 availability of data,
 ethical issues.

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