What is a Research Problem?
A research problem is a question that the research hopes to answer specific issue or gap in existing knowledge
posed in form of a question (contrast with hypothesis which is a tentative statement, an assumption)
Why is Research Problem Required?
- it acts as introduction to the reader
- provides framework
- contextualizes
Characteristics
- Must be important or necessary
- based on factual evidence (NOT HYPOTHETICAL)
- Must be relevant
- suggests a meaningful method of resting hypothesis
Steps in Formulating Research Problem
Identify broad field → Dissect the subareas → selected interested sub-area → raise research questions → formulate objective → Assess Objective → Double Check
graph A-->B-->C-->D-->E-->F-->G A("Identify Broad Field") B("Dissect subareas") C("Select interested subarea") D("Raise Research Questions") E("Formulate Objective") F("Assess Objective") G("Double Check")Link to original
- decide interest area
- break it down to more specific areas
- Raise research questions how? impact? what does it do, etc
- Formulate the objective root objectives and sub-objectives
Sources of Research Problems
personal and practical experience critical appraisal of literature previous research existing theories consumer feedback performance improvement activities social issues brainstorming intuition exposure to field consultations with experts