Jumauay, Lyka T.

3BAF-1
RESEARCH PROBLEM
A research problem is the fuel that drives the scientific process, and is the foundation of
any research method and experimental design, from true experiment to case study.
It is one of the first statements made in any research paper and, as well as defining the
research area, should include a quick synopsis of how the hypothesis was arrived at.
Refers to some difficulty either of a theoretical or practical character which an individual
or organization is experiencing and wants to obtain a solution for the same. There are a number
of elements (components) which a problem must have before it becomes a research problem
ready for study.

ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM

The term research problem implies that an investigation, inquiry or study is to be conducted,
or that the problem is ready for investigation, inquiry or study. There are certain elements that a
problem must possess before it becomes a research problem ready for investigation. These
elements are:
1. Aim or purpose of the problem for investigation. This answers the question Why? Why
is there an investigation, inquiry or study?
2. The subject matter or topic to be investigated. This answers the question What? What
is to be investigated or studies?
3. The place or locale where the research is to be conducted. This answers the question
Where? Where is the study to be conducted?
4. The period or time of the study during which the data are to be gathered. This answers
the question When? When is the study to be carried out?
5. Population or universe from whom the data are to be collected. This answers the
question Who? or from whom? Who are the respondents? From who are the data to
be gathered?

GUIDELINES IN THE SELECTION OF A

RESEARCH PROBLEM OR TOPIC
1. The research problem or topic must be chosen by the researcher himself. This is to
avoid blaming or offering excuses for any obstacles encountered.
2. It must be within the interest of the researcher. This is to make sure that the researcher
will focus his full attention on the research work.
3. It must be within the specialization of the researcher. This will in some way make the
work easier for him because he is working on familiar grounds. Besides, this may
improve his specialization, skill, and competence in his profession.
4. It must be within the competence of the researcher to tackle. The researcher must know
the method of research and other research procedures applicable to his problem and he
must know how to apply them. He must have a workable understanding of his study.
5. It must be within the ability of the researcher to finance; otherwise he must be able to
find funding for his research. Research involves not a small amount of expense and the
researcher must be able to foot the bills until his study is completed. There must be a
budget, which he must be able to shoulder.
6. It is researchable and manageable, that is,
a. Data are available and accessible.
b. The data must meet the standards of accuracy, objectivity, and verifiability.

c. Answers to the specific questions (sub problems) can be found.

d. The hypotheses formulated are testable, that is, they can be accepted or
rejected.
e. Equipment and instruments for research are available and can give valid and
reliable results.
7. It can be completed within a reasonable period of time unless it is a longitudinal
research, which takes a long time for its completion.
8. It is significant, important, and relevant to the present time and situation, timely, and of
current interest.
9. The results are practical and implementable.
10. It requires original, critical, and reflective thinking to solve it.
11. It can be delimited to suit the resources of the researcher but big or large enough to be
able to give significant, valid, and reliable results and generalizations.
12. It must contribute to the national development goals for the improvement of the quality of
human life.
13. It must contribute to the fund of human knowledge.
14. It must show or pave the way for the solution of the problem or problems intended to be
solved.
15. It must not undermine the moral and spiritual values of the people.
16. It must not advocate any change in the present order of things by means of violence but
by peaceful means.
17. There must be a return of some kind to the researcher, either one or all of the following,
if the research report is completed:
a. Monetary, either increase in salary or publication of the results in which there is
some kind of royalty.
b. Advancement of position, promotion.
c. Improved specialization, competence, and skill in professional work especially if
the research subject is related to the profession.
d. Enhanced prestige and reputation.
e. Satisfaction of intellectual curiosity and interest, and being able to discover truth.
18. There must be a consideration of the hazards involved either, physical, social or legal.

GUIDELINES IN WRITING THE TITLE:

1. Generally, the title is formulated before the start of the research work. It may be revised
and refined later if there is a need.
2. The title must contain the subject matter of the study, the locale of the study, the
population involved, and the period when the data were gathered or will be gathered.
3. It must be broad enough to include all aspects of the subject matter studied or to be
studied. Hence, the title indicates what is expected to be found inside the thesis report.
4. It must be as brief and concise as possible.
5. Avoid using the terms An Analysis of, An Investigation of, and the like. All these things
are understood to have been done or to be done when a research is conducted.
6. If the title contains more than one line, it must be written like an inverted pyramid, all
words in capital letters, single space.
7. Although there is no fixed number as to the length of thesis title, it is suggested a
maximum of 35 to minimum of 20 words should be used for the tile.
8. All these titles should be consistent with the curriculum or degree pursued for.
9. All titles must be:
i.
Theory-based or concept-based relevant to the researchers major field
of specialization.
ii.
Original or novel and significant in the pursuit of new knowledge; and

iii.

Feasible and attainable within the time and resources available to

researcher.

IDENTIFYING VARIABLES
Variables are the conditions or characteristics that the experimenter manipulates,
controls, or observes.
Independent variables are the input variables; in descriptive research, they are not
manipulated. They are the conditions or characteristics that the experimenter manipulates in his
or her attempts to ascertain their relationship to observed phenomena. Moderator variables are
the secondary input variables, which affect or influence the independent variable. The
dependent variable is the outcome of the study. They are the conditions or characteristics that
appear, disappear, or change as the experimenter introduces, removes, or changes
independent variables.

GUIDELINES IN FORMULATING THE GENERAL PROBLEM AND THE SPECIFIC

SUBPROBLEMS OR SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:
1. The major problem of the study can be stated by briefly pointing out the objectives, the
subject and the coverage as well as the time frame.
2. Specify the sub-problems of the main problems.
3. Include all possible components under the sub-problems of the study.
4. State the sub-problems in either interrogative or declarative form. If the study is
experimental, it is advisable to state it in the declarative form.
5. You should also have advance information on the instrument to be used for data
gathering. This will help you prepare the methodology of the study.
6. The statement of the problem must be brief, clear, specific and relevant.

RESEARCH PROBLEM
A research problem is the fuel that drives the scientific process, and is the foundation of
any research method and experimental design, from true experiment to case study.
It is one of the first statements made in any research paper and, as well as defining the
research area, should include a quick synopsis of how the hypothesis was arrived at.
-Be truly sensitive to what is happening in the environment
-must identify and choose research problem that is not only worthy of time, money and
effort but it is academically significant as well.
Must be defined
Clear and specific
Not to exceed 15 word
Written in inverted pyramid

Operationalization is then used to give some indication of the exact definitions of the variables, and
the type of scientific measurements used.
This will lead to the proposal of a viable hypothesis. As an aside, when scientists are putting forward
proposals for research funds, the quality of their research problem often makes the difference
between success and failure.

Structuring the Research Problem

Look at any scientific paper, and you will see the research problem, written almost like a statement
of intent.
Defining a research problem is crucial in defining the quality of the answers, and determines the
exact research method used. A quantitative experimental design uses deductive reasoning to arrive
at a testable hypothesis.
Qualitative research designs use inductive reasoning to propose a research statement.

Defining a Research Problem

Formulating the research problem begins during the first steps of the scientific process.
As an example, a literature review and a study of previous experiments, and research, might throw
up some vague areas of interest.
Many scientific researchers look at an area where a previous researcher generated some interesting
results, but never followed up. It could be an interesting area of research, which nobody else has
fully explored.

A scientist may even review a successful experiment, disagree with the results, the tests used, or
the methodology, and decide to refine the research process, retesting the hypothesis.
This is called the conceptual definition, and is an overall view of the problem. A science report will
generally begin with an overview of the previous research and real-world observations. The
researcher will then state how this led to defining a research problem.

The Operational Definitions

The operational definition is the determining the scalar properties of the variables.
For example, temperature, weight and time are usually well known and defined, with only the exact
scale used needing definition. If a researcher is measuring abstract concepts, such as intelligence,
emotions, and subjective responses, then a system of measuring numerically needs to be
established, allowing statistical analysis and replication.
For example, intelligence may be measured with IQ and human responses could be measured with
a questionnaire from 1- strongly disagree, to 5 - strongly agree.
Behavioral biologists and social scientists might design an ordinal scale for measuring and rating
behavior. These measurements are always subjective, but allow statistics and replication of the
whole research method. This is all an essential part of defining a research problem.

Examples of Defining a Research Problem

An anthropologist might find references to a relatively unknown tribe in Papua New Guinea.
Through inductive reasoning, she arrives at the research problem and asks,

How do these people live and how does their culture relate to nearby tribes?
She has found a gap in knowledge, and she seeks to fill it, using a qualitative case study, without a
hypothesis.
The Bandura Bobo Doll Experiment is a good example of using reasoning to arrive at a research
problem and hypothesis.
Anecdotal evidence showed that violent behavior amongst children was increasing. Bandura
believed that higher levels of violent adult role models on television, was a contributor to this rise.
This was expanded into a hypothesis, and operationalization of the variables, and scientific
measurement scale, led to a robust experimental design.
Definition of research problem:
Defining any research problem in the simplest form fundamental l for a research work, in fact a problem is
basically a question that needs to be answered. After the selection of a topic for your thesis or
dissertation, identifying a research problem is the first essential step in designing a research proposal.
The main aim of a research problem is to identify what are the factors that contribute towards the
occurrence of the issue and why they exists in the first place.

The aimof research problem is to provide a structure for the concepts, tools and methods that can be
used to resolve an issue that has been undertaken. It would not be wrong to call a research problem the
central focus of a thesis or dissertation as the entire methodology, data collection,analysis and conclusion
process depends on the need statement.
How to formulate a research problem?
A good study problem should mainly be composed of three components

The Ideal Situation:

This is where you provide the history of the issue and inform your readers of the ideal situation that
can exist.

The Main Problem:

Next comes the main part of the problem. This is where you not only inform what the problem is but
also answer 4 other Ws along with it.
o
What is the problem?

Where does it occur?

Why is it occurring?

When does it occur?

The Scope of The Problem:

This is where you define the extent of your study and give a brief overview of the kind of
methodology you would be using to work for the solution. Along with that, you would also provide
justifications for the selection of this study and provide consequences if the study is ignored.

What is the sign of a good research problem?

After composing the need statement, answer the following questions. If you can honestly answer all the
answers with a yes, then you can assure yourself that it falls in the criteria of a good research problem:

Is the study current enough?

Does your field of study have enough scope to conduct the research?

Will you be able to find a solution to the issue through investigation?

Will the research add value on a scientific or social level?

Can the data needed to conduct the analysis be gathered easily?

Is the research problem important to you?

Are you skilled enough to conduct the study?

Now that you have a clear view of the study problem, you can go on to composing one for your thesis or
dissertation easily In case after explicitly defining research problem you would also like to learn how to
answer the research problem , if you that is the case than you are just a click away to find most updated
dissertation answering tips.

When choosing a problem for a research paper you are going to want to consider a few
things:

1.

What limits or restrections has your instructor placed on you?

2.

What topics are you interested in?

3.

Of the topics you are interested in, which one has the most relevant material
available for research? -or-

4.

If not much is available for research, which topic would you be most interested in
conducting your own research for?
Once you've narrowed down your subjects you can run them through this test:

1.
2.

Is this a real problem? (Does it actually exist and do people care?)

What am I looking to do with this paper? Present the problem, its causes and
effects, or the general trends therein? Solve the problem?