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Identifying a Research Problem

Researchers begin a study by identifying a research problem that they need to address. They write about this “problem” in the opening passages of their study and, in effect, give you as a reader the rationale for why the study is important and why you need to read their study. In this chapter, you will learn about specifying a research problem and positioning it within a section that introduces a study, the “statement of the problem” section.By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Define a research problem and explain its importance in a study.
• Distinguish between a research problem and other parts of research process.
• Identify criteria for deciding whether a problem can and should be researched.
• Describe how quantitative and qualitative research problems differ.
• Learn the five elements in writing a “statement of the problem” section.
• Identify strategies useful in writing a “statement of the problem” section.

Maria begins her research project required for her graduate program. Where does she start? She starts by posing several questions and then writing down short answers to them.

• “What is the specific controversy or issue that I need to address?” Escalating vio­lence in the schools
• “Why is this problem important?” Schools need to reduce the violence; students will learn better if violence is less a part of their lives, etc.
• “How will my study add to what we already know about this problem?” We really don’t have many school plans for addressing this escalating violence
• “Who will benefit from what I learn about this problem?" Schools, anybody inter­ested in learning how schools can respond to escalating violence (the body of literature, administrators, teachers, etc.)

For a beginning researcher, the difficulty is not developing answers to questions, but coming up with the questions to ask yourself. To do this, we need to learn how to write an introduction or “statement of the problem” section for a research study.

WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

One of the most challenging aspects of conducting research is to clearly identify the “problem” that leads to a need for your study. Individuals do not seem to give enough attention to why they are conducting their studies. Research problems are the edu­cational issues, controversies, or concerns that guide the need for conducting a study. Good research problems can be found in our educational settings, such as:

1. The disruptions caused by at-risk students in classrooms
2. The increase in violence on college campuses
3. The lack of parental involvement in schools for students with challenging behaviors