Identifying a Research Problem

The research problem must stand on its own for it represents the essence of the study

The Topic

An educational topic is the broad subject matter that the researcher

wishes to address in a study and that creates the initial interest for

the reader

Narrative hook could begin as

Statistical data

A provocative question

A clear need for research

The intent and purpose of the study

The Research Problem

A

research problem is an educational issue, concern or controversy

that the researcher investigates.

Deficiency in the literature

Practical research problems

Justification a/the importance o/the problem

Research problem means presenting reasons for the

importance of studying the issue or concern

Other researchers and experts as reported in the literature

IDENTIFYING A RESEARCH PROBLEM

Experiences others have had in the workplace

Personal experiences

Deficiencies in what we know

Summarize how our present state of knowledge

The past literature or practical experiences of the researchers

does not adequately address the research problem

The Audience

Consists of individuals and groups who will read

Benefit from the infonnation provided in your study

Researchers,

Practitioners

Policy makers

Individuals participating

Differences between

Qualitative

Quantitative

Explaining or predicting relations among variables

Exploring and

understanding a phenomenon

Typically take more time; because of the lengthy process of collecting

data at research sites and the detailed process of analyzing

sentences and words.

These skills require using

computers, employing statistical programmes, or creating tabies

for representing information

Problem statement Examples

There has been perpetual low performance in most of the schools

under investigation in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary

Education (KNEC, 2010).

The scale of the HIV / AIDS epidemic is enormous. Most

devastating and far-reaching, perhaps, is the epidemic's impact on

education systems globally (UNAIDS, 2006).