The Research problem

The Research problem

1. Identifying

   • general subject that is related to
     • area of expertise

2. Sources

   • Theories
     • organized bodies of concepts
   • Personal experiences
     • useful and personally rewarding studies
   • Previous studies
     • Replication of a study usually involves changing some feature from the original study.
   • Electronic mailing lists
     • Handbooks, encyclopedias, and yearbooks
   • Library searches
     • digital tools

3. Narrowing

   • Quantitative research
     • narrowed the start of a study
   • Qualitative research
     • until the researcher has more information about the participants

4. Characteristics of good Problems

   • has theoretical or practical significance
   • ethical
   • adequately investigated

5. Stating

   • Well-written problem statement
     • quantitative study
       • variables of interest
         • specific relations
           • characteristics of the participants
     • qualitative research
       • general language

6. Developing research Questions

   • add another level of specificity to the development of the research problem

7. Hypothesis

   • researcher’s prediction of the research findings.
   • formulated based on theory or on knowledge
     • states clearly and concisely the expected relations or differences between variables