A research problem is a clearly defined issue, question, or gap in knowledge that you aim to investigate. It reflects a specific area of concern, contradiction, or uncertainty within existing literature or practice.
Once you have chosen a dissertation topic, the next stage is to identify the research problem. A well-defined research problem serves as the foundation of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper.
Why is the research problem important?
While the research process is based on a sequence, a research problem guides and facilitates the completion of the research in a logical sequence. It helps you understand the research procedure. Without it, your research will appear unforeseeable and awkward.
- The research problem forms the base upon which your research design, problem statement, and methodology are built.
- It provides clarity and focus, helping you decide whether to include or exclude it in your dissertation.
- It significantly identifies the existing gaps in the literature. Hence, your research work contributes more value to existing knowledge.
- A clear research problem ensures that you are not merely repeating existing studies, but adding something original and valuable.
Examples of Research Problems
Here are some examples of research problems that can effectively help you identify them in your study:
Example 1: Practical problem
Topic: Low vaccination rates in rural communities.
Problem: Despite awareness campaigns, vaccination coverage remains 60% due to mistrust and poor accessibility.
Research Aim: To analyse community perceptions and identify strategies to improve participation.
Example 2: Theoretical problem
Topic: Relationship between leadership styles and innovation.
Problem: Although transformational leadership is linked to creativity, little is known about how situational factors influence this relationship.
Research Aim: To explore how organisational structure moderates the link between leadership and innovation.
Example 3: Educational problem
Topic: Online learning outcomes.
Problem: There is insufficient evidence on how virtual teaching affects student engagement in developing countries.
Research Aim: To examine the impact of online instruction methods on student motivation and performance.
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A Step-By-Step Guide on How to Identify a Research Problem
Learning how to identify a research problem is one of the most vital skills in academic writing. Below are the essential steps you can follow to do so:
Step 1: Explore a broad area of interest
The first step is to explore a broad area of interest relevant to your field. Ask yourself:
- Which topics am I most curious about?
- What issues are frequently debated in my field?
- What new trends or developments are emerging?
Read books, journal articles, reports, and recent publications to find the broad area of interest. Observe inconsistencies, contradictions, or unanswered questions.
Step 2: Conduct a gap analysis
Conducting a gap analysis will significantly help you identify areas where knowledge is incomplete, outdated, or inconclusive. Ask yourself these questions:
- What aspects of this topic remain unexplored?
- What conflicting results exist among previous studies?
- What limitations have earlier researchers admitted?
For instance, if multiple studies have explored social media and mental health among adults, but few have done so for teenagers, that’s a research gap.
Step 3: Focus on relevance and feasibility
When identifying a research problem, it is also essential to consider its relevance and feasibility. A good research problem must be:
- Relevant: It should address a significant academic or real-world issue.
- Feasible: You should have time, resources, and data access to investigate it.
- Ethical: It should respect participants and confidentiality.
For example, studying “Gender stereotypes in global advertising” might be fascinating, but it is too vast. Narrow it to “Gender representation in Indian beauty product advertisements (2020-2024)” to make it researchable.
Step 4: Analyse practical and theoretical perspectives
To understand what a research problem is in research thoroughly, it is also important to distinguish between practical and theoretical research problems:
Types of research problems
Understanding the types of research problems helps you decide whether your study will address real-world issues or conceptual gaps:
Practical Research Problem
To conduct practical research, you will need practical research problems that are typically identified by analysing reports, previous research studies, and interactions with the experienced personnel of pertinent disciplines.
You might search for:
- Problems with performance or competence in an organisation
- Institutional practices that could be enhanced
- Practitioners of relevant fields and their areas of concern
- Problems confronted by specific groups of people within your area of study
EXAMPLES
- Decreased voter participation in county A, as compared to the rest of the country.
- The high employee turnover rate in Department X of Company Y influenced efficiency and team performance.
- A charity institution, Y, suffers a lack of funding, resulting in budget cuts for its programmes.
Theoretical Research Problem
Identification of a research problem in theoretical research is achieved by analysing theories and fresh research literature relating to a broad area of research. This practice helps to find gaps in the study conducted by others and supports the argument of your topic.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- A case or framework that has not been deeply analysed
- An ambiguity between more than one viewpoint
- An unstudied condition or relationship
- A problematic issue that needs to be addressed
EXAMPLES
- Long-term effects of Vitamin D deficiency on cardiac patients are not well researched.
- The relationship between racial, sex, and income imbalances needs to be studied with reference to the economy of a specific country or region.
- There is disagreement among historians of Scottish nationalism regarding the contributions of the British Empire to the creation of Scotland’s national identity.
Other types of research problems
Here are some additional types of research problems that can be applied to both practical and theoretical contexts:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Descriptive | It describes phenomena as they exist. |
| Explanatory | It explains causes and relationships. |
| Exploratory | It investigates areas with little prior research. |
| Predictive | It forecasts future events or behaviours. |
| Prescriptive | It suggests actions or solutions. |
| Normative | It discusses what should really happen. |
Step 5: Understanding and refining the research problem
Once you have identified your research problem, the next step is to analyse, justify, and refine it.
Background and rationale
- Which population is influenced by the problem?
- Is it a persistent problem, or has it recently been revealed?
- Has research been conducted on this problem?
- Any proposed solution to the problem?
- Recent arguments concerning the problem, like what the gaps are in the problem?
Particularity and suitability
- What specific place, time, or people will be focused on?
- Any aspects of research that you may not be able to deal with?
- What concerns will arise if the problem remains unresolved?
- What are the benefits of problem resolution?
What are the steps to identify a research problem?
- Explore a broad area of interest
- Conduct a gap analysis
- Focus on relevance and feasibility
- Analyse practical and theoretical perspectives
- Understanding and refining the research problem
How to Write a Problem Statement in Research?
After identifying your research problem, it’s time to translate it into a clear and concise problem statement. This is often a single paragraph in your dissertation proposal introduction.
Your statement should be precise, research-based, and logically structured to guide your readers and examiners. A good problem statement in research includes:
- The context or background
- The issue or gap
- Why it matters
- The aim of your research
Here is an example:
Despite a growing body of research on remote work, limited studies explore how hybrid models influence productivity and employee satisfaction in small tech firms. This study investigates the impact of flexible work arrangements on organisational efficiency and team dynamics.
How to Define a Research Problem in a Thesis or Dissertation?
In your thesis or dissertation, defining the research problem means showing:
- What issue exists and why it matters
- What has already been studied
- Where the knowledge gap lies
- How your research will bridge that gap
This section often appears after your literature review or within your introduction. It forms the basis for developing research questions and hypotheses.
Evaluating a Research Problem
Here are the seven principles that you must satisfy to evaluate a research problem:
| Principle | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Relevance | It addresses a significant academic or social concern. |
| Clarity | It shows that the problem is free from ambiguity and jargon. |
| Specificity | It represents that the problem is narrowly focused and well-defined. |
| Feasibility | It enables the possibility of studying within constraints. |
| Novelty | It checks whether the problem offers new insights or challenges existing ideas. |
| Researchability | It evaluates whether the problem allows empirical data collection. |
| Ethical Soundness | It ensures that the problem adheres to ethical research standards. |
Struggling to Define the Research Problem?
If you are unsure about how to define the research problem, then you might want to avail yourself of a professional dissertation proposal writing or dissertation writing service. They will explore your area of interest and efficiently find you the most credible, practical, and impactful research problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
A research problem is a specific issue or gap that requires investigation.
Example: “What is the impact of social media on mental health among adolescents?” This problem drives research to analyse the relationship between social media use and mental well-being in young people.
Here are the types of research problems:
- Practical
- Theoretical
- Descriptive
- Explanatory
- Exploratory
- Predictive
- Prescriptive
- Normative
Relevance, clarity, speciality, feasibility, novelty, researchability, and ethical soundness are the principles of a research problem.
A research problem is crucial because it identifies knowledge gaps, directs the inquiry’s focus, and forms the foundation for generating hypotheses or research questions.
To define a research problem, explain the issue, review existing studies, identify gaps, and link your research aims to fill those gaps.
To solve a research problem, conduct a literature review, develop hypotheses, apply methodological tools, and interpret results in light of existing theories.
