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Questions for “Research Problems”:

Answer the following questions:

1. What is a research problem?

 A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a
difficulty ton be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory,
or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation.
In some social science disciplines the research problem is typically posed in the form of a
question. A research problem does not state how to do something, offer a vague or broad
proposition, or present a value question.
2. What are the criteria of good research problems?

 A good research problem should incorporate the following features:

a. Compelling topic

Simple curiosity is not a good enough reason to pursue a research study. The problem that
you choose to explore must be important to you and to a larger community you share. The
problem chosen must be one that motivates you to address it.

b. Supports multiple perspectives

The problem most be phrased in a way that avoids dichotomies and instead supports the
generation and exploration of multiple perspectives. A general rule of thumb is that a good
research problem is one that would generate a variety of viewpoints from a composite
audience made up of reasonable people.

c. Researchable

It seems a bit obvious, but you don't want to find yourself in the midst of investigating a
complex research project and realize that you don't have much to draw on for your research.
Choose research problems that can be supported by the resources available to you. Not sure?
Seek out help from a librarian!

3. What is the best source of formulating research problems?

  Deductions from Theory

 Interdisciplinary Perspectives

 Interviewing Practitioners

 Personal Experience

 Relevant Literature

4. How do you get the inspiration to formulate good research problems?

 Be challenged!
 Be curious!

 Manage to get some free time for thinking (and not: teaching, supervising, tutoring, reviewing,
writing, sleeping, …). Body and mind

 Know your field, know where a new development need to occur, what is currently missing
 Explore more or less closely related fields, and see if there is something from your background
that you could apply to their problems, or ways you could build something together.

 Ways have been devised to come up with new ideas on a given topic, either alone or in group
sessions
5. Find 2-3 examples of the formulation of good research problems from reputable scholarly journals
(the research-based articles).

 "Behavioral Study of Obedience"

Literature search for research planning and identification of research problem
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037943/

 “The Impact of Mandated Standardized Testing on Minority Students” by Richard G. Lomax,

Mary Maxwell West, Maryellen C. Harmon, Katherine A.Viator, & George F. Madaus, 1995 :
One of the original reasons for the introduction of mandated standardized tests was to reduce
the effects of patronage and thereby open educational opportunities and a range of occupations
to a wider population of students (Madaus, 1991). However,...

 “Inhibitors to Implementing a Problem-Solving Approach to Teaching Elementary Science:

Case Study of a Teacher in Change” by Mary Lee Martens, 1992 : The problem-solving mode
of teaching elementary science now recommended in many states implies change for many
groups of professionals including teachers, administrators, and other individuals charged with
implementing educational policy. Teachers, however,...

 “Living and Working in Two Worlds Case Studies of Five American Indian Women Teachers”
by BRENDA HILL, COURTNEY VAUGHN, AND SHARON BROOKS HARRISON, 1995
: The Euro-American education of American Indians began under the auspices of missionaries
and a few lay educators, with the ongoing purpose of remaking American Indians into the
Euro-American image. In...