Your research is all about the problem statement. The problem statement is the “problem” your research is trying to solve.
Before you get started on your research paper, it is very important that you have a clear problem statement. It is one of the most critical parts of your paper, so make sure you do your research well. Your problem statement should describe the situation that you are writing about in a concise and precise manner.
Your problem statement will include what type of research is required to write your paper, what your paper is about, why your topic is interesting, why your paper will be useful, and other related information.
In this article, we will show you a method for clearly and concisely defining the problem statement or research question that you need to answer to come up with the best solution to your research project.
Table of Contents
What is a problem statement?
Problems can be anything. They can be anything that bothers us. Whether it’s something that’s bothering you at school or it’s an issue that you have at home, problems are common. When you are trying to solve a problem, you must remember that you are going to have to spend time working on it. You need to find the answers.
It will be better if you make sure that you don’t waste a lot of time. When you are working on a problem, it is important to focus on the problem that you are trying to solve. The problem statement needs to be clear and concise. It should also have a thesis. The thesis will help you to narrow down what you are looking for.
If you don’t have a thesis, you might not be able to find the right answer. You also need to make sure that you understand your problem clearly. It’s important that you understand what you are looking for. You need to know exactly what you are doing.
This means you need to have these points in mind.
- There are so many problems in this world, that we can’t solve all of them.
- How we solve them and who solves them is the most important question.
- So how do we decide what problems to solve?
- What problem I can solve considering the limited resources I have?
- What is the immediate problem that needs my expertise?
What Are the 3 Important Contents of a Problem Statement?
Problem statements often have three elements: the problem, the method, and the purpose.
The problem: In writing a problem statement, you should first think about what the problem is that you are trying to solve. In a way, this is the most difficult part of writing a problem statement because there are so many different types of problems to address. However, once you have a clear understanding of what the problem is, you can begin to think about how to solve it.
The method of the problem statement is how you plan to arrive at the solution or the process that you plan to take to solve the problem.
The purpose of your problem statement is also important as it indicates why you are trying to work on the problem.
How Long Is a Problem Statement?
A problem statement must be concise and to the point. A problem statement should never exceed 50 words, but be sure to include as many details as possible.
A problem statement should not be more than two to four sentences long. You don’t want to overwhelm readers with information at this point. You simply want to present a problem. A good problem statement should contain the following: What it is, What happened, What caused it, and What you need to do about it.
How Do You Find a Good Problem in Academic Research?
How do you find a good problem to study in research? One thing to keep in mind is that the research literature itself is often organized in terms of the problems that people have asked researchers to solve. If you have a certain set of problems in mind, it’s not too hard to find examples where someone else has already looked at those problems.
1- Begin with what you know
To begin with, the first thing to do is to start with what you already know. If you don’t know anything about the problem you’re studying, you can’t have a solid understanding of how it is to be solved. That means you can’t develop an idea that is truly original and new. There must be a real need, a gap in the market, something that needs solving.
2- Dig some more
If your problem is related to an area of study that you’re working on, but that doesn’t have a lot of existing literature, you may need to do a little digging yourself. There are several ways to do that, including reading articles about the topic, asking questions online, and searching for keywords in books or journals.
3-Identify Top problems in the Industry
Another thing you need to do is to decide what you’re looking for. You could research the top 10 problems in your industry or, for example, the biggest problems facing the Nigerian economy. Then you can narrow it down to the most significant problem you’re trying to solve.
4-Consider Time and Resources you already have
There are plenty of ways to find the right problems to study. I recommend using the following formula: Think of yourself as a researcher. Ask yourself, What’s interesting, fun, and/or urgent for me to study?
To narrow down your list of topics, use the following criteria: How easy is it to get started? How easy is it to measure results? Is it an important problem for someone else? Is it something no one’s looking at?
5-Find the gap
A good problem is a gap that exists in a field of knowledge or science, but one that no one has yet fully answered. By filling this gap, a researcher can earn some fame, notoriety, and maybe even a Nobel Prize. In academia, researchers are expected to find gaps in knowledge and fill them. To do so, they often turn to a process called a literature review.
How do you write a problem statement in research?
First of all, you need to state what the problem is and what you want to solve. To do this, you should use specific details. Don’t be vague. Also, you need to show what you are doing to solve the problem. You must include a step-by-step plan to help you solve the problem. Don’t be afraid to write down the steps that you will take to solve the problem.
You may have an idea for a solution, but it’s important to write it down. It makes it easier to follow the steps and helps you remember the plan. It is also helpful to explain how the steps will help you solve the problem.
Explain the problems and give a brief overview of what you will do to solve them. You can also use this outline as a guide for the first draft of your paper. The most important part of the outline is the summary. This is what you should write about in the introduction.
Here’s a simple example of how you would write a problem statement in research: “The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a new marketing strategy on customer satisfaction.” Now, there are several steps you need to take in order to produce a research problem statement. First, make sure you clearly define the problem. What exactly are you trying to figure out here? Next, choose the research methodology that will help you solve the problem. In our example above, you’ll want to choose the descriptive (as opposed to experimental) method. Finally, write the problem statement itself.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, your problem statement should be very specific. This will help you frame your research question, and it’s very important to ensure you keep your scope narrow enough to address it. There’s a reason why this is called a problem statement; a statement that includes a problem is always too broad to have any value. If you are not sure whether or not you are solving the problem, your research is probably going to be a waste of time. So, don’t just throw together a list of topics. Be intentional about which ones you choose.