I. Types and Content Show
There are four general conceptualizations of a research problem in the social sciences:
A problem statement in the social sciences should contain:
II. Sources of Problems for Investigation Identifying a problem to study can be challenging, not because there is a lack of issues that could be investigated, but due to pursuing a goal of formulating a socially relevant and researchable problem statement that is unique and does not simply duplicate the work of others. To facilitate how you might select a problem from which to build a research study, consider these three broad sources of inspiration: Deductions from Theory Interdisciplinary Perspectives Interviewing Practitioners Personal Experience Relevant Literature III. What Makes a Good Research Statement? A good problem statement begins by introducing the broad area in which your research is centered and then gradually leads the reader to the more narrow questions you are posing. The statement need not be lengthy but a good research problem should incorporate the following features: Compelling topic Supports multiple perspectives Researchable NOTE: Do not confuse a research problem with a research topic. A topic is something to read and obtain information about whereas a problem is something to solve or framed as a question that must be answered. IV. Mistakes to Avoid Beware of circular reasoning. Don’t state that the research problem as simply the absence of the thing you are suggesting. For example, if you propose, "The problem in this community is that it has no hospital." This only leads to a research problem where:
This is an example of a research problem that fails the "so what?" test because it does not reveal the relevance of why you are investigating the problem of having no hospital in the community [e.g., there's a hospital in the community ten miles away] and because the research problem does not elucidate the significance of why one should study the fact that no hospital exists in the community [e.g., that hospital in the community ten miles away has no emergency room]. Choosing and Refining Topics. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Ellis, Timothy J. and Yair Levy Nova Framework of Problem-Based Research: A Guide for Novice Researchers on the Development of a Research-Worthy Problem. Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline 11 (2008); How to Write a Research Question. The Writing Center. George Mason University; Invention: Developing a Thesis Statement. The Reading/Writing Center. Hunter College; Problem Statements PowerPoint Presentation. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Procter, Margaret. Using Thesis Statements. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Trochim, William M.K. Problem Formulation. Research Methods Knowledge Base. 2006; Thesis and Purpose Statements. The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Thesis Statements. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University. What is a broad statement of the general problem and identification of the specific components of the research problem?A statement of the management decision problem and a broad statement of the general problem and identification of the specific components of the marketing research problem is called problem definition.
What is the term for data that have been collected for some purpose other than the problem at hand?secondary data- data collected for some purpose other than the problem at hand.
Are visual They are used to isolate variables and to suggest directions of relationships but are not designed to provide numerical results?Graphical models are visual. They are used to isolate variables and to suggest directions of relationships but are not designed to provide numerical results. Mathematical models explicitly specify the relationships among variables, usually in equation form.
Which research design is marked by prior formulation of specific hypotheses?exam 1. |