The Research Problem & Research Question

Mutual alignment and the domino effect

Practical Research. Planning and Design
12th Edition.
Paul Leedy & Jeanne Ellis Ormrod
Chapter 2

The Research Problem:

The Heart of the

Research Process
 The Domino Effect

Research Problem Research question/s Research goal/s Hypotheses

The Research Problem
According to Leedy and Omrod (2019), the research problem is the heart of the
research.

Science starts with problems. No problem… no science.

Remember that research starts in the minds of a

curious researcher. No curiosity… no research.
But what is a research problem?
A research problem is a state of things, events, situations, or processes, either theoretical or empirical, which

are perceived as unsatisfactory or problematic by the researcher.

• Problems are only problematic in light of some theory.

• If the solution to the problem is not obvious within the set of existing knowledge and techniques, the problem requires
research.

• The formulation of the research problem supposes some general knowledge of the subject.

• Therefore, to formulate a problem, it is necessary to review the literature in the discipline.

• The research problem must be preceded by a study of the literature and a mapping of what has already been discovered.
This process is called the literature review.

• The formulation of the research problem concludes with one or some research questions.
The Research Problem (cont’d)

It is an area of concern, a condition to be improved, or a difficulty

to be eliminated, a gap/niche of information, a challenge,
something unsatisfactory that “makes noise” in the curious mind
of the researcher, according to certain theoretical perspective.
 How to discover research problems?
Researchers elaborate their research problems after both:

Careful
Literature
observation
review
of reality

Practical and empirical experience is an Prior published research will train the eye of the researcher-
excellent source of “raw” problems. observer and will allow them to observe new aspects of their
reality that were unobservable earlier.
The curious and sensitive researcher will
“smell” what does not work as expected. In addition, the study of the literature will help the researcher to
turn their naïve, rudimentary, and intuitive questions into better
But those raw problems will have to be refined formulated research questions.
by the results of prior research.
How to create your research problem and identify a
gap, challenge, or contradiction
Short answer: by reading in your discipline and observing
the reality with a critical mind.

For example:
• Many publications based on research projects include recommendations for future
research.
• You can identify contradictions, anomalies within a theory. Such as a theory that lacks
elaboration; or a certain author generated some interesting results, but never followed up
on those results.
• You can also review a successful theory, but disagree with the results, the tests used, or
the methodology and retest the hypothesis.
• A theory was tested in a certain historical or geographical context; and you may want to
adapt it to another historical period or to another society.
 Some problems ARE NOT suitable to research
When thinking about your research problem, make sure you avoid the
following scenarios:
• A problem to solely show off your erudition and self-enlightenment as a
researcher. (Too selfish or narcissistic)

• A problem to only compare/contrast two sets of data without advancing

in the interpretation of their relationships. (Too descriptive, not analytic)

• An interesting problem that you don’t have the resources to approach.

(Too expensive or technically unaffordable).

• A problem, whose answer you know before starting the research. (Not
worth it)

• A problem that responds to a YES/NO question. (Too simplistic)

 Elements of a well-formulated research problem
Describing and explaining your research problem will take a few paragraphs. That description starts with the
background information about your problem in which you will communicate what exactly you are going to
study and why.

Make explicit your premises/assumptions/points of departure

• The premises could be ideological, political, pedagogical, methodological, etc.
• The premises must be valid.

Clearly describe the topic/issue of concern

• The what of the research problem.
• The temporal dimension of the problem. When does the problem occur?
• The spatial dimension of the problem. Where is the problem located?
• The population or universe. Who is affected by the problem?

Other W or H words (how, which, who, why) can help you to better
demarcate the problem.
 Validity and legitimacy of your research problem
After demarcating the limits of the problem, you will justify its validity and legitimacy as a problem. You will discuss: what
makes your problem worth investigating?

Its relevance:
A problem needs to be relevant not just for the researcher. The discipline, the society in general or the community and or
participants of the research need to receive the benefits of the research results.

Its solid construction:

Researchers need to fact-check the premises on which they support their problem. Only weak problems emerge from fake,
invalid, or dubious premises.

Its novelty and originality:

Researchers may have a great idea for their research problem. But if they don’t do a review of the literature, they may take
the risk of investigating something that has been investigated before.

Its feasibility:
Researchers need to be realistic and a bit pragmatic: do they have the resources (time, money, equipment) necessary to
approach the problem they have in mind?
 Typology of a research problem (*)
Your research problem needs to fit one of the following types of problem it is:

1. Comparison and contrast between two research objects.

2. Cause and/or origin of the research object.
3. Advantages and disadvantages of the research object.
4. Internal inconsistency/contradiction of the research object.
5. The effects or consequences of the research object.
6. Lack of elaboration of a research object.
7. Erroneous application of a well-developed research object.
8. The development or evolution of a research object.
9. The application of a research object to a new context.
10. The lack of sufficient information about the research object.

(*) I want to thank Dr. Julian Hermida (professor and scholar with Algoma University) for generously sharing his typology pf research problems and
for his permission to disseminate it in this course. I’ve adapted to this course’s learning outcomes.
 1. Comparison and contrast between two research objects or 2
solutions to the same research object

Examples:

Comparison and contrast between 2 models to cure COVID 19 or to

control gun possession: Model A and Model B.

Comparison and contrast about how two countries/ provinces/ regions

resolve the same social/health problem:
 How have Panama and Canada managed COVID 19 pandemic?
 Or how do USA and Great Britain regulate gun control?
 2. Cause and/or origin of the research object
Examples:

• The cause and origin of a pedagogical model/law:

• What factors contributed to the emergence of the Federal Education Law in
Argentina of 1990s?

• The cause/s and origin of Coronavirus:

• Where and how has this virus emerged and started to spread among humans?
3. Advantages and disadvantages of the research object

Examples:

• Advantages and disadvantages of virtual teaching for students with

learning disabilities. Focus on students diagnosed with anxiety and
dyslexia.

• Advantages and disadvantages of the use of wood in the construction

of walls in Northern Ontario, Canada. Exploration of the perspectives
of home-owners, architects, and manufacturers.
4. Internal inconsistency/contradiction of the research object

The pharmaceutical laboratory Pfizer states that their own Covid-19 vaccine
does not produce major side effects. But 40 % of the public that has received it
claims they experienced side effects.

Parents of racialized elementary school children claimed that their children

have suffered psychological abuse at the school. On the other hand, teachers
and principals state that all children are treated equally.

** Notice the use of contrastive transition expressions to highlight the

inconsistency.
5. The effects or consequences of the research object.

Examples:

• What is the effect/consequence of theory/model A in context X?

What are the consequences of applying Vygotsky's proximal development

theory to teach Introduction to Chemistry to a particular group of children
(indigenous students; or international students; or students with learning
disabilities, etc.)?
 6. Lack of sufficient elaboration of a research object
Examples:

Demonstrating that certain car brand and model, produced between 2020
and 2022, has a structural failure and must be withdrawn from the
market.

Claiming that it is not clear how the notion of the unconscious works in
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytical Theory. Finding theoretical and
empirical arguments against it. (Here the research object is the
Psychoanalytical Theory).

** Notice that here the gap or niche is the lack of theoretical elaboration
7. Erroneous application of a well-research object

Demonstrate that a well-developed research object has been wrongly

applied or applied in the wrong context or with the wrong purposes
and, therefore, its essence was distorted.

John Bigg’s theory of constructive alignment was created to enhance the

quality of teaching and learning in higher education. But in the last 20 years,
in some developed countries, this theory has been applied mechanistically by
neoliberal and neoconservative governments to control and discipline
educators and to restrict their academic freedom.
8. The development or evolution of a research object

How has the Epistemology Genetic created by Jean Piaget evolved in

Educational Psychology to understand the meaning of children’s errors
in Math?

How has the Marxist theory evolved in contemporaneous Sociology to

explain the social contradictions of the neoliberal capitalism after the
digital age?
9. The application of a research object to a new context

Example:

• How a model/theory/technique A can be applied to a new and

different context/population than the one that originated the model/
theory/technique.
How can I use the principles of the first wave of Feminism to understand and
legitimize the demands and interests of the LGBT population in North
America?
10. The lack of sufficient information about the research object

Example:

Claiming that paradigm X cannot properly explain problem Y because it

is supported on insufficient information.

The Feminist theory claims that the Psychoanalytical theory does not understand
the complexity of women’s sexuality. It states that the latter lacks the
foundational information to deal with a very complex research object.
Dividing the Research Problem Into Subproblems

• Most problems are too broad to tackle

• That is why it is useful to identify subproblems:

• A small number of completely researchable units

• Pay attention to internal consistency/alignment:

 Subproblems need to add up to the totality of the problem

 Subproblems clearly tie to the interpretation of the data

Identifying Subproblems
• Take a paper-and-pencil approach
• Write down the problem
• Highlight key words/ideas to explore
• Reorganize the ideas to identify the
overall research design

• Use mind/concept-map to brainstorm

your ideas and visualize a graphic picture
of your problem.
Research question/s
• All research problems end up with relevant and well-formulated
questions that the researcher will try to respond during the course of
the research.

• These questions are the essence of the research problem.

• They are not too broad but not too narrow either.
 The Research Question
• It is the main broad question that a research project intends to answer. It is
the core aspect of the investigation.
• It delimits and guides the researcher’s work and reflects the direction and
epistemological foundations of the research process.
• The question is the origin of all knowledge, without it there can be no
scientific knowledge (Bachelard, 1934).

• In qualitative research, the research question seeks to explore or describe

phenomena and to understand the experiences and meanings that people
have about the concepts presented in the research question.
• In quantitative research, the research question focuses on measuring
variables and how they are correlated.
 The research question
The research question wraps up the research problem.
The research problem and the research question are both part of the same
totality:
• The latter supplements the former and viceversa.
• They need to be conceived together.

Analogy: The research question is like the strawberry that decorates a delicious
cake. The cake itself is the actual research problem. It takes more time and effort
to produce the cake. Once the cake is made, it is easier to decorate it).

Research question Research problem

 Tips to write your research problem
Once you’ve demarcated your research problem and you are happy with it,
then, you are ready to communicate it in writing.
State the problem clearly and completely
Use subtitles to guide the reader if you have subproblems
Think through the feasibility of your problem
Say precisely what you mean
Absolute honesty and integrity are the rule
Edit your work
 Checklist to self-assess your own research problem
1. The background information (what, when, where and other details of the problem)
helps situate the reader into the problem.
2. Your research problem clearly fits one of the types of the research problem typology.
3. The research problem has been constructed in an active dialogue with existing peer-
reviewed research in the discipline.
4. The vocabulary used to demarcate the research problem is precise and clear. Key
terms are defined.
5. The relevance of the problem (beyond the researcher’s personal interest) is discussed.
6. The researcher can obtain the necessary evidence to address the problem with the
available research resources. The problem is researchable.
7. The problem ends with a research question.
8. The research question is aligned with the research problem.
9. The research question is clearly formulated.
References
Bachelard, G. (2006). Formation of the Scientific Mind. Clinamen Press

Combes , Sh. (2019, April 15). How to Define a Research Problem. Ideas and Examples.
https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-problem/

Fischler, A. From Problem Statement to Research Questions. Nova Southeastern University. School of Education.

Hermida, J. (2022, June-July). Typology of Research Problems. Personal communication.

Kebritchi, M. (2021). How to Identify an Appropriate Research Problem. https://research.phoenix.edu/blog/how-identify-appropriate-

research-problem

Leedy, P. & Omrod, J.E. (2019). Practical Research. Planning & Design. Pearson. 11th Global Edition.
https://pce-fet.com/common/library/books/51/2590_%5BPaul_D._Leedy,_Jeanne_Ellis_Ormrod%5D_Practical_Res(b-ok.org).pdf

Sirvent, M. T. (2006). El Proceso de Investigación. Investigación y Estadística I. Buenos Aires: Cuadernos de la Oficina de Publicaciones de la
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (OPFYL).
https://iidesju.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Sirvent_El_proceso_de_investigacion-3.pdf