Statement of the Problem

Statement of the Problem

•The statement of the general
and the specific problems
•The opening paragraph of this
section contains the general
problem of the study.
Writing the General Problem in a
Qualitative Study:
In the book Principles of Qualitative Research: Designing a
Qualitative Study, Creswell and Clark (2014) provide the ff. criteria
in writing the purpose statement:
1. It should use a single and not compound
sentences.
2. It should clearly express the purpose of the study.
3. It should include the central phenomenon.
4. It should use qualitative words, e.g., explore,
discover, and explain.
5. It should identify the participants in the study.
6. It should state the research site.
 Sample Pattern for the purpose
statement is provided below.
The purpose of this (narrative,
phenomenological, grounded theory,
ethnographic case) is to (understand,
describe, develop, discover) the (central
phenomenon of the study) for (the
participants) at (the site). At this stage in the
research, the (central phenomenon) will be
generally defined as (a general definition of the
central concept)
(Creswell and Clark, 2014)
 Example #1
The overall objective of this phenomenological
study is to describe the intrapersonal and interpersonal
competencies of school principals, and their relationship
to the school effectiveness in the Division of Bataan for
the school year 2001-2002. The result is used as a basis
for an intervention program (Cristobal, 2003). Here,
intrapersonal is the school managers’ own self-concept
and personality while interpersonal is their
communication and expressions in dealing with
subordinates.
Example #2
The objective of this ethnographic
study is to differentiate the customs and
traditions of the Aetas and the locals of
Zambales enrolled in Olangapo National
City High School for the school year
2014-2015. In this research, the customs
and traditions are defined as their
practices in the celebration of feasts
Example #3
The objective of this grounded
theory study is to characterize the
general study habits of the high school
students that belong to the top ten of
the class. The study habits are
concentrated on the student’s
preparation before attending classes
daily.
The general problem is followed by an
enumeration of the specific problems.
Therefore, the specific problems must
meet the following criteria:
1.They must be in question form.
2.They must define the population and
the samples of the study (respondents)
3.They must identify the variables being
studied.
Two types of research questions
according to Creswell and Clark
(2014):
1.Central Questions - These are
the most general questions that
can be asked.
2.Sub-questions – These questions
subdivide the central question into
more specific topical questions and
are only limited in number.
 Guidelines in Formulating the
Research Question (Creswell and
Clark, 2024)
1. The question should begin with words such as “how” or
“what”.
2. The readers should be informed of the information that will be
discovered, generated, explored, identified, or described in
the study.
3. The question “What happened?” should be asked to help craft
the description.
4. The question “What was the meaning to people of what
happened?” should be asked to understand the results.
5. The question “What happened over time?” should be asked
to explore the process.
Following Scripts to Follow as Guide in Designing
Qualitative Central and Sub-questions:

1.Central Question Script

a. “What is the meaning of/what does it mean to
(central phenomenon)?
Examples:
1. What is the meaning of intrapersonal
competencies
2. What does it mean to differentiate the customs
and traditions of Aetas to those of the locals?
3. What does it mean to characterize the study
habits of the top 10 students of the class?
b. “How would (participants)
describe (central phenomenon)?”
Examples:
1. How would school managers describe
interpersonal competencies?
2. How would Aetas and locals of Zambales
differentiate their customs and traditions?
3. How would the top ten high school
students characterize their general study
habits?
2. Sub-sequent Script
“What (aspect) does (participant) engage in as a (central
phenomenon)?”
Examples:
1. What level of self-concept does the school managers
engage in as a characteristic of interpersonal
competencies?
2. What nature of practices do the Aetas and locals of
Zambales engage in as a part of their customs and
traditions?
3. What kind of preparation does the top 10 high school
students engage in as an indicator of their general
 Types of Research Questions
1. Non-researchable Questions
Examples:
a. Should all mothers breastfeed their babies?
b. Should high school teachers be watchful over their grade 7
students?
c. Should the schools offering different majors in senior high
school require their students to have a mandatory review
before taking the National Assessment Exam?
d. Do all the head teachers have a master’s degree?
e. Are family members helping their children in reviewing their
lessons?
2. Researchable Questions
Examples:
a. What are the common preparations done by Grade 7
students during their first days in school?
b. How do senior high school students respond to their
Math teacher?
c. What are the study habits of students who are poorly
performing?
d. What is the relationship of the attitudes of the adviser
to the classroom behavior of Grade 9 students?
e. How do the officers of the Parent-Teacher Community
Association assist in the improvement of school
facilities?
Classifications of Research
Questions
1.Factor-isolating Questions
2.Factor-relating Questions
3.Situation-Relating Questions
4.Situation-Producing Questions
1. Factor-isolating Questions
Examples:
a. What is the profile of school principals in terms of the
following?
I. Age
II. Management Experience
III. Civil Status
b. What are the levels of competencies of school
principals as described by their respective teachers
and themselves in terms of the following?
I. Intrapersonal
II. Interpersonal
2. Factor-relating Questions
Examples
a. What is the relationship of the level of
performance of the senior high school
teachers to the OJT performance of the
students enrolled in the business track of
Saint Paul School of Professional Studies?
b. How does the performance level of volleyball
teams of boys differ to that of the girls?
3. Situation-relating Questions
Examples:
a. What are the effects of computer-learning
assisted methods of teaching to the
interest level of the sophomores to their
history subjects?
b. How significantly different is the
performance of the call center agents who
are well rested than those who are not?
4. Situation-producing
Questions
Examples:
a. Based on the findings, what human relation
intervention program can be adopted to
enhance or improve effectiveness of existing
teaching methods?
b. What faculty development activities can be
sponsored by the PTCA to improve the
performance of graduating students in the UP
College Admission Test (UPCAT)?