Back to: Research Methodology or Methodology of educational research

Research problems and identification:

What is a Problem?

The act of thoroughly describing and condensing an issue results in its definition. At this point, the boundaries and bounds of the inquiry are established, along with each question and any related questions that must be addressed. It is typically essential to study earlier research to figure out exactly what has to be done. It is occasionally required to develop the standpoint or educational theory that will serve as the foundation for the data analysis while outlining the issue at hand. If any assertions are made, they must be made clear.

The steps in problem formulation encompass

It expresses the problem in terms of a questionnaire that makes it plain and comprehensible.
quickly identifying and operationalizing the parameters; and

assessing the problem’s relevance, uniqueness, and viability.

What is a research problem?

It is the subject that we would like to discuss, examine, or research, whether in a narrative or empirical way. It serves as the research’s main objective or motivation. We usually choose something that interests us and that we are at least slightly familiar with—be it a subject, a phenomenon, or a problem.

Now, what does the term “problem formulation” mean?

As Northrop (1966) defines it, “Inquiry starts only when something is unsatisfactory, when traditional beliefs are inadequate or in question, when the facts necessary to resolve one’s uncertainties are not known, when the most likely relevant hypotheses are not even imagined. What one has at the beginning of the inquiry is merely the problem.”

Another significant social role is the development of research issues. According to Merton, Broom, and Cottrell (1959), “researchers must justify the demands for attention and other scarce resources that research makes.In conferring upon the scientist the right to claim that a question deserves the concerted attention of others as well as himself, the social institution of science exacts the obligation that he justify the claim. “

By comparison, a good research topic must assemble support before the investigation and, if it is attractive enough, may even maintain that support through the occasionally unsuccessful periods that researchers endure. Yet, John Dewey emphasizes that issue formation is in reality a “progressive” matter, notwithstanding research problems’ relevance as an a priori explanation and their logical precedence in an investigation.

Research Problem Formulation:

From the difficulties that have been found, one suitable researchable problem must be chosen by comparing the possibilities to a set of standards, which may be divided into:

Internal Criteria:
1. The focus of the researcher
2. Unique material for the researcher
3. Expertise of the researcher
4. Accommodations
5. Viability
6. Societal significance and effectiveness:
7. Study staff
Exterior Criteria:
1. The issue’s suitability for investigation.
2. The problem’s uniqueness.
3. Importance and significance.
4. Utilities.
5. Sustainability.
6. Utility and social significance.
7. employees in research.

How to select a problem?

The issue should be one in which the investigator might have a keen interest.
Since a wandering issue might lead the entire research endeavour astray, the problem should be connected to the line of reasoning.
The chosen issue doesn’t need to be brand new. It can be an old issue or one on which there has been a previous study.

The issue should not be overly broad, but should instead fall within sensible bounds.

Characteristics:

An effective research problem has to be logical and researchable. All things considered, it is obvious that to analyze data, it must first establish a worthwhile question, a response, a need that must be satisfied, a mystery that must be solved, or an enigma that may be unravelled and then evolved into a proposed study. How may an excellent research problem be found? The first fundamental thing to ponder is whether or not my research problem is resourceful (simple, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-conscious) to be certain of what features or attributes constitute a decent and relevant research problem. This must be replied to positively before doing such an analysis since it should be useful in analyzing the issue on numerous criteria.

Easy and Notable: A quality research problem should be described succinctly in such a way that every set of words used during writing is unambiguous and simple enough for anybody perusing it to understand. The issue should also be crucial that both in theory and in practice, the need for study into it should be of utmost importance.

Quantifiable: Quantifiable metrics relate directly to whether or not the researcher can come up with an adequate study strategy and methodology to get the data needed to thoroughly analyze the problem as it has been expressed. If the pertinent data necessary to address the issue is not gathered, research cannot be conducted.
Implementation and maintenance: Some issues might not lend themselves to simple, research-based solutions. Creating links or connections between two important variables and determining the potential implications of those links should be the focus of a discoverable subject. It ought to be possible to express or transform it into a research aim or a set of questions that can be addressed scientifically. Because the goal of posing a question is to get a response, a research topic should allow the researcher to formulate pertinent inquiries and come up with pertinent insights.
Realistic: Even though there are countless unanswered questions and unsolved issues around the globe, not all of them make good study topics. In addition, the research issue itself needs to be doable for the specific researcher. It needs to be within the realm of the investigators’ expertise. It is unrealistic for a researcher to start researching a topic on which he has no passion or excitement. When a researcher feels they need managerial know-how to carry out a study, the study appears implausible in the current world.

Time-bound: The issue should be identified and explained, together with an estimation of the amount of time needed to complete the study and the extent of the situation’s treatment. A broad field can only be partially covered, and the more one limits the subject, the more in-depth the research may be. It’s important to take additional costs, including essential travel, into account.