Constructing the Research Problem

The research problem is the general question the researcher is trying to respond to, or the objective of a study. In a way, it is the answer to the question ‘What am I looking for?’ The research problem is relatively broad and general, distin­guishing it from other ‘questions’ that are in fact more precise and practical renderings of this essential objective. As this research objective is formulated as a question, it is clearly different from other research elements that do not necessarily involve a logic of inquiry: theoretical elements (concepts, models, theories), methodological elements (measurement tools, scales, management tools) or empirical elements (facts, events). Two examples of research problems are given below.

The research problem is a key element of the research process: it translates and crystallizes the researcher’s knowledge project, his or her objective. It is through the research problem that researchers study aspects of the reality they hope to discover, or attempt to develop an understanding of that reality.

To know what we are looking for seems to be a prerequisite for any research work. As Northrop (1959) puts it, ‘Science does not begin with facts or hypo­theses but with a specific problem’. In accordance, a lot of textbooks assume that researchers always start from a defined problematic: a general question to which they want to respond. But the problems that we address as researchers are not simply handed to us by the world about us. We invent them, we con­struct them – whatever our knowledge goal may be. The process of construct­ing a research problem is then itself an integral part of the research process, a step that is all the more decisive as it constitutes the foundation on which everything else is to be built.

Traditionally, too, the processes of constructing the architecture and the methodology of a research project – the research design – are seen to be guided by the research problem. But these mapping-out stages can themselves influence the initial definition of the problematic at hand. They can lead to alterations in the research problem. In fact, it is not unusual for researchers to recognize that the concepts contained in their initial research problem are insufficient or poorly defined when they try to put them into practice, or after an in-depth reading of related works (see Figure 2.1).

Constructing the research problem is an essential step that can serve to guide the research process and the methodological choices made within it. At the same time, however, consideration of the research process and associated methodological choices can itself influence how the research problem will be constructed (see the following example for an illustration of this recursive aspect of constructing the research problem).

Constructing the research problem, a circular process

In her work into the cognitive approach of the organization, Allard-Poesi (1998) investigates causal mapping – the graphical representation of a person’s causal beliefs about a particular domain. Her initial objective was to understand what a collective causal map in organizations actually is and how it emerges from the individual causal maps of its members, which supposedly vary greatly. A review of existent works on causal maps revealed that the notion of cognitive map is used in reference to very different methodologies, and involves differing and even contradictory constructs and visions of cognition. It seemed, in fact, more pertinent to consider a causal map as a tool for apprehending the representations held by members of an organization than as a theoretical construct in itself. This thinking led Allard-Poesi to redefine her question by way of the notion of rep­resentation. Her research problem became ‘What does collective representation in organizations consist of, and how does it emerge from the differing representations held by organizational members?’ By redefining her research problem in this way, Allard-Poesi was able to open up her theoretical framework, which had initially been centered on the cognitive approach of the organization. She was able to reconsider her research design, notably by taking a more socio-cognitive approach.

Constructing one’s research problem appears then to be a recursive process, with no set rules. It is without doubt the moment in which the researcher’s skills are really put to the test: skills in areas of intuition, precision, realism and imagination.

Source: Thietart Raymond-Alain et al. (2001), Doing Management Research: A Comprehensive Guide, SAGE Publications Ltd; 1 edition.