The importance of formulating a research problem

The formulation of a research problem is the first and most important step of the research pro­cess. It is like the identification of a destination before undertaking a journey. In the absence of a destination, it is impossible to identify the shortest — or indeed any — route. Similarly, in the absence of a clear research problem, a clear and economical plan is impossible. To use another analogy, a research problem is like the foundation of a building. The type and design of the building are dependent upon the foundation. If the foundation is well designed and strong you can expect the building to be also. The research problem serves as the foundation of a research study: if it is well formulated, you can expect a good study to follow. According to Kerlinger:

If one wants to solve a problem, one must generally know what the problem is. It can be said that a large part of the problem lies in knowing what one is trying to do. (1986: 17)

You must have a clear idea with regard to what it is that you want to find out about and not what you think you must find.

A research problem may take a number of forms, from the very simple to the very com­plex. The way you formulate a problem determines almost every step that follows: the type of study design that can be used; the type of sampling strategy that can be employed; the research instrument that can be used or developed; and the type of analysis that can be undertaken. Suppose your broad area of interest is depression. Further suppose you want to conduct a research study regarding services available to patients with depression living in a community. If your focus is to find out the types of service available to patients with depression, the study will dominantly be descriptive and qualitative in nature. These types of studies fall in the cat­egory of qualitative research and are carried out using qualitative research methodologies. On the other hand, if you want to find out the extent of use of these services, that is the number of people using them, it will dominantly use quantitative methodologies even though it is descriptive in nature describing the number of people using a service. If your focus is to deter­mine the extent of use in relation to the personal attributes of the patients, the study will be classified as correlational (and quantitative). The methodology used will be different than the one used in the case of a descriptive study. Similarly, if your aim is to find out the effective­ness of these services, the study will again be classified as correlational and the study design used, methods of collecting data and its analysis will be a part of the quantitative methodology. Hence, it is important for you to understand that the way you formulate a research problem determines all the subsequent steps that you have to follow during your research journey.

The formulation of a problem is like the ‘input’ to a study, and the ‘output’ — the qual­ity of the contents of the research report and the validity of the associations or causation established — is entirely dependent upon it. Hence the famous saying about computers, ‘garbage in, garbage out’, is equally applicable to a research problem.

Initially, you may become more confused but this is normal and a sign of progression. Remember: confusion is often but a first step towards clarity. Take time over formulating your prob­lem, for the clearer you are about your research problem/question, the easier it will be for you later on. Remember, this is the most crucial step.

Source: Kumar Ranjit (2012), Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, SAGE Publications Ltd; Third edition.