WELNS 670: Wellness Research
Design
Chapter 3
The Problem: The Heart of the
Research Process
Chapter 3
A Suitable Research Problem…
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Addresses an important question such that
the answer makes a difference
Advances knowledge by leading to new ways
of thinking, suggesting possible applications,
or leading to additional research
Identifying a Problem
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Look around you
Read the literature
Attend professional conferences
Seek the advice of experts
Choose a topic that intrigues and motivates
you
Choose a topic that others will find
interesting and worthy of attention
Things to Avoid when Considering
a Problem for Research
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The goal of the research should not be selfenlightenment
Go beyond comparing two sets of data
Showing relationships exist is not the same
as trying to determine why relationships exist
Ask more then a yes / no question
Steps to follow
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State the problem clearly and completely…
one or more grammatically correct sentences
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Provides both focus and direction for your research
Think through the feasibility that the problem
implies
Say precisely what you mean
Edit your work, choosing your words carefully
Checklist
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Write a clear statement of the problem for
research
Review your written statement and ask
yourself the following questions:
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Is the problem stated in a complete,
grammatically correct sentence?
Is it clear how the area of study will be limited or
focused?
Edit your statement
Checklist (continued)
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Look at your edited statement and reflect on the
following questions:
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Does the answer to this problem have the potential for
providing important and useful answers and information?
Will the results be more than a simple exercise in gathering
information, answering a yes/no question, or making a
simple comparison?
Is the problem focused enough to be accomplished with a
reasonable expenditure of time, money, and effort?
Looking at the statement once more, consider this: Is
the problem really what I want to investigate?
Checklist (continued)
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Share your research with other students and
ask them to consider the two sets of
questions
Use all of the feedback received to edit and
rewrite your problem statement
Group Project
Problem:
Group Activity
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Formulate a formal statement of a research
problem. Consider the importance and
practicality of the general problem.
Subproblems
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Are they really subproblems (and not a “how
to proceed problem”)?
Is each a completely researchable unit?
Is it clearly tied to the interpretation of the
data?
Do the subproblems add up to the totality of
the main problem?
Are they few in number?
Group Project
Problem and sub-problems:
Group Activity
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Formulate a formal statement of a research problem. Consider the importance
and practicality of the general problem.
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Identify sub-problems.
Further delineation
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State the hypotheses and/or research questions
(tentative intelligent guesses/no speculative
answers)
Delimit the research (What this research is NOT
going to do)
Define the terms
State the assumptions (What am I taking for granted
with respect to the problem?)
Identify the importance of the study
Group Activity
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Formulate a formal statement of a research problem. Consider the importance
and practicality of the general problem.
Identify sub-problems.
Pose questions, define terms, and state
assumptions.
Questions…
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Why is it important that the researcher
articulate, as clearly as possible, all
assumptions that effect the research
problem?
Why do you think it is important to define any
terms that might be misunderstood by
someone reading the research proposal?
Discussion…
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Daphne has been a member of a research team studying interpersonal
aggression among pre-schoolers for more than a year. In tat time, her team
has repeatedly employed a consistent set of techniques and procedures to
study pre-schoolers as they interact in a number of settings. The procedures
revolve around volunteer mothers bringing their children to the university child
development lab for a “play session” that is the basis of the formal
observations. Settings they have studied so far include: the university preschool, affluent local day care centers, and a pre-kindergarten program being
offered in the neighborhood school district. All of these settings were fairly
racially homogenous.
Daphne has just learned that a friend of a friend can help her gain research
access to pre-schoolers in an unusually racially diverse though impoverished
pre-school setting in the near future. Daphne decides she has no time to
prepare a formal research proposal before embarking on the study. “Besides,”
she thinks, “this study should go just like all the others we’ve done.”
Is Daphne leaving herself open to problems in this situation, or is she safe
moving ahead with no formal proposal given how familiar she is with the study
techniques and procedures?
Project Work
Literature Review
Understanding the Role of the
Literature Review
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It will increase your confidence in your topic if you find that others have
an interest in this topic and have invested time, effort, and resources in
studying it.
It can provide you with new ideas and approaches that may not have
occurred to you.
It can inform you about other researchers conducting work in this area.
It can show you how others have handles methodological and design
issues in studies similar to your own.
It can reveal sources of data that you may not have known existed.
It can introduce you to measurement tools that other researchers have
developed and used effectively.
It can reveal methods of dealing with problem situations that may be
similarities to difficulties you are facing.
It can help you interpret and make sense of your findings and,
ultimately, help you tie your results to the work of those who have
preceded you.
Group Literature Review
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Find and copy each article
Attach a completed review form to the front of each
article
Turn in articles (hard copy) on October 7
Talk to me if you have trouble finding an article…
Begin collecting articles for your individual study
Keep track of the search terms you used and the
databases searched (this information is important to
include at the beginning of your review)