Understanding Research Problems and Topics

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@CelebratedCyclops

Study Notes

A research problem is a specific issue, difficulty, contradiction, or gap in knowledge to be addressed in research.
Selecting a research problem depends on factors like researcher's knowledge, skills, interest, motivation, and creativity.
Formulating a research problem is a complex process.

Identifying knowledge gaps: highlights areas needing further investigation, addressing unanswered questions.
Providing direction: gives focus and direction to the research project. Aids in the development of effective research design, technique, and establishes research objectives/questions.
Justifying study significance: emphasizes relevance, potential benefits, and contributions to the field.
Advancing theory and knowledge: provides a basis for new concepts, hypotheses, or models.
Promoting intellectual curiosity and innovation: encourages critical thinking, generating original ideas, and developing unique research approaches.
Facilitating problem-solving and decision-making: stems from real-world challenges or problems; researchers can develop innovative ideas, methods, or strategies to solve practical issues/guide decision-making.

Theoretical: investigates a subject or event using theoretical frameworks, concepts, and models; aims to extend existing knowledge, address unsolved gaps and evaluate pre-existing theories.
Applied: deals with specific problems or challenges within a sector/industry; aims to provide practical solutions through systematic research; bridges the gap between theory and practical application.
Action: combines research and action to address real-world issues in organizations, education, community development, policy implementation, and personal/professional development.

Personal experiences (day-to-day experiences).
Practical experiences (clinical experiences encountered during clinical practice).
Critical appraisal of literature (research reports, opinion articles, summarizing clinical issues).
Previous research (re-search findings).
Existing theories (theory development and theory testing).
Social issues (global social or political issues of relevance to healthcare).
Ideas from external sources (funding agencies' research priorities).

Interest: selecting a topic that interests you most.
Magnitude: possessing sufficient knowledge to visualize the work involved in completing the topic.
Measurement of concepts: ensuring clarity about indicators and measurements of concepts used in the study.
Level of expertise: having an adequate level of expertise for the proposed task.
Availability of data: ensuring data availability in the desired format.
Ethical issues: understanding how ethical issues affect the study and how to address them.
Relevance: ensuring the study's relevance to the professional field and adding to existing knowledge/bridging current gaps/useful in policy formulation.

Selection of a research area: selecting a broad topic from personal experience, literature, previous research, and relevant theories.
Conducting a literature review: reviewing existing literature to understand the current knowledge level and gaps in the research area. Identifying areas requiring further research.
Delimiting the research topic: proceeding from a general research area to a more specific topic; selecting a specific component/subject within the chosen research field; focusing on a problem or phenomenon.
Evaluating the research problem: evaluating the problem's significance and feasibility considering factors such as time, cost, availability of subjects/resources, administrative and peer support, ethical considerations, and researcher's competence and interest.
Formulating the final statement of the research problem: formulating a final statement after establishing significance and feasibility.

Objectives are goals to attain in the study.
They inform the reader about the study's purpose.
Main objectives are overall statements of study thrust. They include main associations and relationships sought.
Sub-objectives are specific aspects of the topic to be investigated in the main framework of the study.