RESEARCH PROBLEM
What is Research Problem?
Question for which researchers want answers, theory they
wish to validate, information gaps they want to fill, condition
they want to improve, difficulty they want to eliminate, an
issue to be settled.
Stated in a form of question which serve as the focus of
investigation
Research topic refers to the area or phenomenon on which to
focus
Problem statement articulates the problem to be addressed and
indicates the need for a study
Research questions are the specific queries researchers what to
address
Statement of purpose  identifies the overall goal of the study
Where do ideas of Research Problem came from?
 Experience and Clinical Fieldwork – as nurses perform
clinical duties, they are bound to find a wealth of research
ideas
  Example: Why do many patients complain of being tired after
being transferred from the operating room?
 Nursing Literature – ideas from studies often come from
reading nursing literature.
  Example: Which type of tactile stimulation is most beneficial
to physiological wellness of clients?
 Social Issues – topics are suggested by more global
contemporary social or political issues of relevance to
health of the community
  Example: What are the social factors contributory to sexual
harassment?
 Theories – must be tested for applicability in different
nursing environments
  Example: If this theory is correct, what kind of behavior would
I expect to find in a certain condition?
 Ideas from External Sources – provides an impetus for a
research idea
  Example: Sir Dino may give a list of topics to choose from or may
assign particular topics to students
EVALUATING RESEARCH PROBLEMS
 There are no rules in making the final selection of a
research problem, but some criteria should be kept in mind
(Polit, 2007):
1. Significance of the Problem
 Is the problem an important one?
2. Researchability of the Problem
 Is your research problem already answered?
3. Feasibility of addressing the problem
 Time and Timing
  Availability of Study Participants   - above 4 years in the making 
 Cooperation of others
 Facilities and Equipment  According to Time Elements:
 Money
 Research Experience 1. Action research - is a decision oriented research
 Ethical Considerations involving the application of the steps of the scientific
 Research Interest method in response to an immediate need to improve
existing practices. 
TYPES OF RESEARCH
o According to Process:
 According to Purpose:
1. Quantitative Research- it is conducted to find
1. Basic/ Pure- it aims to acquire new knowledge answers to questions about relationships among
measurable variables with purpose of explaining,
  and understanding. controlling, and predicting phenomena.
  - It is basic and has no application
o Hence, it is knowing the outcome stated in
  ex: Theory, Understanding of level of anxiety
NUMERICAL DATA
1. Applied- it is oriented towards finding solution to a
1. Qualitative Research- Starts with a FEW
practical problem.
PRECONCEIVED IDEAS and stresses the importance
of people’s interpretations of events and circumstances
  - it is a new method, new intervention or new   device
  ex: new gadget/ transferring of file, Steps of Nursing FOCUS: TO CAPTURE AND UNDERSTAND the entirely
process, Steps of grieving process of certain phenomena and collect NARRATIVE DATA
Introduction 
 According to Time Elements:
- The beginning piece of thread in research papers
1. Cross Sectional - it is a type of studies wherein there is - To ‘introduce’
a different types of subject with different type of
characteristics. It is compose of:
  - Treat them simultaneously 1. BOLD ATTEMPT- Researcher made
  -1 to 2 years in the making 2. CROSS REFERENCE- Cited from previous researches
 
1. Longitudinal- it is a type of studies wherein same set
TYPES OF CITATION STYLES IN INTRODUCTION:
of subjects is treated over a period of time
1. IMPLICIT- STATEMENT_(AUTHORS, _YEAR).
Ex: An e-learning system with higher educational compatibility is
believed to effectively facilitate the learning processes of students DIRECTORY OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL
(Xu & Wang, 2006). Open Access Journals – users have the right to “read,
2. EXPLICIT- AUTHOR_(YEAR)_VERB_STATEMENT download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full texts
of articles”
Ex: Taylor and Todd (1995) suggested that Social Influence (SI)
affects other people’s opinion, superior influence, and peer As of October 2012, the database contained 8284 journals,
influence. with an average of four journals being added each day for the
month of September 2012.
 
WAYS IN MAKING GOOD INTRODUCTION:
EBSCO HOST
1. TREND- Prevailing tendency,
Norm/Popular, Commonly occuring EBSCO is a diverse company which includes over 30 businesses:
Ex: Use of ICT in government, known as eGovernment, is on the
rise with 19% of all government organizations offering online  Fishing lures
services.  Steel joist and metal roof deck manufacturing
 Real estate development
2. ISSUE- Controversy, Opposing viewpoint, Disagreement
 A host to many journal databases
Ex: As technology impacts teaching and learning, expectations for
teachers to exploit technological advantages will rise. ELSE VIER
3. PROBLEM- Difficulty
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and
Ex: As elderly population increases, it will not suffice the number scientific literature
of police enforcers residing in geographical areas of the country.
One of its databases is
Recommended on line journals
 SCIENCE DIRECT
JSTOR
 ScienceDirect is one of the largest online collections of
 Short for Journal Storage published scientific research in the world
 Online system of archiving academic journals  It is operated by Elsevier and contains nearly 10 million
 It provide its member institutions full-text searches of articles from Elsevier
digitized back issues of several hundred well-known  Abstracts are mostly freely available, and full texts require
journals paid subscriptions
 7,000 academic institutions in 159 countries
 POPULATIO
N 1
ONLINE JOURNAL OF ISSUES IN NURSING 2 INTERNET
CONGESTIO 0
N
 The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing is a peer-reviewed
publication that provides a forum for discussion of the QUALITY OF SOCIAL 1
issues inherent in current topics of interest to nurses and 1
LIFE NETWORK 1
other health care professionals
 The intent of this journal is to present different views on VALUES ADOLESCEN 1
issues that affect nursing research, education, and practice, 2
EDUCATION T 2
thus enabling readers to understand the full complexity of a
topic PARENTAL
6 LITERACY 1
GUIDANCE
MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL DATABASES
How many scientific articles do I need to read? COMMUNITY 1
RELIGION 8
SAFETY 3
1. UNDERGRAD- 20 ARTICLES
2. MASTERS- 50 ARTICLES NUMBER OF
3. PhD- 100 ARTICLES INCOME 3 POLICE 4
OFFICERS
 
RECONNISIATE  

1. GATHER RELEVANT LITERATURE 1. BLANK SPOTS- VARIABLES WITH NO/LESS RESEARCH

2. TABULATE KEYWORDS 2. BLIND SPOTS- VARIABLES WITH CONFLICTING IDEAS

3. CHOOSE VARIABLES OF INTEREST  

  How many VARIABLES do I need to highlight?

SELECT THE VARIABLES OF INTEREST 1. UNDERGRAD- 3-5 articles

2. MASTERS- 5-10 articles
1
AGE CRIME 9 3. PhD- 10-15 articles
0

1
GENDER WELFARE 9 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
1
Theories are formulated to explain, predict, and understand 4. Having a theory helps you identify the limits to those
phenomena and, in many cases, to challenge and extend existing generalizations. A theoretical framework specifies which key
knowledge within the limits of critical bounding assumptions. variables influence a phenomenon of interest and highlights the
need to examine how those key variables might differ and
Theoretical Framework
under what circumstances.
 It introduces and describes the theory that explains why the
research problem under study exists.
 The theoretical framework is the structure that can hold or
support a theory of a research study. 
 It consists of concepts and, together with their
definitions and reference to relevant scholarly
literature, existing theory that is used for your
particular study.
 It must demonstrate an understanding of theories and
concepts that are relevant to the topic of your research
paper and that relate to the broader areas of knowledge
being considered.

REMEMBER:
STATE- Present Theory
EXPLAIN- Cross-referenced
CONCEPTUALIZE- How it relates to the present study
The theoretical framework strengthens the study in the
following ways:
1. An explicit statement of  theoretical assumptions permits the
reader to evaluate them critically.
2. The theoretical framework connects the researcher to
existing knowledge. Guided by a relevant theory, you are given
a basis for your hypotheses and choice of research methods.
3. Articulating the theoretical assumptions of a research study
forces you to address questions of why and how. It permits you
to intellectually transition from simply describing a
phenomenon you have observed to generalizing about various
aspects of that phenomenon.