How to write the problem statement in a research paper?

A problem statement is a brief overview of the issues or problems existing in the concerned area selected for the research. It is an explanation of the issues prevalent in a particular sector that drives the researcher to take interest in that sector for in-depth study and analysis, so as to understand and solve them (Saunders et al. 2009).

The purpose behind writing a problem statement in any research study is to:

Components of problem statement

The word count of the problem statement for a thesis or dissertation should be in the range of 150-300 words. The problem statement in any research, therefore, includes four important segments i.e.

1. Background of the Problem: Here you can reflect on facts related to the problem to make the reader understand about the gravity of the problem.
2. Anchor: How one needs to resolve this problem in the  research paper.
3. General problem: How is impacts a larger population.
4. Specific problem: How it impacts your sample population.

Example 1 (Quantitative Study)

1. Background of the problem: The high attrition rate in manufacturing organization is creating anxiety and fear among the employees and thus affecting the productivity of the organization as a whole.
   Here you need to refer to previous research done in the past in the manufacturing sector to determine the key reasons for high attrition rate. It should stimulate the reader to read further.
2. Anchor: This must include a statistical value to magnify and elucidates the problem.
   Here you can present the attrition percentage within the manufacturing industry and compare it with the case company.
3. General Problem: The general business problem is to determine the financial lost to the organisation.
   The general business problem needs to just outline the problem.
4. Specific Problem: Since high attrition rate is affecting the overall productivity of the employees it is in turn affecting the performance of the organization. In order to do so one needs to determine the relationship between employee productivity and organisational performance.
   This is narrower in scope than the general business problem and focused around need of the study which allows easy transition to Need of the Study.

Example 2 (Qualitative Study)

1. Background of the problem: There has been increase in workplace deaths of miners from 2010 to 2011 (Cite here).
2. Anchor: Study conducted by XYZ (Year) indicates that 7 out of 10 deaths in mining industry are due to abc reasons (Cite here).
3. General Problem: The cost of workplace deaths negatively influences profitability to the business workers.
4. Specific Problem: There is little information on what measures can be undertaken to reduce the workplace death toll.

General problems with problem statement

Quite often students are not able to frame their problem statement properly as they miss out on one or the other component or get confused on what to include or not. The most common problems which are observed have been highlighted below which will improve your ability to write problem statements:

1. Unable to clearly identify the research problem.
2. Often confused with research questions of the study.
3. The problem is not encouraging enough for the researcher to read further.
4. Not data driven i.e. NO citations.
5. More than 300 words.
6. Not focused with the research subject.

Problem statement checklist

To summarise, I have developed this checklist which needs to be kept in mind when writing your problem statement. It includes a list of all the things which should be included in your problem statement

References

• Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2009) Research methods for business students, 5th ed., Harlow, Pearson Education.
• Bryman, A. (2008) Social research methods, 4th edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Collis, J. & Hussey, R. (2009) Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students, 3rd edition, New York, Palgrave Macmillan.