How to write your Research Problem Statement
Ermm.. sometimes. our problem is dont know how to write our problem statement... Ha ha.. your problem is how to write a problem statement??????? ermmmmm...this is a guide on how to write a good problem statement..
Your Research Problem statement is the foundation and focus of your research report. It is a clear,
stand‐alone statement that makes explicit what it is you are aiming to discover or establish. Get this
right and you are setting yourself up for success.
If your Research Problem is poorly worded, unfocused or ambiguous, the rest of your research is likely
to go off‐track very early; you will do a great deal of unnecessary reading and writing, losing sight of
the big picture (and probably your mind!).
Writing your Research Problem Statement
1. First select your research topic, which is the issue or subject area that you intend to investigate
example... low adoption of new technology.. students not reading the books.. failure of the teachers..
2. Describe the business or management problem based on your topic that you intend to
research. Do this right at the beginning of your research proposal or report as laid out in the
templates (remember to reference any facts that you are basing your research on). This will
set the scene for your Research Problem statement, so that you can write a clear, stand alone
Research Problem.
3. A Research Problem is not the same as a business problem, ie it is not a “problem” in the
normal sense of the word; it is research jargon that happens to be a bit confusing. You can
think of your Research Problem as the unknown part of your business problem.
4. Verbs such as “understand”, “explore”, “investigate”, “examine” and “discuss” are poor verbs
as they describe processes, not outcomes, eg you can discuss something endlessly without
ever having to make recommendations, draw conclusions or offer a result. You might be
Carmichael, T. (2009), Wits Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa 2
exploring, examining or discussing as part of your process, but they cannot be the end result of
your research, which should be more tangible.
5. If your Research Problem contains two or more concepts / ideas, then break it down into subproblems,
so that each sub‐problem consists of one idea only. Each sub‐problem should
contain key words that you can use in your literature search (using the electronic library
databases and Google Scholar) on that sub‐problem.
6. Your Research Problem statement should be your sub‐problems added together – no more
and no less. Do not introduce any new ideas when you write your sub‐problems. For example:
The Main problem is to
Analyse and evaluate the role of entrepreneurship in the establishment of small,
medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and ascertain the value of the economic
contributions of these firms in emerging markets.
Sub‐problem 1
Analyse and evaluate the role of entrepreneurship in establishing SMMEs in emerging
markets. (Here your key search terms for your literature review could be
“entrepreneurship”, “SMME” and “emerging markets”)
Sub‐problem 2
Evaluate the economic contribution of SMMEs to growth and development in
emerging markets. (Here your search terms could be “economic contribution”,
“economic growth”, “emerging market development”)
Your literature review would be likely to have headings similar or related to the search terms,
as well as other topic areas that you find and are relevant but that you may not have
anticipated – in fact you will find a lot of information and related topics that you won’t (and
cannot be expected to) have anticipated. Use the search terms both alone and combined with
each other.
Research topic and context (stated exactly as submitted by a student):
The large corporate companies need to be encouraged to assist small businesses in
empowering them with the necessary skills and resources to grow. Corporate Social
Responsibility is one avenue that small business can benefit from big business in this
regard. My aim in this research is to establish if large companies are using corporate
social responsibility to empower small business and, if not, how this can be done.
Carmichael, T. (2009), Wits Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa 3
Therefore the topic of this research is to identify the role of corporate social
responsibility in empowering small business.
The Problem Statement was constructed by tightening up the context to eliminate repetition,
correcting the grammar, removing the personal pronoun “my” and rephrasing it in the passive
voice. In addition, the statement “. . . establish IF large companies . . .” was rephrased to
“whether and how” because “if” has a yes / no answer (not OK) and “whether and how”
requires a detailed, contextualised and rich response (OK).
Problem statement:
The intention of this research is to establish the purposes for which large corporate are
using their CSI / CSR programmes, with particular reference to whether and how they are
using such programmes to empower small businesses, and, further, to gather ideas to
expand such investments.
Sub‐problem 1:
Establish the purposes for which large corporates are using their CSI / CSR programmes
Sub‐problem 2
Identify ways in which large corporates are using CSI / CSR programmes to empower small
businesses, and further, to gather ideas for expanding such investments
8. Your sub‐problems should NOT be steps in the process of finding the solution to your Research
Problem. This is a common and understandable error. The example below shows the subproblems
to be steps in the process that the student intends to follow in the research (these
can be described in the methodology chapter). They are not invalid ‐ they are just not subproblems.
Main Problem
Compare the characteristics of the South African and Ghanaian home loan markets in
relation to consumer home loan choice criteria, home finance availability on both markets,
home loan administration, success and hindering factors, risks in pricing of home finance,
the status and causes of home loan default in both markets and to predict the way forward
for both markets.
Sub‐problems
1. Analyse consumer choice criteria in both home loans markets
2. Assess the availability and accessibility of home loans.
3. Establish the difficulties encountered in home loan administration
4. Identify the risks in home loan pricing and the effect of inflation on pricing
5. Determine the status and causes of home loan default
6. Forecast the future of the South African and Ghanaian home loan markets
Ermm.. sometimes. our problem is dont know how to write our problem statement... Ha ha.. your problem is how to write a problem statement??????? ermmmmm...this is a guide on how to write a good problem statement..
Your Research Problem statement is the foundation and focus of your research report. It is a clear,
stand‐alone statement that makes explicit what it is you are aiming to discover or establish. Get this
right and you are setting yourself up for success.
If your Research Problem is poorly worded, unfocused or ambiguous, the rest of your research is likely
to go off‐track very early; you will do a great deal of unnecessary reading and writing, losing sight of
the big picture (and probably your mind!).
Writing your Research Problem Statement
1. First select your research topic, which is the issue or subject area that you intend to investigate
example... low adoption of new technology.. students not reading the books.. failure of the teachers..
2. Describe the business or management problem based on your topic that you intend to
research. Do this right at the beginning of your research proposal or report as laid out in the
templates (remember to reference any facts that you are basing your research on). This will
set the scene for your Research Problem statement, so that you can write a clear, stand alone
Research Problem.
3. A Research Problem is not the same as a business problem, ie it is not a “problem” in the
normal sense of the word; it is research jargon that happens to be a bit confusing. You can
think of your Research Problem as the unknown part of your business problem.
4. Verbs such as “understand”, “explore”, “investigate”, “examine” and “discuss” are poor verbs
as they describe processes, not outcomes, eg you can discuss something endlessly without
ever having to make recommendations, draw conclusions or offer a result. You might be
Carmichael, T. (2009), Wits Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa 2
exploring, examining or discussing as part of your process, but they cannot be the end result of
your research, which should be more tangible.
5. If your Research Problem contains two or more concepts / ideas, then break it down into subproblems,
so that each sub‐problem consists of one idea only. Each sub‐problem should
contain key words that you can use in your literature search (using the electronic library
databases and Google Scholar) on that sub‐problem.
6. Your Research Problem statement should be your sub‐problems added together – no more
and no less. Do not introduce any new ideas when you write your sub‐problems. For example:
The Main problem is to
Analyse and evaluate the role of entrepreneurship in the establishment of small,
medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and ascertain the value of the economic
contributions of these firms in emerging markets.
Sub‐problem 1
Analyse and evaluate the role of entrepreneurship in establishing SMMEs in emerging
markets. (Here your key search terms for your literature review could be
“entrepreneurship”, “SMME” and “emerging markets”)
Sub‐problem 2
Evaluate the economic contribution of SMMEs to growth and development in
emerging markets. (Here your search terms could be “economic contribution”,
“economic growth”, “emerging market development”)
Your literature review would be likely to have headings similar or related to the search terms,
as well as other topic areas that you find and are relevant but that you may not have
anticipated – in fact you will find a lot of information and related topics that you won’t (and
cannot be expected to) have anticipated. Use the search terms both alone and combined with
each other.
Research topic and context (stated exactly as submitted by a student):
The large corporate companies need to be encouraged to assist small businesses in
empowering them with the necessary skills and resources to grow. Corporate Social
Responsibility is one avenue that small business can benefit from big business in this
regard. My aim in this research is to establish if large companies are using corporate
social responsibility to empower small business and, if not, how this can be done.
Carmichael, T. (2009), Wits Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa 3
Therefore the topic of this research is to identify the role of corporate social
responsibility in empowering small business.
The Problem Statement was constructed by tightening up the context to eliminate repetition,
correcting the grammar, removing the personal pronoun “my” and rephrasing it in the passive
voice. In addition, the statement “. . . establish IF large companies . . .” was rephrased to
“whether and how” because “if” has a yes / no answer (not OK) and “whether and how”
requires a detailed, contextualised and rich response (OK).
Problem statement:
The intention of this research is to establish the purposes for which large corporate are
using their CSI / CSR programmes, with particular reference to whether and how they are
using such programmes to empower small businesses, and, further, to gather ideas to
expand such investments.
Sub‐problem 1:
Establish the purposes for which large corporates are using their CSI / CSR programmes
Sub‐problem 2
Identify ways in which large corporates are using CSI / CSR programmes to empower small
businesses, and further, to gather ideas for expanding such investments
8. Your sub‐problems should NOT be steps in the process of finding the solution to your Research
Problem. This is a common and understandable error. The example below shows the subproblems
to be steps in the process that the student intends to follow in the research (these
can be described in the methodology chapter). They are not invalid ‐ they are just not subproblems.
Main Problem
Compare the characteristics of the South African and Ghanaian home loan markets in
relation to consumer home loan choice criteria, home finance availability on both markets,
home loan administration, success and hindering factors, risks in pricing of home finance,
the status and causes of home loan default in both markets and to predict the way forward
for both markets.
Sub‐problems
1. Analyse consumer choice criteria in both home loans markets
2. Assess the availability and accessibility of home loans.
3. Establish the difficulties encountered in home loan administration
4. Identify the risks in home loan pricing and the effect of inflation on pricing
5. Determine the status and causes of home loan default
6. Forecast the future of the South African and Ghanaian home loan markets
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