Identifying Research Problems

Identify Research Problems

There are several sources of research problem that a researcher can investigate.Research was born out of man’s problem and man’s major problem demands research (Good & Scates,1972).Therefore, after having chosen the research topic, you must start finding research problems. A topic contains several research problems which may belong to the pure ,applied or action research.You must do deep study of the research topic and try to find out the unsolved problems.The more you think or read about your topic, the more research problems you will identify. A deep understanding of the known facts in the chosen topic is the most important step in the identification of the research problems.If you know what studies have already

A beginning researcher can take an interesting theory and then make a hypothesis about what could be expected to happen in a particular classroom situation.It will help to determine whether a particular theory can be translated into actual practice. For example, social comparison theory suggests that students form academic self concepts by comparing their self perceived academic accomplishments to some standard or frame of reference. The frame of reference for the most students is the perceived academic abilities of their classmates. A hypothesis that could be deducted from this theory is “Gifted students placed in selective homogeneous classes will have lower academic self concepts over the time than equally gifted students in heterogeneous classes (mixed ability classes). It is only through the application of scientific enquiry, that we can profitably test the validity,scope and practicability of various theories in educational

Another valuable source of problems is the published literature in your area of interest.The review of literature is a necessary and important part of the research process (Locke, Silverman & Spirduso, 2010).Published literature includes Research Reports, Research Abstracts, Research Journals, Encylopedias, Surveys of Educational Research, Research needs in the Study of Education and Research Periodicals.The review of literature will not only provide research problems in your area of interest but also suggests the way in which research is conducted.A review of published literature may be helpful in following ways.

All published research reports generally conclude by making suggestions about further research.The researcher can pick up a suitable problem for their own study.Replication of research studies is also a useful and worthwhile activity for a beginner in research.There is a common feeling that once a study has been conducted, it should not be repeated.Repeating a study at different times on different groups in different contexts and places increases the extent to which research findings can be generalized and provides additional evidence of the validity of