Chapter 2

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND DEFINITION

Every research starts with a problem. Without a problem, there is no need to conduct research. Very
often, however, neophyte researchers or students of research find it difficult to identify a research
problem. This section deals with the research problem, how identified and defined. A good research
problem is described and the steps in identifying and defining a researchable problem are explained.
Illustrations are provided to help learners identify and define their own research problem.

Learning objectives
Studying this chapter shall enable the learners to:

1. define what a research problem is,

2. distinguish between a researchable problem from a non-researchable problem,
3. identify and explain the characteristics of a good research problem,
4. give examples of researchable problems, and
5. formulate their own research problem.

What is a Research Problem?

A problem is anything which gives a person a feeling and discomfort. If a person worries about
how thins are, he/she has a problem. A problem could be a state of affairs that needs to be changed or
anything that’s is not working as expected.

For researchers, problems could be conditions they want to improve, difficulties they want to
eliminate, questions for they want answers, or information gasp they wish to fill, or theories they wish
to validate.

A research problem could also be an issue that should be settled. It may be a question about the
unknown characteristics of a population or about factors that explain the presence of occurrence of a
phenomenon.