Worksheet #1

Introduction

Problem Statement
What is it that you are interested in? What questions/challenges do you have/face? What do
you find problematic? What do you want to investigate?

Why are you interested in this? What are the reasons for your interest in this, generally and
specifically?
Personal: what are your Academic: what are the Practical/Professional: in what
personal motivations/ ‘gaps’ in existing researches/ ways will this research
reasons for doing this literature that would be help/develop/ change your studio
research? addressed by doing this and/or teaching or other
research? professional concerns?

Any other:

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What do you think are the reasons for these problems, generally and specifically?
Personal: what challenges Academic/Institutional: what do Practical/Professional: what
you face in your personal you think are the academic and/or are the practical and/or
life that could be institutional challenges that professional constraints that
contributing to the problem? contribute to the problem? contribute to the problem?

Any other:

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Research Question: Read your responses in the worksheets above and narrow
down/focus your research question. State the question that you want to explore through
your research in question form, question mark and all, here. Make it as focused and
specific as you can. Also ask yourself is this a measurable question.

Sub-questions: Identify any sub-questions you may have identified to help shed light on
your main research question. (Sub-questions are not new questions. The address
“pieces” of the main research question.)

Purpose Statement: Turn your question around into a statement of purpose. It should
convey exactly the same information as the question itself. Start by saying, “The purpose
of the study is…”

Significance: Look at your purpose statement and explain why it is worth pursuing: Who
might the findings of this research benefit? In what ways? What might their implications
be in the world of practice? Be as explicit as you can.

What is the objective of your research? Advantages? Disadvantages?

Why is it important to answer these questions?

Is this your point of view, is it based on observation and/or primary/secondary research?

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Research Design: At this early point, how would you anticipate conducting this study?
How/in what ways do you think you can solve these problems? How can you find information
about, or provide a solution to, these questions and problems?
What are the solutions in your What are the solutions What are the solutions
opinion? according to research according to other people in
conducted by other people? similar situations?

Any other:

What could be the ways of collecting information about these questions?

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Definition of terms: Identify and define any ambiguous terms that are relevant to your study.
Definitions can come from dictionaries, other authors, or your own mind. Specify whose
definition you are using.

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Problem statement revisited. Compile your problem statement here. Based on what you
learned from the literature review explain: What is the scholarly problem (unfilled niche,
contradictory views, etc.) that your study will address? Articulate the problem thoroughly by
referring to the literature.