WRITING THE

STATEMENT OF
THE PROBLEM
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

• also called “purpose statement and

research questions”, is a statement of the
purpose of the study and a series of
questions that will help in researching the
topic.
• describes the main problem or issue of
the research to be investigated.
• the focal point of any research
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

• It is composed of
• the general statement of the problem
(the purpose statement) and,
• the specific sub-problems or sub-
questions (or research questions).
• It provides the context for the research
study and generates the questions which
the research aims to answer.
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

• It also serves as the bases of the

research instrument
 Guidelines in Writing the
Statement of the Problem
(According to Calderon &
Gonzales)
• The general statement of the problem (or the purpose
statement) and the specific sub-problems (or the
research questions) should be formulated first before
conducting the research.
• The problem must be reflected to your title or the
readers must know your problem by just simply reading
your topic.
• The problem must not be answerable by yes or no and
must be arranged in the flow of your documentation or
study.
 Guidelines in Writing the
Statement of the Problem
(According to Calderon &
Gonzales)
• It is customary to state specific sub-problems in the
interrogative form; hence, sub-problems are also called
“specific questions”.
• Each specific research question should be clear and
unequivocal (should only have one meaning) in order to
avoid confusion.
• Each research question should be researchable apart from
the other questions (i.e., separable).
• Each research question must be based upon known facts
and phenomena. Furthermore, data from such facts and
phenomena should be accessible to the researcher.
 Guidelines in Writing the
Statement of the Problem
(According to Calderon &
Gonzales)
• Answers to each research question can be interpreted
apart from the answers to the other specific questions.
• Answers to each research question must contribute to
the development of the whole research study.
• Summing up the answers to all the specific questions
will give a complete development of the entire study.
• The number of research questions should be enough to
cover the development of the whole research study.
 Elements of a Qualitative
Statement of the Problem
• A single sentence
• A statement such as,
“The purpose of this study . . . ”
• The central phenomenon
• A statement identifying the type of qualitative
design
• Qualitative words (e.g., “explore,” “understand,”
“discover”)
• The participants
• The research site
 Elements of a Quantitative
Statement of the Problem
• A quantitative statement of the problem identifies the
variables, their relationships, and the participants and
site for research
• Guidelines for writing
– Use a single sentence.
– Use wording such as The purpose of this study… or
The study aims to…
– If using a theory, state the theory you plan to test.
– Use quantitative words (e.g., “relate,” “compare,”
“describe”) to describe the relationships between
variables.
 Elements of a Quantitative
Statement of the Problem
• Guidelines for writing (cont.)
– Independent variable (1st position in sentence)
– Dependent variable (2nd position in sentence)
– Control and/or mediating variable (3rd position in
sentence)
– Research site
– Participants
 Quantitative Research
Questions
• Types of quantitative research questions
• Describe results of your variables.
• Compare two or more groups on the independent variable in terms
of the dependent variable.
• Relate two or more variables.
• Guidelines for writing
• Pose a question.
• Begin with “how,” “what,” or “why.”
• Specify the independent, dependent, and mediating or control
variables.
• Use the words describe, compare, or relate to indicate the action or
connection among the variables.
• Indicate the participants and the research site for the study.
 FORMAT:

• 1st Paragraph: General Statement of the Problem

“This study (or research) aims to…(make
congruent with title).”
• 2nd Paragraph” Research Questions
“Specifically, this research (or study) seeks to
answer the following questions:”
Note: Phrase questions with the data to be collected in mind.
Answer the questions and rephrase question, if your intended
answer does not match the question.