Lesson 16: The Statement of the Problem

Statement of the Problem 

After the researcher has clearly presented the rationale of the problem, the formulation of the targeted and well-defined problem must follow. This well-defined problem is commonly pertained to the “Statement of the Problem.” Stating clearly the problem can make the vagueness of the study be clarified. Further, this section allows the researcher to present other essential elements of research undertaking such as the major variables, objectives, and appropriate methodology. 

Writing the Problem Statement in a Qualitative Research 

In formulating the problem statement in a research paper, there are two types of problems which should be considered. These are the general problem and the specific problems. 

General problem pertains to the opening paragraph that gives specific details on other essential elements which are the purpose, major variables, participants, setting, and time coverage of the study. The said elements serve as a guide in order to properly formulate the general problem. Cristobal and Cristobal (2017) from their book Practical Research 1 for Senior High School presented guidelines in the writing of the general problem.

These are as follows: 

1. The general problem should clearly state the main task/s of the researcher. 

2. The general problem should present the major variable/s related to the phenomenon to be investigated. 

3. The general problem should identify the participants of the study. 

4. The general problem should state the research setting as well as the time period of the study. 

5. The general problem may indicate the intended output of the study such as an intervention program, module, policies, etc. 

An example of a general problem is presented below.

This study aims to determine the functions of emojis in an online communication. The study was conducted among the different strands of grade 11 students in the senior high school department of Lamao National High School during the school year 2019-2020. The result of the study was used as a basis for proposing a learning content presentation strategy in language teaching. 

to determine                                                    -        main task 

functions of emojis in an online communication       -         major variables 

grade 11 students                                             -         participants 

Lamao National High School                          -         setting 

school year 2019-2020                                       -         time period

learning content presentation strategy                   -         intended output 

After formulating the general problem of a study, enumeration of its specific problems should follow. Unlike the general problem which is stated in a declarative form, the specific problems are stated as questions. These formulated questions, moreover, should all be anchored on the general problem. With this, the researcher will be guided on how he/she will seek an answer to the problem. 

In addition, the researcher must also know that a specific question to be formulated must be a researchable question, that is, it should begin with words such as “what” and “how.” In this case, the researcher may be able to solicit responses which can ensure detailed data necessary to the study. Non-researchable questions, as in, those which are answerable by “yes” or “no” should be avoided. 

Examples of non-researchable and researchable questions are presented below. 

Non-Researchable Questions: 

1. Do the participants use social media platforms for their communication purposes? 

2. Are the participants using emojis in their online communication? 

3. Can the participants understand the meaning of emojis used in conversations? 

4. Will the emojis be used for a language content learning presentation strategy? 

Researchable Questions: 

1. What are the most frequently used emojis by the participants in the corpus?  

2. What are the pragmatic functions of emojis in the corpus?  

3. How do multiple emojis affect the meaning of the discourse? 

4. What learning content presentation strategy can be proposed based on the results of the study?