PROBLEM DEFINITION

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The entire situation where one sees a
possible need for research or problem
solving

Examples:
◦ Malay students studying additional
mathematics
◦ Soft skills of engineering students

Problem Area
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Narrow it down to specific issues
◦ Malay students have problem studying some
topics in additional mathematics
 More specific issue : problem solving skills,
difficulty in grasping concepts
◦ Engineering students are not displaying soft
skills needed
 More specific: poor communication skills

Narrowing Your Research

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 Research Research
Issues Problems
Questions Problems

Putting Things in Perspective

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Justifying your choice of the area of
research
◦ Why is there a need to do this research

Need backing up
◦ Government policies
◦ Institutional reports/strategic plans
◦ Research reports
◦ Press reports

Background Survey
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Defining a problem
◦ Not necessarily something that is seriously
wrong
◦ Can an issue of interest
 Find answers to improve existing situation
◦ A situation where a gap exists between actual
and desired state

Problem Definition
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Could be
◦ An issue/matter you want to understand
◦ Existing educational problems that you are
seeking to solve
◦ Situations that you want to improve
◦ Areas where some conceptual clarity is needed

Problem Definition
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Is…
◦ A set of condition needing discussion, a
solution and information
◦ Implies the possibility of empirical
investigation, i.e. of data collection and
analysis

Is not…
◦ How to do something
◦ A vague or too broad propositions
◦ A value question

The Research Problem

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Essential to define your research problem
very carefully
◦ Ask why you have chosen it, why not another
problem
◦ Helps you to choose a suitable method of
researching it
◦ Prevent your from reading indiscriminately
 You do not know quite what you are looking for
 Make more notes than you need

Problem Definition
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Be as deductive as you can

Relate you research problem to a theory
◦ A theory is an expectation of events or phenomena
or behavior
◦ Phenomenon in education – theories from cognitive
psychology, sociology, psycholinguistics,
management, art education

Example
◦ Finding out whether providing children with
multimedia presentations explaining science
concepts will enhance understanding
◦ Theory?

Problem Definition
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Your area of research

State whether:
◦ Existing educational problems that you are
seeking to solve
◦ Situations that you want to improve
◦ Areas where some conceptual clarity is needed
◦ Situations in which the researcher is trying to
answer a research question empirically

Why do you choose this problem?

Your Research Problem

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 Failure to achieve Withdrawal,
Learning outcomes Anxiety,
Effects meaningful deferrement,
not achieved frustration
experience dropout

Distance learners
Epistemological
not able to learn
problem
effectively

Institutional Inability to
Causes /administration maintain strong
problem attention

Learner cannot
Inability to sustain Lack of self
Learner problem manage their
motivation regulation
learning activities

Lack of discipline

Example
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A clear, precise and succinct statement of
the question/issues that is to be
investigated

How?
◦ No one right way to state one
◦ American vs British

Problem Statement
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Introduces the reader to the importance of
the problem

The reader is oriented to the significance of
the study and the research questions or
hypotheses to follow
◦ You could relate your problem to the findings of
prior research

Places the problem in a context

Provides framework for reporting the results.

Indicate what is probably necessary to
conduct the study and explain how findings
will present this information

Problem Statement
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 • Subject Area
TOPIC

• A concern
• A problem
EDUCATIONAL
ISSUES • Something that needs solution

• Evidence from literature

EVIDENCE FOR • Evidence from practical experiences
THE ISSUE

Flow of Ideas in Problem

Statement
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 • In this body of evidence what is missing
DEFICIENCIES IN
• What do we need to know more about
THE EVIDENCE

• How will addressing what we need to

know help researchers, educators, policy-
REMEDYING THE
DEFICIENCES. FOR
makers, individuals like those in the
WHOM? SELECT
AUDIENCES
study

Flow of Ideas in Problem

Statement
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