Solving Problems Doctoral Students Face in Research

Conducting doctoral research begins by first choosing a research topic and delineating the research problem. Getting advisors and committee members enthusiastic about your problem is just the beginning but a crucial step. Declaring that the development of the problem statement is intimidating and challenging for most doctoral students is therefore an understatement. Students may not understand why a creating a problem statement is necessary, but it is. Doctoral writing is the highest level of academic debate and as such, students must demonstrate widespread expertise about a subject, which includes asserting validity claims, presenting ideas through evidence, solving real-world problems, and developing a scholarly voice.

Using the problem statement, researchers therefore offer why undertaking a study is necessary. A poorly written problem statement will not meet academic standards and students often get stuck in eternity trying to develop the problem statement. There are components of a problem statement for consideration. If a problem statement is to narrowly focused, the outcome may not provide a suitable contribution to the discipline or practice, or even solve a problem. If the problem is too broad, relationships and concepts may not align to supply suitable explanations.

Using a research problem that results in a dichotomous response (yes or no) is not suitable. For instance, if a problem is, students are failing in school and research suggest that the number of hours student spend doing homework have a relationship with overall student success.
Do not ask if doing 10 hours of homework a week can result in student success. Instead, you may want to formulate a study around the benefits of studying or completing homework assignments for student success. You may even look at barriers or factors that discourage or promote the number of hours students spend doing homework.

There are distinct types of problems available for a dissertation study, such as: (1) Conceptual problems, (2) action problems, or (3) value problems. For research to be valuable, a study must fit into the overall context of a theory or concept, which means that as a student researcher, you must be fully aware of why you are doing a study, and what expectations you should have for undertaking such a dynamic yet meticulous task.

If you are just beginning your doctoral study or having trouble writing your problem statement or getting it approved, you may get a (one time) free evaluation of your problem statement (Limited time offer). Fill out and submit the contact us form on the website; you will receive information on where to send your document. There is no obligation to buy anything. You will receive a grade of your problem statement, so you can fix the problem statement and get approval by your chair or committee. If I can ever help, please feel free to reach out to me.

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