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How to write a problem statement

Business people, writing and coaching with tablet for planning, tasks or agenda on glass board at office. Group of young and creative employees taking notes for discussion, brainstorming or startup

Writing a problem statement is an opportunity to present a problem you think you can solve with research.

You will be able to present your findings and explore how you might be able to solve the problem. We shall look at how to write a successful problem statement covering how long it should be, how to answer the 5 W’s, and how to support your piece with facts.

What is a problem statement?

By writing a problem statement, you will develop the ability to observe real-life problems and formulate practical solutions. A good statement demonstrates your deep understanding of the problem, and your ability to complete research and propose solutions. The selected problem must be relevant, and it needs to be described coherently and logically. You need to select a specific and current issue which needs to be solved.

How to write it?

You must use objective and factual language. Do avoid broad and generalised expressions (e.g. never, always, often), jargon and subjective language. Please make sure that you do not use cautious language such as may, might, likely, potentially, perhaps etc. You need to eliminate words which may have different meanings to people e.g. too expensive, relatively small. You will need to carefully proofread your work and ensure that it is free of punctuation or grammatical errors. You could use Grammarly to improve your writing. Your writing style should be academic and formal and not contain slang or colloquial words. Do focus on essential details and eliminate unnecessary and irrelevant information. Your statement needs to be no more than one page long. You need to include this piece in your introduction if this is to form the basis of your research proposal.

How to make it focused?

Often students try to cover far too much, and they select a range of different problems. Make sure that you focus on one specific issue (or a very small number of closely related ones). If you try to cover too many problems, your work will become fragmented, and you will find it challenging to fit it into the word count expectations. You will find it easier to pick a problem which can be defined in plain and clear language. As you will need to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the problem, it is a good idea to explore a specific issue in detail and go ‘deep’ in your research (as opposed to covering too much and going ‘wide’).

How to structure it?

First, you need to describe the problem in a short paragraph. Try to make it as detailed as possible and support your statements with a range of evidence. Then, you should outline the ideal scenario. Ask yourself: what should be happening? What if this problem did not exist? You will be able to pinpoint the causes, details, and side effects of the problem. Next, you must answer the 5Ws (what, where, why, who and when). This could help you cover all the important elements of the context.

  • What is the problem?
  • Where is it happening?
  • Why is it occurring?
  • Who is it affecting?
  • When does it cause challenges?

Following the 5W’s, you will need to explore why the problem matters. You may find the following questions helpful: Why does this problem matter? Why now? What does it cost for the people being impacted directly or indirectly? What financial or non-financial costs may occur as a result? What is the impact of the problem on stakeholders/ the sector/ society? What would be the consequences of not solving this issue? You may also be required to outline possible solutions to the problem. You could explain the benefits of adopting these and refer to any possible risks of the implementation.

If you are writing a problem statement for a research project, you may need to cover the following:

  • Describe the background of the research issue
  • State the problem that the research project seeks to address
  • Explain why it is significant
  • Outline some relevant research questions
  • Define specific measurable research objectives
  • Provide a description of the experimental design
  • Mention the theoretical framework(s) or theoretical idea(s)
  • Give a brief description of the research methodology

How to use evidence?

It is essential that you do not base your statements on your own beliefs or opinions. You will need to support all your statements with evidence and examples. Your evidence needs to be current and credible. You can use credible literature from academic sources such as peer-reviewed journals. It is a good idea to avoid biased media sources. Generally speaking, some media sources may be more reliable than others. As an example, you may be able to cite content from The Financial Times or The Economist. Make sure that you do not use blogs, social media sites, or other potentially non-credible sources such as Wikipedia.

You might find it helpful to check with your university how far you can go back with citations. At times, you may be expected to cite sources from the past few years only, while at other times you can cite sources from the past. You could use charts, graphs and tables to present your data and cite these in the required referencing style.

How to reference the sources?

Many universities expect students to use Harvard-style referencing. You would, however, need to look at your academic brief carefully to ensure that you use the right style. You might find it helpful to use an online platform called Cite This For Me. This site will help you to create Harvard citations free of charge.

How many citations to use? Many students wonder about how many sources they should cite. Unfortunately, there is no magic number. You should select a number of sources from credible and reliable sources, and make sure that you embed these carefully in your writing. Your discussion needs to be logical, coherent and factual, supported with lots of evidence.

Preparing for a Postdoc role

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Henrietta Nagy

Henrietta Nagy is a seasoned portfolio worker with over 10 years’ experience in the UK education sector. Henrietta writes educational content, designs academic courses, delivers university lectures, mentors entrepreneurs, and provides career development coaching. One of Henrietta's recent organisational clients is the Oxford University where she has facilitated over 100 hours of learning events. With 9 years of higher education studies internationally (including an MBA), she has worked with CEOs, academics, scholars, managers, women entrepreneurs, academic administrators and other consultants.

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