BIOSTAT 1C-RESP

QUESTION: Differentiate the research problem and purpose. Discuss the significance of a problem statement and a purpose statement.

One post written in response to fellow learners’ post and are each between 100-150 words. Response is substantive insightful and contain at least one reference.  

STUDENT’S Discussion POST:

Problem and Purpose 

A research project or proposal should have several elements, as they enhance the quality of a research paper. They include the purpose, methods, literature review, data collection and analysis and findings. The research problem and purpose are fundamental parts of a research paper that explain what the study is about. Every research article has a well-defined research problem and purpose statement. There is a clear difference between a research problem and purpose; thus, it is necessary to differentiate them, discuss their significance, and provide real-life examples from various research articles.

The research problem and purpose are important elements of a research paper. Research is often conducted to fill a knowledge gap about an issue. Therefore, a research problem is a question or topic that identifies that knowledge gap in a particular field and tries to solve it by making significant contributions to existing research. It is also grounded in theories related to the field (Weintraub, 2016). On the contrary, a research purpose is a statement that describes the study objectives, including the methodology and design that the researcher would use to solve the research problem (Weintraub, 2016). It explains the researcher’s goals for the study, such as predicting a situation or finding a solution to the identified problem. The research purpose is often derived from the problem statement; hence, it seeks to bridge the knowledge gap in the field of study.

The problem and purpose statements are important in any research work. The problem statement helps outline the project’s goals and inclines the reader to the significance of the research. The purpose statement also explains to the reader the study’s goals, its hypotheses, and the kind of literature that will be used. Various research works have the purpose and problem statements outlined clearly. For instance, in the article “Research Capacity in Nursing: A Concept Analysis Based on a Scoping Review,” the research problem is the unclear and inconsistent research capacity in nursing (Cheng et al., 2019). The research capacity is too low, yet it is necessary for the field’s development. Therefore, the purpose of the research was to clarify the concept of research capacity in nursing by identifying its components in nursing literature (Cheng et al., 2019). Therefore, the authors describe the scope of the project through the purpose and problem statements.

Evidence-based literature is a framework that helps align the problem and purpose statements. It helps researchers define the scope of their studies clearly. For instance, it can help formulate the scope of a project that focuses on obesity prevention and management protocol in a community-based organization. Besides, many researchers have conducted studies related to the same topic; thus, their work offers valuable literature for this type of research. For instance, Pearce et al. (2019) focus on the role of community-based organizations in obesity prevention. The research problem is that the role of these organizations is not clearly outlined in the clinical guidelines. Thus, the purpose of the study was to examine what published literature indicates about the role of these organizations in obesity prevention (Pearce et al., 2019). Therefore, this evidence-based literature is a valuable framework in formulating the research purpose and problem statement.

The problem and purpose statements are essential in any study. The problem statement identifies the existing knowledge gap in the field of study, while the purpose statement defines how the researcher intends to give insights into the problem and provide solutions. These statements are important because they explain the scope of a project. Many research articles have clearly defined problem and purpose statements. Moreover, evidence-based literature helps formulate these statements because it gives the researcher a starting point based on the outcomes of past literature. In this regard, the research problem and purpose are fundamental in any study, and all researchers need to include them in their explorations.

 

References

Chen, Q., Sun, M., Tang, S. & Castro, A.R. (2019). Research capacity in nursing: A concept analysis based on a scoping review. PubMed Central, 9(11). https://dx.doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmjopen-2019-032356

Pearce, C., Rychetnik, L., Wutzke, S. & Wilson, A. (2019). Obesity prevention and the role of hospital and community-based health services: A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 19, 453. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4262-3

Weintraub, D. (2016). The problem and purpose statement. Nova Southeastern University.https://education.nova.edu/summer/2016-presentations/The%20Problem%20and%20Purpose%20Statement.pdf