Problem Statement RES 709

Discussion 1

Review the following resources:

• Ch. 2, “Do You Have an Idea for a Topic?” of Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Thesis Faster: A Proven Map to Success from the Week 2 University Library readings
• “Strategies to Win: Six-Steps for Creating Problem Statements in Doctoral Research” and Ch. 3, “Do You Have Some Idea How You Will Study Your Topic? Bridging Topic and Methods,” of Writing your Doctoral Dissertation or Thesis Faster: A Proven Map to Success from this week’s University Library readings

Write a 250- to 300-word response to the following:

• How does a researcher find a researchable problem?
• What differentiates a problem from a situation or a statement of opinion or fact?
• Why is the problem statement one of the most important components of a doctoral dissertation?

Include your own experience as well as 2 citations from peer-reviewed academic journals, industry publications, books, and/or other sources that align with or contradict your comments. Cite your sources according to APA guidelines. If you found information that contradicts your experience, explain why you agree or disagree with the information.

Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least one in a minimum of 150 words. Explain why you agree or disagree. Then, share an example from your professional experience to support your assertions.

Discussion 2

A peer-review process provides doctoral students opportunities to explore their own ideas and thoughts as well as assisting their peers by providing substantive feedback and critical thinking questions and ideas.

View “Alignment of Dissertation Topic to Degree Program” and the Week 3 Overview.

Using the Problem Statement Worksheet, write a 1-sentence original problem for a prospective study you might conduct using the format below:

The problem is _____(state the problem), resulting in ______(state the consequence).

The problem statement sentence must be substantiated with literature to confirm that the problem exists and is more than just your personal opinion or perspective.

Include a citation to support the problem and provide a reference.

Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least one in a minimum of 150 words. Explain why you agree or disagree. Then, share an example from your professional experience to support your assertions.

Assignment
All dissertations begin with a problem that justifies the need for the study. Without a clear and compelling problem, the study will add little importance or value to an academic discipline or profession. The problem statement is a critically important component of the dissertation. The problem statement explains the reason for your study and substantiates the importance of the research.

This assignment has two parts. Complete Parts 1 and 2 below.

Part 1: Background of the Problem

Locate 2 or 3 peer-reviewed scholarly articles (published within the last 5 years) from the University Library that address your proposed problem.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word introduction to the problem in which you:

• Provide a description and background of the identified problem.
• Use the scholarly articles to support the existence of the problem. Be sure to use a scholarly voice.

Part 2: Problem Statement

View the Dissertation Series Tutorial – Problem Formulation.

Review the Problem Statement Worksheet from this week’s Discussion 2 and then review the two sample problems below:

• SAMPLE PROBLEM 1: The problem is husbands caring for wives with breast cancer have a demanding caretaking schedule, resulting in failure to practice personal self-care (LeSeure & Chongkham-ang, 2015).

• SAMPLE PROBLEM 2: The problem is despite extreme workplace stress, police officers lack stress management skills, resulting in diminished health, family life, and work performance (Toers-Bijins, 2012).

Based on the materials and the peer-review from DQ2, write a 1-sentence original problem statement for a prospective study you might conduct using the format below:

The problem is _____(state the problem), resulting in ______(state the consequence).

Include a citation to support the problem and provide a reference.

Place the background of your problem and your problem statement under the Problem Statement section of the provided Research Outline Template. The template is formatted according to APA guidelines.

Note: Beginning this week, you will be using the attached Research Outline Template for your assignments with the expectation that weekly revisions are incorporated from your instructor’s feedback.

Checklist

• State your program of study (e.g., DBA, DHA, DM, EDD) in the first section of the Research Outline Template.
• Place the background of your problem and your problem statement in the Problem Statement section of the Research Outline Template. The template is formatted according to APA guidelines.
• Format in-text citations and references according to APA guidelines.

Use the APA Tutorials located in Doctoral Writing Resources and format your paper according to APA guidelines.

For a well-structured scholarly paragraph please refer to the MEAL Plan document in Appendix H of the Research Outline Template.

Reminder: Before submitting your assignment, proofread for grammar and sentence structure, re-read the assignment directions, and refer to the grading rubric to ensure each element of the assignment has been addressed.