NURS 6052 Week 10 Assignment {SOLVED}

NURS 6052 Week 10 Assignment

Identification of Research Problem

The research problem is the heart of a study. It is a clear, definite statement of the area of concern or investigation and is backed by evidence (Bryman, 2007).  It drives the research questions and processes and provides the framework for understanding the research findings. To begin, you will need to know where to look for your research problem and how to evaluate when a research problem for success.NURS 6052 Week 10 Essay Assignment

Where to Find a Research Problem

Ideas for a research problems tend to come from two sources: real life and the scholarly arena.  First, identifying a research problem can be as simple as observing the complications and issues in your local workplace. You may encounter ongoing issues on a daily basis in your workplace or observe your colleagues struggle with major issues or questions in your field. These ongoing obstacles and issues in the workplace can be the catalyst for developing a research problem.

Alternatively, research problems can be identified by reviewing recent literature, reports, or databases in your field. Often the section of “recommendations for the future studies” provided at the end of journal articles or doctoral dissertations suggest potential research problems. In addition, major reports and databases in the field may reveal findings or data-based facts that call for additional investigation or suggest potential issues to be addressed. Looking at what theories need to be tested is another opportunity to develop a research problem.

How to Evaluate a Research Problem

Once you find your potential research problem, you will need to evaluate the problem and ensure that it is appropriate for research. A research problem is deemed appropriate when it is supported by the literature, and considered significant, timely, novel, specific, and re searchable.  Stronger research problems are more likely to succeed in publication, presentation, and application.

Supported by the Literature

Your research problem should be relevant to the field and supported by a number of recent peer-reviewed studies in the field. Even if you identify the problem based on the recommendation of one journal article or dissertation, you will still need to conduct a literature search and ensure that other researchers support the problem and need for conducting research to further address the problem.

Significant

Your research problem should have a positive impact on the field. The impact can be practical, in the form of direct application of the results in the field, or conceptual, where the work advances the field by filling a knowledge gap.  NURS 6052 Week 10 Essay Assignment

Timely

Your research problem should be related to the current needs in the field and well-suited for the present status of the issues in your field. Explore what topics are being covered in current journals in the field. Look at calls from relevant disciplinary organizations. Review your research center agenda and focused topics. For example, the topics of the Research Labs at Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research including critical thinking, social media and cultural competency, diversity, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in higher education are representative of the current timely topics in the field of education.  Identifying a current question in the field and supporting the problem with the recent literature can justify the problem timeliness.

The word “research” makes many students anxious. When you break the research process down into steps, practicing this important skill of researching can actually be incredibly rewarding. Once you’ve identified the right research problem example for the assignment and your ideas, the rest of the process will feel more manageable.

Understand the Assignment

Before looking at methods of identifying a research problem, the first important step is to understand exactly what your instructor expects. You may be asked to identify your research problem from a list of allowable topics, such as, “How have ethical concerns affected the sourcing of materials in the jewelry industry?” Alternatively, you may be required to design your own course-appropriate research problem from scratch by stating it in the form of a specific, guiding, open-ended question. Note that open-ended questions often start with words like “how.” For example, if the topic is gambling, a yes or no question, such as whether the habit affects a gambler’s credit score wouldn’t work. Instead, you could ask how the gambler’s habit might affect his credit score. Starting your research on the right track means having more time to do a good job which can help reduce anxiety.

Choosing a Topic of Interest

If you’re given a list of subjects from which to choose, use your interests to narrow your decision. Don’t choose a research problem example related to standardized testing if you have no interest in the subject. However, if you’re interested in homeschooling and have the option to write about that instead, that topic is a good choice. Identify several larger topics of interest in the beginning and do some primary research to see what’s been written on those subjects. Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance at your university library research desk. As you explore your chosen topic, be on the lookout for questions with answers that require more than simple facts. Questions that have been under-explored in the field often lead to rich research opportunities.NURS 6052 Week 10 Essay Assignment

Problem Statement in Research

Your goal in finding a problem statement in research may be to present findings in a paper or speech. Research reports are different from other projects. Many essays support a thesis based on what you’ve already learned. For research projects, you won’t know what argument you can make about a topic until you’ve thoroughly researched it. To research the topic, you’ll need to start with a question that centers on a topic that can be explored through scholarly research, narrows your topic and elicits discussion and can’t be answered by just a short negative, positive or emotional response. As a research problem example that doesn’t work, asking whether gambling is sinful would be inappropriate since the answer relies on questions of morality and not scholarly research. Similarly, a question such as “How does gambling affect people?” is far too broad. To completely answer that question, you would have to include an overview of every psychological and financial effect that gambling has on gamblers, their families, their employers and many others. A more appropriate and narrow research problem example regarding gambling might be to look at if gambling addictions are related to society and class structure.

Flexibility in Research

It’s normal for a research problem statement in research to evolve as you uncover new information. Doing research means going back and making adjustments to your search as the information that you find reshapes your thought process and guiding question. That’s why it’s called research, not just a search. For instance, in the process of finding out how ethical concerns affect the diamond ring industry, you may become interested in what you discover about the increase in vintage engagement ring sales in particular. At that point, you may decide that this topic makes an even better research problem than the broader one you chose in the beginning. This is a positive development as long as your evolving research fits within assignment guidelines.NURS 6052 Week 10 Essay Assignment