AJUZ DIGITAL HUB: Sources of research problem

sources of problem

The Identification of a problem to study can be a challenging, not because there’s a lack of issues that could be investigate, but due to the challenge of formulating an academically relevant and research able problem which is unique and does not simply duplicate the work of others.

The choice of a suitable problem is always difficult. Few beginners posses real problem awareness ,and even the more experienced researcher hesitates at this step.It is a serious responsibility to commit oneself to a problem that will inevitably require much time and energy and that is so academically significant.

Many of the problem confronted in the classroom, the school or the community lend themselves to investigation. And they are perhaps more appropriate for the beginning researcher than are problems more remote from his or her teaching experience.

It's Important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons

• To show your reader you’ve done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information

• To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas

• To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors

• To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes ,a bibliography or reference list

Citing a source means that you show , within the body of your text, that you took words, ideas, figures , images , etc. from another place.

Citations are a short way to uniquely identify a published work ( e.g. book, articles, chapter, web site). They are found in bibliography bibliographies and reference lists and also collected in article and book databases.

Citations consist of standard elements, and contain all the information necessary to identify and track down publications , including:

Author name

Titles of books, articles, and journals

Date of publication

Page numbers

Volume and issue numbers (for articles)

The important sources are ;

Personal experience

Relevant literature

Interviews

Deductions from theory

Interdisciplinary perspective

Practical experience

Critical appraisal of literature

Previous research

Existing theories

Consumer feedback

Performance improvement activities

Social issues

Brainstorming

Intuition

Folklore

Exposure to field situations

Consultation with experts

Personal experience

• Day to day Personal experience of researcher may serve as good source of ideas to formulate a research problem.

• For example, a researcher observed domestic violence suffered by wives of alcoholic husbands , This experience may provide ideas to identify several research problems related to domestic violence against women. There may be so many such life experiences of a researcher which could be used to develop a research problem.

Practical experience

• Nurses get plenty of ides to formulate research problems from their clinical experiences. Every curious nurse has several questions to be answered that are encountered during clinical experience.

• For example, a nurse finds that unrestricted visiting hours in surgical wards reduced the analgesic demand among postoperative patients. In another instance , a nurse observed that application of ice at the site of heparin injection reduced the chances of ecchymosis. Such clinical experiences could be rich sources of ideas to identify a significant research problem.

Critical appraisal of literature

• When we Critically study books and articles relating to the subject of our interest, including research reports, opinion articles, and summaries of clinical issues, pertinent questions may arise in our minds. The may strike reader’s mind indirectly by stimulating imagination and directly by stating what additional research is needed

• For example, a nurse reads an article on the prevalence the pin slide infection among patients with external fixators

previous research

. A body of knowledge should be developed on a foundation of research findings. Usually, at the end of a research, further research problems are suggested , based on the shortcomings of previous research, which Can be investigated. In nursing profession, not much research has been yet done; therefore, this profession needs researchers who are willing to replicate or repeat other studies on different samples and settings where all the essential elements of original study are held intact. Further refinements may be made in the experimental treatments, or more appropriate outcome measures may be identified

Existing theories

• Research is a process of theory development and theory testing .Nurses use many theories from other disciplines in their practices. If an existing theory must be isolated .Generally, a part of the theory are subjected to testing in the clinical situation. The testing of an existing theory is definitely needed in nursing ; therefore, they serve as good sources of research problems.

Information sources are an essential component of research, as they provide the evidence and data upon which research findings are based. Information sources can come in many forms, including primary sources such as research articles, data sets, and field observations, and secondary sources such as review articles, textbooks, and encyclopedias.

The importance of information sources in research lies in their ability to provide credible, reliable, and relevant evidence that can support research findings and conclusions. Information sources help to ensure the credibility and rigor of research by providing a foundation of evidence upon which the research is based.

Additionally, information sources help to establish the context and background of the research by providing a broad understanding of the existing knowledge and research on a particular topic. This can help researchers to better understand the significance and implications of their research findings.

Overall, information sources play a critical role in research by providing credible, reliable, and relevant evidence that supports research findings and conclusions, and by establishing the context and background of the research.

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