Problem Statement:
The first task of writing a research proposal is justifying the need for research. First, why is this research study necessary? What is the actual "problem" that needs to be addressed through research? You selected a topic back in Module 1, and the Problem Statement briefly covers why there is a need for research on that topic. Often, citing statistics is helpful to provide context, such as, "Depression affects more than 7 million Americans a year," or, "Fewer than half of American employees are satisfied with their jobs." The idea is that you start out by stating the "problem" that is being addressed in your proposal. This section justifies the remainder of the proposal.
The problem statement should be brief (i.e., about a page). You will get to the details in your Literature Review later. In order to provide a framework and context for your research, you will need to write a problem statement. Here is a good definition:
"A problem might be defined as the issue that exists in the literature, theory, or practice that leads to a need for the study" (Creswell, 1994, p. 50)
For example, if you selected depression in young adult women as your topic, you would need to determine exactly what your research study will address. What problem are you hoping to resolve or address by conducting this research? Do you want to see whether culture is a variable? Would you like to look at the efficacy of a specific treatment for this population?
It is important in a proposal that the problem stand out-that the reader can easily recognize it. Sometimes, obscure and poorly formulated problems are masked in an extended discussion. In such cases, reviewers and/or committee members will have difficulty recognizing the problem.
- Present the problem within a context that you briefly explain. If necessary, include a discussion of the conceptual or theoretical framework and then clearly and succinctly identify and explain the problem within the framework of the theory or line of inquiry of the study.
- Use psychological and research terminology correctly and write at upper class college level. Yet, also use terms that are understandable to someone who may be unfamiliar with your specialization and interest area.
- These questions can help you in drafting and reviewing your Problem Statement:
o Why does this research need to be conducted?
o What might change as the result of this research?
Research Question and Hypothesis
In this section, you will be posing the actual question you are addressing in the study (research question) and presenting a hypothesis that would be tested by the research question you propose. Keep in mind that you may have to backtrack later to edit your tentative hypothesis after working on your Literature Review and Method per instructor feedback.
An hypothesis is a specific statement of prediction. It describes in concrete (rather than theoretical) terms what you expect will happen in your study... A single study may have one or many hypotheses. (Trochim, 2006)
For the Capstone Project, you will present a single research question and a single research hypothesis. Recall that you wrote a tentative research question in Module 1. You may have refined it for the actual proposal. The research question will be an actual question. Using the example used above, it might be something like: What is the efficacy of psychotherapy compared to alternative treatments for depression in young adult women? The hypothesis will then be a statement based on the research question that can be tested through research. For the hypothesis, you are posing a declarative prediction that you will then test with your research design. In this example the hypothesis might be: It is hypothesized that XYZ Depression Scale ratings for young adult women who participate in cognitive behavioral therapy will be significantly lower than depression ratings for young adult women who participate in alternative treatments without psychotherapy.
If you are interested in proposing a qualitative study, a research hypothesis is generally not articulated. Reach out to your instructor on how to complete this section.
Attachment:- Researcher Capstone Project.rar