Writing the problem statement and the section in which it resides may not be what the new dissertation writer thinks of when they begin the journey of designing their research study. New dissertation writers are often frustrated with their progress, and invariably it has something to do with not having a clear problem statement or not having one at all. Unlike a typical graduate-level research paper, the problem statement is founded on a real issue that needs to be studied and is not just a topic of interest that you may have.

The problem statement is the underpinning of your entire dissertation. That may sound a bit hyperbolic, but it is the reality. While some universities do not even require dissertation writers to identify their problem statement but instead prefer they explain the purpose and design of their study, I still recommend to writers that they create this problem statement as it will guide them in writing every other section of their proposal.

The problem statement not only tells the reader what the problem is, but it helps us to understand why we should care. You are telling the reader that an urgency exists to conduct the study because the problem has been identified and you – the researcher – are going to tell us how you will explore the issue and what purpose it will serve.

The Problem Statement Is a Real Problem

By the time you get to the dissertation phase, you probably have a good idea of the topic of interest you want to explore. You may even know how you want to design your study and the population from which you want to gather data. However, this may be getting ahead of yourself. Is your topic built upon a problem you’ve identified? Is it a real problem in the world? Is your problem more than just a gap in the literature?

The first step in identifying the problem statement is to review the literature on your topic of interest and see what other researchers are saying still needs to be examined. You will want to take notes on the limitations of their own studies and their recommendations for future research because they are giving you a roadmap for your study! In reviewing 20 or so articles for your initial exploration of a topic of interest, you might find three or four that point you in the direction that is similar to the topic you were considering.

In all likelihood, they are going to give you much more specific recommendations than you were considering, which will help you narrow down your ideas. Save those recommendations and limitations you noted. You will want to use them in the problem statement section.

The next step in your dissertation is to ensure that the problem you choose to study is unique. There is little use in studying a problem that a hundred other researchers before you have studied. A quick exploration in Google Scholar can help you see the state of the literature on the problem you want to address. If you see other studies on the same problem, then you need to find an angle of the problem that has not been explored.

For example, are the other studies quantitative but you want do a qualitative exploration of the problem? Was the latest study conducted 10 years ago and a more recent study is needed? Were the studies you found all carried out in Europe and Asia but you want to see what the data would say when collected in the United States? Any decision you make regarding the choice of your topic should have a rationale, so be sure to take notes on the other studies and explain why yours still makes sense.

Finally, the problem in your dissertation doesn’t necessarily have to be a negative thing. A problem could be that we don’t know how something might work that could benefit society, or we don’t know how a particular population feels about an experience they shared that impacts our understanding of the event, or we don’t know what strategies might work best in a particular scenario. Here’s an example:

The problem is that it is not known how elementary specials teachers perceive the inclusion of STEM curriculum in non-general education classes.

It is not necessarily a bad thing that STEM curriculum is infused in arts classes, for example. The problem is that no one has bothered to ask the art and music teachers about it, and they just might have some good ideas for improving its inclusion! This is an especially salient problem statement if the population being researched is not achieving STEM goals and the dissertation researcher determines to collect data that might inform a better understanding of poor performance.

The Problem Is Supported by the Literature

After taking the steps outlined above, your next steps are these. You will need to prove, with several citations, that the problem exists, and that if it is not studied, there will be negative consequences. Also remember that you are proving the existence of the problem you mention in the opening statement. You do not add more problems in this paragraph. Here is a fictional example of what I mean:

The problem is that the hierarchical employee structures within Fortune 500 companies diminish employee initiative. According to Smith (2020), hierarchical systems result in bloated costs to the corporation. In addition, Jones (2021) noted that hierarchical systems result in less efficiency and create lengthier work projects. Finally, Gutierrez (2021) indicated that without a corporate reorganization away from the strict hierarchical model used by Fortune 500 companies, companies will increase their chances of poor management decisions that are costly.

In the paragraph above, the first sentence is the problem statement regarding management that stifles employee initiative. However, what do the sentences that follow it discuss? Bloated costs, less efficiency, longer time to complete projects, and poor management decisions. It’s true that all of these might be associated with strict hierarchical systems, but they do not support the statement about hierarchical systems stifling employee initiative.

Let’s revise this:

The problem is that the hierarchical employee structures within Fortune 500 companies diminish employee initiative. According to Johnson (2019), such structures inhibit decision-making, which leaves employees unsure if what they are doing is in line with departmental or corporate goals. In addition, Williams (2020) indicated that bloated management teams serve to protect management rather than employees who may be taking risks in proposing new methods, products, or ideas. Allen (2020) further explained that without changes by Fortune 500 companies in how they structure their employee hierarchy, corporate competitiveness will decrease as fewer new ideas and stale but safe products decrease consumer interest.

See the difference? We now have a first paragraph that (1) tells us what the specific problem is, and (2) directly supports the existence and reality of the problem with recent literature. We have proved that our study is based on a recent, real-world problem that other researchers have noted exists and has consequences. From this paragraph we have also established that our problem is specific.

In part 2 of this exploration on how to write the Problem Statement for your dissertation, we will discuss what goes in the second paragraph of this section as well as what the problem statement is…and is not.