Six Types of The Research Problem

Research Problem

Six types of the research problem - A problem is a question that requires answers. Research is the process of finding to get solutions to the issues at hand.

The problem reflects the ignorance of a human being. At the same time, research is a way or effort of man to overcome his ignorance so that the problem can turn into a piece of new knowledge.

The position of the problem in the research activities is crucial. Truth and accuracy in problem formulation determine half of problem-solving.

Every research to be carried out must always depart from a problem. Finding research problems is not an easy job, but when the researcher can see the problem's point, the research work will soon be accessible.

Problem Sources

There are six types of problem sources;

1. Personal Experience

Personal experience can be a source of a problem in research related to the history of development and personal or professional life. Subjective experience can raise issues that lead researchers to practical answers to gain a deeper understanding.

Sources of personal experience problems include readings, discussions, seminars, scientific meetings, or a quick observation.

2. Social Issues

Social issues can also be a source of research problems. For example, college graduates' high unemployment raises research questions about 'the suitability of the curriculum to society's needs.'

Another example is when there is a social issue in frequent fights between students in school. So, the problem format is 'the effectiveness of the implementation of moral education and the development of discipline attitudes in the school environment.'

3. Observation

Observation is the richest source of research problems. Research problems can begin from words of certain relationships that still do not have sufficient explanations and common ways to perform actions based on tradition.

Observations are likely to produce new theories, practical problem-solving recommendations and identify variables that the discussion is not there yet.

4. Libraries

The research results may provide recommendations on the need to conduct a re-study, either with a variety or not. Research reports are not uncommon to also present requests to other researchers to conduct further research.

The results of existing research in the library can also help determine problems for new research.

5. Deduction from theory

The theory is a concept that is still in the form of general principles whose application cannot be known as long as empirical testing has nothing yet. The investigation of a problem derived from the theory helps obtain a practical explanation of the theory's practice.

6. Practical situation

At a particular stage of making a decision, it is not uncommon to urge to conduct an evaluative study. The results of this research are essential as a basis for further decision making.

Types of The Research Problem

There are six types of research problem;

1. Descriptive Problems

A descriptive problem is related to self-contained variables, either on one or more variables or independent variables. So in this study, the researchers did not compare that variable in other samples and looked for that variable's relationship with other variables.

Examples of descriptive problems:

• How well is the Ministry of National Education performing?
• How high is the interest in reading and the average length of study per day of students across Canada?
• How high is the level of public happiness with the government in the field of education?
• How high is the effectiveness of school-based management policies in the United States?
• What is the opinion of the society towards state universities incorporated?

2. Comparative Problems

Comparative Problems is a research problem formulation that compares one or more variables in two or more different samples or at other times.

Examples of comparative problems:

• Is there a difference in learning achievement between students from public and private schools? (Research variables are learning achievements in two samples, namely public and private schools).
• Are there differences in discipline between city and country school teachers? (one variable two samples).
• Are there differences in learning motivation and learning outcomes between students from teacher families, private employees, and traders? (two variables, three samples).
• Are there differences in the productivity of scientific work between State Universities and Private Universities? (one variable two samples).

Associative Problems

Associative Problems is a research problem formulation that asks about the relationship between 2 or more variables.

Symmetrical Associative

Symmetric associative is a relationship between 2 or more variables that happen to occur together. So, it's not a casual or interactive relationship.

Examples of associative problem formulation:

• Is there a relationship between hair color and school leadership skills?
• Is there a relationship between the number of radios in countryside areas and the number of people attending school?
• Is there a connection between the house near the railroad tracks and the number of children?
• Is there a relationship between the number of umbrellas sold and the number of school students?

Causal Associative

The causal associative is a relationship in the form of cause and effect. So, in that association are the independent variables (variables that affect) and the dependent variable (affected).

Examples of causal associative problem formulation:

• Is there any effect of parental education on children's learning achievements? (parent education independent variables and learning achievement dependent variables).
• How much does classroom layout affect the efficiency of high school learning?
• How much influence does vocational school head leadership have on the speed with which graduates get jobs? (independent variable direction and speed of obtaining dependent irregular jobs).
• How much influence do curriculum, education media, and teacher quality affect the quality of human resources generated from a school? (curriculum, media, and teacher quality as independent variables and human resource quality as dependent variables).

Interactive Associative

Interactive relationships are mutually affecting associations. Here it is not known which independent and dependent variables.

Examples of Interactive Associative:

• What the association between motivation and learning achievement of elementary school students in Enugu city?. In this example, formulating a problem with motivation affects achievement, but achievement can also affect stimulation.
• What the relationship between intelligence and wealth?. Brightness can cause richness, as can rich people can increase intelligence because nutrition is complete.