Demystifying nursing research: defining the problem to be studied

Determining potential areas to examine for researchable nursing practice problems, stating the problem/question for study, and areas to consider after tentatively selecting a problem for study are all fundamental elements of sound research study design. At this point, if you have a problem in mind, write it in a declarative sentence beginning with: "The purpose of this study is to...". After the word "to" place an active verb such as examine, describe, determine, compare, or explore. This is only a suggested short list, but after writing the verb, go on to say what will be compared, explored, etc. Now you have declared how to begin your research "journey" and where you expect it to lead. It may take several tries before clearly capturing and stating the study problem. After you are satisfied with the problem statement, you are ready to conduct a focused literature review on the topic. Suggestions for efficient ways to do this will be covered in the next article in this series.