Q: Can you help me write a question and SOP in qualitative research?

Your question wasn’t very clear. So, we have edited it for clarity. It seems you wish to know how to write (come up) with a research question and a statement of the problem for a qualitative study. We shall provide a short description of each and then share relevant links to help you get started.

A research question is a specific topic you will be studying in your research. As your research is a qualitative one, it will have to be an examination of a particular behavior, attitude, response, belief, or some other such aspect that is typically explored in a qualitative study. To come up with a research question, you will need to look at gaps in existing studies until you can arrive at one particular gap that you wish to explore. For this, you will first need to do a comprehensive literature search and review.

For more information on how to come up with a research question, refer to the following resources:

• How to choose a research question
• Finding the right research question is the first step to successful publication
• How to find an original research question?

The statement of the problem is an expression of the research problem you will be studying. It discusses the problem, the consequences of the problem, the ideal state (in the absence of the problem), and how your study will address the problem. The statement of the problem is thus a more detailed discussion of the research question. Both the research question and the statement of the problem are written in the Introduction section.

For more information on how to develop a statement of the problem, refer to the following resources:

• The basics of writing a statement of the problem for your research proposal
• What do I write in my problem statement?
• Can you give me an example of a statement of the problem from an actual proposal?