Explain the issue you are examining and why this area is important to the general area under study.
• Describe the topic of the study
• Why the study needs to be conducted
• Implication of the study
Background & Significance
A description of what is already known about this area and a short discussion of why the background studies are not sufficient.
• Summarize what is already known about the field.
• Include a summary of the basic background information on the topic gleaned from your search.
• Identify an area of concern or phenomena of interest with a particular population and/or setting.
Problem Statement/Purpose of the Study
• Include the problem statement indicating what is known and not known and provide the basis for the purpose of the review (this is the rationale for the review).
o As a part of the Introduction, effective problem statements answer the question “Why does this research need to be conducted?” The clear statement of the problem is the focal point of your research. It should state what you will be studying, whether you will do it through experimental or non-experimental investigation, and what the purpose of your findings will be. In it, you are looking for something wrong, something that needs close attention, or something where existing methods no longer seem to be working.
o In your wording, be succinct and on target. Give a short summary of the research problem that you have identified. A research proposal may not be considered acceptable or credible if you fail to clearly identify the problem. Your biggest difficulty might be narrowing the topic since the topic is still relatively unfamiliar to you. Your Literature Review should be a helpful source.
• While the problem statement itself is just one sentence, it is always accompanied in the larger Introduction by several paragraphs that help to elaborate and that may include other elements of the research proposal. You might present persuasive arguments as to why the problem is important enough to study or include the opinions of others (nurses, physicians, public health advocates, other professionals). Explain how the problem relates to health, disease, or nursing by presenting a bit of evidence from your literature search that demonstrates the scope and depth of the problem. Try to give dramatic and concrete illustrations of the problem. After writing the Introduction, however, make sure you can still easily identify the single sentence that is the problem statement.
