MDUM8010 Chap.3 From Practical Problem to Research Question
From Practical Problem to Research Question
Two kinds of problem
The briefing borrows its account of research from The Craft of Research by Booth and colleagues. A practical problem is a condition in the world that someone wants changed. A conceptual problem exists when we do not understand something as well as we would like, and it is solved by answering a question rather than by acting.
The dissertation works on a conceptual problem so that its answer can help with a practical one.
The chain from problem to answer
The briefing's diagram links four things in a loop. A practical problem motivates a research question. The question defines a conceptual or research problem. Working on that problem leads to a research answer, and the answer helps to solve the practical problem.
The loop keeps an applied dissertation honest in both directions: it needs a real problem behind it and a real question in front of it.
Six characteristics of a good research problem
Drawing on Terrell (2021), the briefing lists what a good research problem looks like. Investigating it should have theoretical and practical significance. It should interest the researcher.
Its scope should be manageable by one person, who has the knowledge, time and resources to investigate it. It should be researchable through collecting and analysing data, and it should be ethical to investigate.
BEST wording and example topics
For the wording of the question itself, the briefing uses four words taken from the department's planning dissertation briefing: Boundary, Exciting, Step by step and Time.
It also lists example topics from the programme, among them food delivery governance, big data and GIS for climate risk in Hong Kong, urban data privacy in smart city development, and smart mobility. Each is an area that still has to be narrowed to one place, one group or one change before it becomes a question.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Practical problems and conceptual problems
- 02
The four step problem chain
- 03
Why indifference is the worst response to research
- 04
Six characteristics of a good research problem
- 05
The BEST words for wording a question
- 06
Screening a first question before the proposal
- 07
Narrowing the briefing's example topics
- 08
What the preliminary proposal needs from the question
- 09
From a resident's complaint to a bounded question
Worked example · free
Narrow a smart city topic into a research question
- 2State a practical problem behind the topic.
- 3Set a boundary of place, group and period.
- 4Write the question and check it is researchable and ethical.
Key terms
- Practical Problem
- A condition in the world that someone wants changed, such as congestion, exclusion from a service or unmanaged risk.
- Conceptual Problem
- A gap in understanding that is resolved by answering a question rather than by acting on the world.
- Research Question
- The bounded question a dissertation answers, motivated by a practical problem and defining the conceptual problem studied.
- BEST Principles
- Four checks on the wording of a question used in the department's briefings: Boundary, Exciting, Step by step and Time.
- Manageable Scope
- A problem size that one researcher can investigate with the knowledge, time and resources available.
- Research Gap
- The specific thing the existing literature has not yet established, which the preliminary proposal must articulate in its background.
From Practical Problem to Research Question FAQ
What is the difference between a research topic and a research question?
A topic names an area, such as smart mobility in Hong Kong. A question commits to something that can be answered with evidence, with a boundary of place, group and period. The briefing's problem chain shows why the difference matters: a practical problem motivates a question, the question defines a conceptual problem, and only answering that leads to something that helps.
What makes a research problem good enough for the dissertation?
The briefing lists six characteristics from Terrell (2021): theoretical and practical significance, genuine interest to you, a scope one researcher can manage, the knowledge, time and resources to investigate it, researchability through collecting and analysing data, and being ethical to investigate. A topic that fails any one of these is likely to stall later in the year.
What does BEST stand for in the dissertation briefing?
Boundary, Exciting, Step by step and Time. The four words are borrowed from the department's planning dissertation briefing and apply to how the question is worded: it should have clear limits, interest a reader, break into ordered sub-questions, and be answerable within the time between approval and the draft deadline.
Can I use one of the example topics from the briefing?
The examples, such as big data and GIS applied to climate risk in Hong Kong, or smart mobility solutions for Hong Kong, illustrate the range of acceptable areas. Each still needs narrowing to one place, group, change or dataset before it is a question, and your specialism, if you have one, still applies.
Assessment move
Start from something you have noticed rather than from a literature: a queue, a complaint, a service that changed. Write the practical problem in one sentence, then the thing nobody seems to know about it in a second. Run the six characteristics and the four BEST words over the second sentence until it passes, and only then begin reading systematically.
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