21/12/2012
My beloved colleagues Assalamu alaikum,
How to evaluate Problem Statement in a PhD Research Proposal? Series 2

A problem statement is a specific condition that needs urgent attention and a possible solution. Problem statement attempts to fill a gap in the existing knowledge that requires serious attention. An excellent problem statement is just a line or two. The rest of the paragraph(s) is its elaboration; possible solution and most importantly who says that it is a problem (cite scholarly references). The problem must generate questions for the research to answer. 

A PhD proposal problem statement must challenge to answer the following questions:

What is the problem? What?
Where is the problem? Where?
How to solve the problem? How?
Why you want to solve the problem? Why?
Is the problem current?
Will the problem continue in the future if it is not solved? Who is suffering by that problem?
Will this problem prove or disprove the existing knowledge?

 Qais Faryadi (FST)