STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM TEMPLATE
Approach 1: Step-by-step guide to writing a statement of the problem
Step 1 (Statement 1): Describe a goal or desired state of a given situation, phenomenon etc. This will
build the ideal situation (what should be, what is expected or desired)
Example: The government of Kenya has a goal to industrialize the nation by the year 2030 (quote). In this
regard it has encouraged growth-oriented micro and small enterprises (MSEs) that should graduate into
medium and large enterprises capable of contributing to the industrialization goal.
Insert text here…
Step 2 (Statement 2): Describe a condition that prevents the goal, state, or value discussed in Step 1
from being achieved or realized at the present time. This will build the reality or the situation as it is and
establish a gap between what ought to be and what is.
Example: There is slow growth of micro into small enterprises and even slower growth of small into
medium scale enterprises (quote, show statistics). The government has officially acknowledged that
there exists a “missing middle” in Kenya meaning that there is a gap between small and large enterprises
in the country (cite, quote).
Insert text here…
This template has been created under a Creative Commons license – CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Under this license, you are
free to copy, reuse, share, redistribute, or adapt our content for non-commercial purposes. Do remember to give
us appropriate credit and share our material under the same license. Learn more about the terms of use for the
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM TEMPLATE
Step 3 (Connect the previous sentences): Connect steps 1 and 2 using a connecting term such as "but,"
"however," “unfortunately,” or “in spite of.”
Example: The government of Kenya has a goal to industrialize the nation by the year 2030 (quote). In this
regard it has encouraged growth-oriented micro and small enterprises (MSEs) that should graduate into
medium and large enterprises capable of contributing to the industrialization goal. However, there is a
slow growth….
Insert text here…
Step 4 (Statement 3): Using specific details, show how the situation in step 2 contains little promise of
improvement unless something is done. Then emphasize the benefits of research by projecting the
consequences of possible solutions.
Example: Should the “missing middle” gap persist, the industrialization goal may be difficult to achieve. A
need therefore arises to investigate why there is a persistent “missing middle” despite government
efforts.
Insert text here…
Write the complete statement here:
Insert text here…
This template has been created under a Creative Commons license – CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Under this license, you are
free to copy, reuse, share, redistribute, or adapt our content for non-commercial purposes. Do remember to give
us appropriate credit and share our material under the same license. Learn more about the terms of use for the
CC-BY-NC-SA license.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM TEMPLATE
Approach 2: Template for writing statement of the problem
There is a problem in ______________________ (e.g. organization or situation where problem is
occurring). Despite ___________________________ (efforts to prevent or deter),
_____________________ (something undesirable or unexpected) is occurring (provide evidence). This
problem has negatively affected_____________ (victims of the problem)
because_____________________________. A possible cause of this problem is
___________________________. Perhaps a study which investigates_________________ by a
___________ (paradigm/method) could help resolve the situation.
To learn more about using these templates, read the following post:
The basics of writing a statement of the problem for your research proposal
To get access to more such templates, check:
A practical handbook of templates for communicating with the journal
This template has been created under a Creative Commons license – CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Under this license, you are
free to copy, reuse, share, redistribute, or adapt our content for non-commercial purposes. Do remember to give
us appropriate credit and share our material under the same license. Learn more about the terms of use for the
CC-BY-NC-SA license.
