explore two critical components of your doctoral journey—the social problem and the research problem. The two are inevitably linked but also separate components of your research. You started to explore the differences between the social problem and the research problem earlier in your program, but this distinction will become increasingly important as you continue toward your dissertation or capstone project.
Before you identify your research problem, you will need to locate the social problem within both public and intellectual discourse. This will expand your knowledge and give you a better understanding of the breadth and complexities of your selected social problem. As a result of this understanding, you will start to identify a gap in the research, something that has yet to be addressed to the extent that it could or should be, leading to your research problem.
In this Assignment, you will examine how the social problem and the research problem are represented in abstracts from PhD dissertations or DSW capstone projects. This will help you further refine your distinction between the two and prepare you to explore the research gap for your selected social problem later in this course.
To Prepare
• Review the Differences Between a Social Problem and Research Problem video from your Learning Resources.
• Review the Epistemology Guide from your Learning Resources.
• Review the epistemology chart in Appendix A of Franco’s (2016) article.
• For DSW students, review the DSW Abstracts document from your Learning Resources this week.
• For PhD students, review the PhD Abstracts document from your Learning Resources this week.
Submit a 1- to 2-page paper that addresses the following:
• For each abstract:
• Write the title of the article to which the abstract belongs.
• In 1 sentence, identify the social problem the author(s) selected to investigate.
• In 1 sentence, identify the research problem the author(s) selected to investigate.
• In 3–5 sentences, explain how you identified the social problem and the research problem from the abstract. How do you know you have identified each correctly?
• In a final 3–5 sentences, explain how the social problem and the research problem impact your future role as a scholar-practitioner. What role should they each play in your career?
Sample Answer
When exploring doctoral abstracts, it is critical to distinguish between the social problem and the research problem. The social problem is a broad, real-world issue that affects individuals or society. The research problem, conversely, is a specific, narrower gap in the existing literature that the study aims to address.
Abstract Analysis
Title of the Article: Social Support and Academic Achievement: The Role of Teacher and Family Support on Student Outcomes
Social Problem: The persistent issue of low academic achievement among students, which has broad consequences for individual opportunities and societal well-being.
Research Problem: The lack of understanding regarding the specific impact of the source and type of social support (e.g., from teachers vs. family) on student academic outcomes.
I identified the social problem by looking for the large-scale, real-world issue that the abstract introduces. The abstract mentions "low academic achievement," which is a societal concern. The research problem was found by identifying the gap in knowledge that the study intends to fill. The text points out that while social support is known to be important, the specific roles of different sources of support are not well understood. I know my identification is correct because the social problem is a general, complex issue, while the research problem is a specific, solvable question within the academic field.
The Scholar-Practitioner Role
The distinction between the social problem and the research problem is foundational to my future role as a scholar-practitioner. The social problem will be the compass of my career, guiding my work toward issues that have a meaningful impact on society. It will be my motivation to work on a problem that is complex and affects many people. The research problem will be the roadmap, providing the specific, actionable steps I can take to contribute to the field. It will keep my work focused and grounded in evidence-based practice, ensuring that my interventions are not just well-intentioned but also effective. Together, they will enable me to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world practice, ensuring that my scholarship informs and improves my work as a practitioner.
You can learn more about how a social problem can be developed into a research problem in this video. Developing Social Problems into Research Problems