How to identify a research problem?

The first series of questions I would like to ask myself when identifying a research problem are:

• What is the issue I want to address? Have an introduction of the issue that can capture readers' attention and readers can easily understand what you are trying to do. 
• Why is it necessary and important to address the issue? Justify the research problem using scholarly literature, workplace or personal experience.
• How will my study build upon and then expand the existing literature of the issue? It is useful to find deficiencies in the literature of the area you want to explore.
• Who will benefit from my study, and how? The ethics review also requires the applicants to indicate the benefits of your study to the researcher, participants, research community, and society at large. Preparing for the ethics review helps me rethink who is the potential audience of my study and what are the benefits for my audience.

As you design and conduct a study, make sure that you are clear about the distinctions among the research topic, research problem, purpose, and research questions. They look similar, but differences exist (see p.60). The differences reflect the development of designing a research, from choosing a general topic at the very beginning, to formulating specific research questions.

Work consulted:

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Chapter 2 in Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Pearson Education: Boston, MA.