Constructing a research problem: From the story of a female patient with multiple sclerosis to a nursing research project on sexual health

The research problem, an essential step in the scientific research process, comprises different components that should be combined within the same time frame, hence its complexity. There is no consensus regarding its definition, and the ways in which it can be constructed have received little attention in the literature. Forming a research problem is an intellectual and reflective process that involves questioning, documentation, and choices aimed at moving from an idea or subject to a specific research question. In particular, the construction of the research problem makes it possible to define the theoretical, methodological, and analytical orientation of the research. This is an essential step that positions research within a continuum of disciplinary knowledge, and in this case, within the history of nursing knowledge.
The aim of this article is to show, using a concrete example from nursing practice, how analyzing clinical observations can enable the formation of a research problem for a single project and then a whole research program. The clinical situation described here concerns the sexual health of female patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Alongside detailing personal experience and the individual approach taken, reinterpreted, this involves concretely illustrating abstract elements, in a twofold process, drawing upon a particular situation and empirical observations, and using theoretical knowledge to transform these elements into communicable and transferable information that can be used to construct a research problem.
Bringing to light the invisible story behind the construction of a research problem can be beneficial for learning, but also reveals the conceptual framework drawn from the field of nursing, which can be applied to a care setting. The example presented in this paper illustrates how nursing knowledge can be created through the use of research methods and theoretical models, and how these can then be used in nursing.