23/02/2026
Here are reasons why writing a research background of the study is a struggle:
- Like other parts of a research paper, the background section is integral to the success of the research. The background contains a well defined thesis statement[ TS] and more. It is that statement that encapsulates the main idea or focus of the research with directional implications in all forms of research. However, poor understanding of the meaning of the background of the study and what it should contain is a major pitfall for students globally.
The background section has many aspects including a TS. A well-written thesis statement provides visionary input to the whole research, any critical readers looks out for it first. It gives an overview of the research in one statement which is not professional empowering and educationally intuitive. Despite these, the act of writing a structured TS remains a major problem for students across different disciplines including nursing. It is a major cause of shallow-written projects or researches with poor data quality.
A well established review of facts related to disease characterisation provide a rich epidemiology background, offering deeper insights to the scope of the problem phenomenon being addressed. Epidemiology, relates to causes, effects, and determinants of a given disease and it is useful in the narration of research problem scope. However, knowing how each parameters of reporting of epi-related facts drives or underpins a given research improves research quality significantly. In health-related disciplines, an epidemiological review is inevitable, so why students struggle with it conceptualisation and application?
Poorly written epidemiology review in health research shows understanding deficit of the scope of the problem in health research research. You must get your epidemiological review section right to underscore the causal effects of the problem from different standpoints of measurement, and related influences on designed outcome metrics of choice. Get it right with your incidence and prevalence reporting and related influences based on agreed indicators. Of what use is a research if the scope of the problem is not properly explored using great data sources or fact sheets?
Use of data sources with poor validity may cost you alot in health research. Unlike research in other fields, health research is critical because it is used to policy and drive change related to human lives and patient safety. Health priorities include patient safety at all levels and health-related research must reflect the same in all stages or phases of the research process. It is important to note that when writing your background of study in a health-related research, researchers must explore rich or valid data sources to expand on historical antecedents associated with the disease or health condition of interest.
However, in system-related research the process differs a little. Every organisational antecedents in a given area can be explored. For example, a researcher wants to study why nurses at Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Kaduna Nigeria are protesting in the past days, the researcher may require a review of the antecedent of that hospital with regards to staff salary to underscore why the problem is existing.
Still, when exploring research problem linked to organisational performance, management, and more, the same principle applies, but this time, researchers do well to identify the problem through a SWOT analysis.
A well structured SWOT analysis exposes evident organisational gaps. This can be systemic, humanistic, or structural. Students who fail to exhaust these aspects of the background section will struggle big time.
- Another aspect of the background of the study is the section where contextualisation is required. There are different contexts to a problem so researchers must explain how they contextualise research problem issuing theoretical models. These models should help readers understand what is being explained in order to clearly offer professional-evidence clarifications to emerging concepts within the problem statement. Here comes the question: How many theories related to the identified concepts in your research do you know? What are the critical assumptions of those theories and how can these assumptions be used to explain or clarify identified concepts? Failure to explore these result in the presentation of a shallow piece of research with many supervisor's red marker.
- As concepts emerge from literature, researchers must explore them in great depth to find what works for you per time.
- Based on identified conceptual gaps, provide a thorough empirical review. This process enhance gap finding. It entails critical analysis of past studies that inform deeper understand of the nature and characterisation of the research gap identified.
Then use suitable conceptual frameworks to model your research work and outputs. This can be a linear model or a more robust one.
Poor conceptual framework destroys the dynamic of research and should be sorted at the beginning of a study. students who fail to use a defined conceptual framework struggle with organisation and structuring of their research output and such characterisation attract low scores. In addition, the problem phenomenon of choice must be clearly explored in the background in a holistic manner to aid easy readership. Share your thoughts in the comments if this adds value to you. May you week be filled with good tidings!
I am Nurse Pat and I use research to guide my understanding of problems we encounter on daily basis.
*****For further insight on the background of study in health research, we are a DM away.
