4.3 Statement of Problem

The problem's formal declaration — a paragraph (or a page) that states: the context (the law's area and its importance), the gap (what is unknown/unresolved), the question(s) (the interrogative form — the research's precise questions), and (in the empirical design) the objectives' list (the numbered answers sought). The statement's tests: the specificity (one problem, not a province), the answerability (the evidence exists or is collectable), the neutrality (the question without the smuggled conclusion), and the scope's honesty (the limits declared). Example's anatomy (the exam's craft): "Untouchability's criminalisation has not delivered protection" is a conclusion; "What explains the enforcement gap in caste-discrimination cases in districts X and Y between 2068 and 2080?" is a research problem — the difference is the whole unit.