What Is a Problem Statement?

A Problem Statement is a description of research that CITO Research is interested in performing. It expresses an idea that has either been suggested to us by our readership, occurred to us in our own research and writing activities, or has come to us from one of our sponsors. No matter where it comes from, the goal of a Problem Statement is to determine whether or not the readership has any interest in having the research described by the Problem Statement performed.

A Problem Statement consists of the following sections:

• a title that indicates the general purpose of the Problem Statement;
• a summary that summarizes, in a paragraph or so, the goal of the research that will be performed, and the reason that it would be of interest to a CITO;
• the context and background section, which explains the origins of the Problem Statement, the surrounding context in which the Problem Statement was formed and any other contextual information;
• the research goal, which explains the reasoning behind our belief that, if we captured the knowledge and did the analysis that’s described in the Problem Statement, we would actually create something of use to CITOs;
• a Questions section, which consists of questions that define the scope of the research that we would perform.
• an area for related content, where we can link to stories and perhaps other Problem Statements that are related to this Problem Statement.
• a comments area.

A CITO would express interest in a Problem Statement by first registering for CITO Research, and then clicking a button at the top of the page that says, “would you like to track or help solve this Problem Statement?” Then a window pops up like the one below—[screenshot]. If you want to track a Problem Statement, meaning that, when this Problem Statement is updated, you’ll be notified. If you want to participate in the Problem Statement, meaning that you will not only track the Problem Statement, but will also be contacted if the Problem Statement is pursued, either by CITO Research, or if the Problem Statement is funded by one of CITO Research’s sponsors.

Problem Statement as Marketing Tool

The Problem Statement is, in addition, a way that CITO Research believes that we can redirect the marketing spending of the vendor community to be of more direct benefit to the population of CITOs with whom they seek to engage and serve in their marketing activities.

The model works as follows: if a Problem Statement proves popular and a large number of CITOs sign up to track the Problem Statement, or to participate in the Problem Statement, the vendor then can decide to fund the Problem Statement. If the vendor decides to fund the Problem Statement, then they are given permission to communicate with CITOs who have contacted CITO Research through email. This contact will be primarily focused around the research activities, although it is allowable for the vendor to make use of the emails to send marketing messages that may be of potential interest to the CITOs.
Agile Journalism and Problem Statements

In some cases, CITO Research will fund a Problem Statement internally. No matter how a Problem Statement is funded, when research is pursued, the process of Agile Journalism will be used, in which people who have expressed interest in participating will be contacted and sent material that will indicate the kind of research questions that are being pursued. These questions will start with the questions that were included on the Problem Statement, and will be extended as the research yields more results.

CITO Research’s Ethical Stance

The challenge for CITO Research as a company that both has a relationship with vendors and is designed to serve readers is to ensure the independence of its research. CITO Research also has a sister company called Evolved Media, in which we engage in creation of content and other marketing services, but the research created by CITO Research will be of little value to anybody if it is not a genuine knowledge capture that serves the needs of the CITO membership.

On the other hand, the vendors are interested in funding this research, because they are interested in creating content that serves the audience, for marketing purposes. We attempt to create a separation between the church and state, which is a long-established concept in the ethics of journalism, by performing the research without fear of outside influence, to capture knowledge that will be of use to CITO Research, and, at the end of any paper that we write, the vendor is allowed to include a short section in which they express their comments and then connect the research in the paper to their product.

We believe that this model will actually create invaluable knowledge capture that will serve the needs of our CITO audience. If our research does not serve the needs of our audience, our site will not likely attract the audience of CITOs that we are seeking. We can claim all the editorial integrity we want, and declare, as many newspapers, technology firms, research firms and analyst firms, that we are “independent. “ We believe that it is more important to explain clearly the ethical dilemmas and demonstrate the quality of our content as an example of this independence, rather than merely claim it.

We encourage you, if you find that you think we are biased in our research in any way, or in our coverage, to please contact us or make comments in the stories. Our goal is to serve the audience of CITOs, and we cannot do that without your participation.