Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

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Hernon and Metoyer discovered nine attributes that respondents associated with problem statement:

1. clarity and precision;
2. identification of what would be studied, while avoiding the use of value-laden words and terms;
3. identification of an overarching question and key factors or variables;
4. identification of key concepts and terms;
5. articulation of the study's boundaries or parameters;
6. some generalizability;
7. conveyance of the study's importance, benefits, and justification;
8. no use of unnecessary jargon;
9. conveyance of more than the mere gathering of descriptive data providing a snapshot.