So it is with most research problems. The researcher usually cannot deal with the principal research problem as a whole. To proceed logically, one should closely inspect the principal problem because research will soon cause the appropriate and, in fact, necessary subproblems to float to the surface. Be resolving them, we finally resolve the main problem. If researchers don't take the time or trouble to isolate the lesser problems within the major problem, their research projects become cumbersome and unwieldy.
Research is guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.
Having stated the problem and the attendant subproblems, each subproblem is then viewed through a construct called a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a logical supposition, a reasonable guess, an educated conjecture. It may direct your thinking to the possible source of information that will aid in resolving the research problem through the resolution of each attendant subproblem. Hypotheses are nothing new. They are constant, recurring features of everyday life.