論文各部分內容的作用不同，它們各司其職，從不同角度呈現研究。但同時，又有不少概念讓作者們感覺困惑，比如：Abstract 和 Introduction 有何區別？figure captions，labels 以及 legends 是同一個概念嗎？在這個系列中，意得輯作者 Fatima 就論文中常見的易混淆概念進行詳細辨析。
第五期：research question 和 research problem
A research problem is a broad issue that you would like to address through your research. It identifies a difficulty, doubt, or an area of concern, in theory or in practice, that requires thought and investigation. It is an anomaly, a limitation, or a troubling question in the real world that needs to be addressed. You can break your research problem into smaller questions that will help you move towards solving the problem.
研究大問題 (research problem) 是個寬泛的話題，它討論那些值得一說的難題，現實層面和理論層面的都有。現實生活中所受的限制和阻礙，反常現象，和棘手的問題都在討論範圍內。把研究大問題分解成幾個小問題有助於最終解決問題。Now let us understand what a research question is. A research question is the specific concern that you will answer through your research. It is derived from your research problem but is based on your study design. When you narrow down your research problem to a specific idea that points towards a feasible way to investigate or address your research problem, you get your research question. Specifying your research question is the first step in the direction of actually solving your research problem. You can then formulate the aim of your study based on your research question and accordingly decide the objectives of your research.這些被分解出來的問題我們稱為研究小問題 (research question)，相對具象。小問題基於實驗設計，並與大問題密切相關。把概念性的大問題轉化成實驗的過程中就有了小問題。解決大問題的第一步是明確小問題，有了小問題就能制定研究目標，也就有了研究內容。