Describing a Research Problem Resources Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.   Utilizing the introduction to this unit and text readings, describe a research problem that you are considering as the focus for your Pre-proposal Assignment. While it is too early to have necessarily identified a true gap in the literature, the two journal articles you located will stimulate your thinking about a possible research problem related to your topic of interest. While you may decide to modify your research problem later, this discussion assignment is the first step toward developing your course pre-proposal assignment. In the description of your research problem, be sure to: Explain why this is an important problem that deserves study. Cite two empirical journal articles to demonstrate that you have begun exploring the literature related to your topic. Cite the course text to demonstrate that you have incorporated an authoritative source on research methods. Describe how it might benefit you as a counselor if studies addressing this research problem were conducted. All discussion posts are expected to be written at a graduate level, be free from writing errors, follow Standard English grammar, and incorporate correct APA format for citations and references. The suggested length for this posting is 350–450 words.