Few things are possible at the community level without appropriate funding. Lack of funding is often a catalyst for other problems such as economic distress. Researchers investigating community funding issues should address possible reasons for lack of funding and possible resolutions. Citing existing case studies or creating new ones is ideal for this topic.
Strong leadership is the central to any community - thriving or struggling. Proper leadership paired with cohesive community outreach creates flourishing well-balanced communities. Poor or corrupt leadership results in crumbling and declining communities. Researchers addressing insufficient leadership issues within the community should address whether specific problems are caused by individual community leaders or by the corporate body of leadership.
This issue of disjointed or disconnected communities is prevalent in rural, less-populated areas. Because strategic planning for smaller areas involves less detail, often important facets of community organization are either left out or assigned too many responsibilities without ample funding to follow through. In disjointed communities, communication among varying sectors tends to be poor or nonexistent. Researchers exploring this matter should look into causal relationships. Determining foundational causes for this problem will create a definitive answer to the research question.
Communities large and small are not immune to the possibility of public scandal. Researchers addressing this issue should focus on the relationship between public scandal, community morale and the local economy. Scandal of any magnitude can lead to a decline in the population, severed community and business ties as well as public humiliation for the affiliated parties and the community as a whole, to name a few.
Aesthetics in the community is a superficial issue. The old adage "appearances are everything" is especially applicable where the community as a whole is concerned. A shoddy appearance can deter potential customers from the business district, avert potential new residents and lead to incorrect assumptions about the community's safety. Researchers considering this topic should investigate the relationship between a community's appearance and its success. A different potential angle would be to establish whether or not there is a correlation between a community's morale and its appearance.
Scarcity of services often plagues less-populated areas. For example, a community of 15,000 in the Oklahoma panhandle is a two-hour drive from a major metropolitan area in any direction. They have a host of staple shops, such as Wal-Mart, a grocery store and various small businesses that address basic needs. Specialty services of any kind will include mileage costs, security deposits and inconveniences. Researches addressing a void in services should focus on the repercussions that unavailability of services has on the community as a whole while addressing how this issue affects the local economy.
Community spaces in need of repair give onlookers and community members alike a poor impression of the community's vision and values. Broken or unkempt outdoor play areas are especially deterring because they give the perception that the community does not care about the safety of its residents or their children. Researchers analyzing communities in a state of disrepair should form a research question addressing reasons for disrepair as well as the resulting consequences that the community ultimately faces.