O’Leary Chapter Two

Creswell Chapter Six

Research Questions
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Problems=opportunities, potentialities
rather than simply obstacles,
impediments, dilemmas.
 Definition of Problem: A situation where
there is a gap between what is real and
what is ideal or desired.
 Problems suitable for research are
problems where you can make a
difference.
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Steps in researching problems
 Draw on own knowledge and experience
 Read
 Stakeholder analysis and needs identification
Identify the scope/extent/# of people/organizations
likely to be
1 adversely affected
 2 causal to a problem situation
 3 involved in potential problem alleviation
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Stakeholder analysis continued
 Find out whether, how, why problem at hand
is seen as an issue or priority issue by various
stakeholder groups
 Recognize that even within various
stakeholder groups there can be a diversity of
attitudes and opintions
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Unpack problems: Before any problem is
approached through research it is
essential for researchers to critically
explore the assumptions that underpin the
natuer of the problem at hand. They also
need to understand how they, as
researchers, have come to understand a
particular problem situation
 O’Leary Chapter two
 Explore the dominant world view
 Explore your own perspectives
 Explore range of perspectives held by
various stakeholders.
 Box 2.2 example p. 31
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 From Problems to Research Questions
A well developed research question is an
essential starting point for the research
journey
 Without clear articulation of your research
question, you are traveling blind.
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Research Questions:
 Define an investigation
 Set boundaries
 Provide direction
 Act as a frame of reference for assessing your
work.
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Developing the Question
 Briefly respond to the following questions
What is your topic?
What is the context for your research?
What do you want to achieve?
What is the nature of your question?
Are there any potential relationships you want to
explore?
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Developing the Question continued:
 Using who, what, where, when, why, how and
the answers from step one, piece together a
question
 If you have developed more than one
question, decide whether you need to select
one or more questions and make that
selection
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Developing the Question continued
 Narrow and clarify until your question is as
concise and well articulated as possible.
 Assess the question(s) in relation to the
question checklist
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Question checklist
 Is the question right for you?
 Does the question have significance for an
organization, institution, group, field,
community,etc.
 Can it lead to tangible situation improvement?
 Is the question well articulated?
 Is the question researchable?
 Does the question have a level of political
support?
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Hypotheses: The role of a hypothesis is to take
your research question a step further by offering
a clear and concise statement of what you think
you will find in relation to your variables, and
what you are going to test. It is a tentative
proposition that is subject to verification through
subsequent investigation
 A hypothesis is designed to express
relationships between variables so not all
research questions will have hypotheses.
 O’Leary Chapter Two
 Do not develop hypotheses if:
 You do not have a hunch or educated guess
about a particular situation
 You do not have a set of defined variables
 Your question aims to explore the experience
of some phenomena
 Your question centers on developing rich
understandings of a group
 Your aim is to engage in, and research the
process of collaborative change.
 Creswell Chapter Six
 Qualitative Research Questions
 Generally more broad than quantitative
questions
 Utilize a central broad question and more
specific subquestions.
 Ask one or two central question with five to
seven subquestions (no more than a dozen)
 Relate the central question to the specific
qualitative strategy of inquiry.
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Qualitative Questions continued
 Begin research questions with “what” or “how” to
convey and open and emerging design
 Focus on a single phenomenon or concept
 Use exploratory verbs: discover, seek, describe,
explore…
 Use nondirectional language i.e., avoid terms such as
“affect,” “influence,” “cause,”
 Questions will evolve throughout study
 Use open-ended questions with theory/literature
 Specify participants and research site if necessary
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Quantitative Questions
 Includes both questions and hypotheses
designed to shape and specifically focus the
purpose of the study. Interrogative
statements and questions that the investigator
seeks to answer.
 Hypotheses are predictions the researcher
holds about the relationship among variables.
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 The use of variables in research questions
or hypotheses is typically limited to three
basic approaches
 Compare groups on an independent variable
to see its impact on a dependent variable
 Relate one or more independent variables to
a dependent variable
 Describe responses to the independent,
mediating, or dependent variables.
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Quantitative Research Questions
Continued…
 To add rigor, test a theory and specify
research questions and hypotheses that are
included in the theory
 Independent and dependent variables must
be measured separately
 To eliminate redundancy, write only research
questions or hypotheses, not both, unless the
hypotheses build on the research questions
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Quantitative Research Questions
 If hypotheses are used: there are two forms
Null hypothesis: represents the traditional
approach to writing hypotheses. It makes a
prediction that in the general population, no
relationship or difference exists between groups on
a variable.
 Thewording is: “There is no difference (or relationship…)
between the groups…
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Quantitative Research Questions continued…
 Hypotheses continued…
 Alternativehypothesis: The investigator makes a prediction
about the expected outcome for the population of a study
 Directional hypothesis: “Scores will be higher for Group A than
for Group B” on the dependent variable or “Group A will change
more than Group B” on the outcome. In these examples, an
expected prediction is made
 Nondirectional hypotheses: a prediction is made, but the exact
form of differences is not specified because the researcher
does not know what can be predicted from past literature. i.e.,
“there is a difference” between the two groups…
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Quantitative Research Questions
continued…
 Use nondemographic variables
(measuring attitudes and behaviors) as
independent variables unless the study
intentionally employs demographic
variables as predictors…
 Use the same word pattern
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Descriptive Questions and inferential
questions
 Write descriptive questions followed by
inferential questions…
 What are the differences? See page 113
 Creswell: Chapter Six
 Mixed Methods
 Need to include both quantitative and
qualitative questions
 Need to incorporate elements of good
questions and hypotheses already addressed
 Some attention should be given to whether
project is one-phase or multi-phase and then
to the order of the questions