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Research Questions

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Title: Research Questions


1
Research Questions
  • Darleen Opfer

2
Types of Qualitative Research Questions
  • Grand Tour
  • Sub Questions

3
Guidelines for writing qualitative questions
  • Ask one or two grand tour questions followed by
    no more than five to seven sub-questions.
  • The question format is related to specific
    qualitative methodologies.
  • For example, in ethnography there exists a
    taxonomy of questions about experience, language,
    contrast, etc.
  • In critical ethnography the questions come from a
    body of existing literature
  • In grounded theory the questions may relate to
    the procedures for data analysis open coding
    what are the categories that emerge, axial
    coding How are these categories related to one
    another?
  • Begin the question with the words what or how.
    Tell the reader that the study will do one of the
    following
  • Discover (grounded theory)
  • Explain or seek to understand (ethnography)
  • Explore a process (case study)
  • Describe the experiences (phenomenology)
  • Pose questions that use non-directional wording.
  • Expect the research questions to evolve and
    change during the study.
  • Use open ended questions without reference to the
    literature unless dictated by a specific
    qualitative design.
  • Use a single focus and specify the site in the
    research questions.

4
Ethnography example
  • How are conceptions of social studies played out
    or not played out in classroom practice?
  • How is the setting organized?
  • What kind of interpersonal dynamics exist?
  • What activities occur in each setting?
  • What information, opinions, and beliefs are
    exchanged among participants?

5
Case Study Example
  • How do women in a psychology doctoral program
    describe their decision to return to school? How
    do women in a psychology doctoral program
    describe their reentry experiences? And, how does
    returning to graduate school change these womens
    lives?

6
Activity 1 Qualitative Research Questions
  • For the first abstract, write research
    questions for the study described.

7
Types of quantitative research questions
  • They can be about comparisons between groups
  • They can be about the relationships between two
    or more variables
  • They can describe responses to variables

8
Guidelines for quantitative research questions
  • They are developed from theory the questions
    are testable propositions deduced from theory
  • The dependent and independent variables should be
    kept separate and measured separately
  • Select one form hypothesis, research question,
    or objective and not a combination
  • Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or
    Alternative/Directional) should be determined by
    the audience
  • Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or
    operational. Literary means that the variables
    are stated in abstract concepts. Operational
    means they are stated specifically.
  • Typically use variables other than demographic
    variables as independent variables. Demographic
    variables (age, income, education, gender) are
    typically mediating variables in theories instead
    of major, independent variables.
  • Use the same pattern of word order in the
    questions to establish a formal rhetorical style
    repeat key phrases and state the independent
    variables first and the dependent variables last.
  • When writing research questions or hypotheses for
    quantitative studies, write descriptive questions
    first followed by multivariate (multiple
    variable) questions.

9
Forms for Hypotheses Null Hypothesis There is
no significant difference in the accumulation of
resources and the productivity of
faculty Directional/Alternative Hypothesis The
more the accumulation of resources, the more
productive the researcher
10
Null Alternative
Literary There is no relationship between support services and academic persistence of nontraditional-aged college women. The more that nontraditional-aged college women use support services, the more they will persist academically.
Operational There is no relationship between the number of hours nontraditional-aged college women use the student union and their persistence at the college after their freshman year. The more hours that nontraditional-aged college women use the student union, the more they will persist at the college after their freshman year.
11
Guidelines for quantitative research questions
  • They are developed from theory the questions
    are testable propositions deduced from theory
  • The dependent and independent variables should be
    kept separate and measured separately
  • Select one form hypothesis, research question,
    or objective and not a combination
  • Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or
    Alternative/Directional) should be determined by
    the audience
  • Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or
    operational. Literary means that the variables
    are stated in abstract concepts. Operational
    means they are stated specifically.
  • Typically use variables other than demographic
    variables as independent variables. Demographic
    variables (age, income, education, gender) are
    typically mediating variables in theories instead
    of major, independent variables.
  • Use the same pattern of word order in the
    questions to establish a formal rhetorical style
    repeat key phrases and state the independent
    variables first and the dependent variables last.
  • When writing research questions or hypotheses for
    quantitative studies, write descriptive questions
    first followed by multivariate (multiple
    variable) questions.

12
  • Examples of repeated phrasing and variable order
    in hypotheses
  • There is no relationship between the use of
    ancillary support services and academic
    persistence of nontraditional-aged college women.
  • There is no relationship between family support
    systems and academic persistence of
    nontraditional-aged college women.

13
Guidelines for quantitative research questions
  • They are developed from theory the questions
    are testable propositions deduced from theory
  • The dependent and independent variables should be
    kept separate and measured separately
  • Select one form hypothesis, research question,
    or objective and not a combination
  • Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or
    Alternative/Directional) should be determined by
    the audience
  • Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or
    operational. Literary means that the variables
    are stated in abstract concepts. Operational
    means they are stated specifically.
  • Typically use variables other than demographic
    variables as independent variables. Demographic
    variables (age, income, education, gender) are
    typically mediating variables in theories instead
    of major, independent variables.
  • Use the same pattern of word order in the
    questions to establish a formal rhetorical style
    repeat key phrases and state the independent
    variables first and the dependent variables last.
  • When writing research questions or hypotheses for
    quantitative studies, write descriptive questions
    first followed by multivariate (multiple
    variable) questions.

14
  • Example of research question ordering for a
    quantitative study
  • How do students rate on critical thinking skills?
    (a descriptive question focused on the
    independent variable)
  • What are the students grades in science classes?
    (a descriptive question focused on the dependent
    variable)
  • What are the students prior grades in science?
    (a descriptive question focused on the mediating
    variable, prior grades)
  • What is the educational attainment of the parents
    of the students? (a descriptive question focused
    on the mediating variable, educational attainment
    of parents)
  • Does critical thinking ability relate to student
    achievement? (a multivariate question relating
    the independent and dependent variables)
  • Does critical thinking ability relate to student
    achievement, controlling for the effects of prior
    grades in science and the educational attainment
    of the students parents? (a multivariate
    question relating the independent and dependent
    variables controlling for the mediating effects
    of the two intervening variables)

15
Activity 2 Quantitative Research Questions
  • For the second abstract provided, write research
    questions for the study described.

16
  • Guidelines for mixed methods research questions
    and hypotheses
  • These studies need both qualitative and
    quantitative research questions
  • The questions need to incorporate the elements of
    good questions and hypotheses for qualitative and
    quantitative approaches
  • It may be difficult to specify research questions
    for the second phase of a two-phase sequential
    study where the second phase is to elaborate on
    the first. The researcher can state the questions
    in the final report of the study.
  • The order of the questions should follow the
    order of the phases of the study or the weight of
    the methods in the design.
  • In sequential studies, the questions can be
    introduced at the beginning of each phase.

17
Activity 3 Mixed Method Questions
  • For the third abstract, write research questions
    for the study described.

18
Activity 4 Your Own Research Questions
  • Write research questions for your own study and
    add these to your conceptual map.
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