Research Questions

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Research Questions

• Darleen Opfer

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Types of Qualitative Research Questions

• Grand Tour
• Sub Questions

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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.

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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?

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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?

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Activity 1 Qualitative Research Questions

• For the first abstract, write research
  questions for the study described.

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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

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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.

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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
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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.
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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.

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• 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.

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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.

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• 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)

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Activity 2 Quantitative Research Questions

• For the second abstract provided, write research
  questions for the study described.

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• 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.

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Activity 3 Mixed Method Questions

• For the third abstract, write research questions
  for the study described.

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Activity 4 Your Own Research Questions

• Write research questions for your own study and
  add these to your conceptual map.