Chapter 4: Formulating a Research Question

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Chapter 4Formulating a Research Question

• Formulating Research Hypotheses
• Replication Research
• Designing Research for Utilization
• Bias in Formulation of Research Questions
• Summary

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Formulating Hypotheses

• Establishing a background (fig 4-1, p91)
• Choosing a topic
• Formulating the question
• Definitions http//home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/kerlinger
  .htm
• Maps http//www.psy.tcu.edu/peg/acapsy.htm
• Review of literature
• Formulate hypotheses
• Designing the study
• Writing the proposal (Schroeder et al., 85)

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Formulating Hypotheses

• Establishing a background (fig 4-1, p91)
• Psychological, not sociological, economic
• Observational unit
• Use Psychological constructs
• Psychological theory based
• Choosing a topic (want to can do)
• Bootstraps approach (lit review cycle)
• Your area of interest (CO or IO or)
• Feasibility
• something you can manipulate (think theory)

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Research Question

• Formulating the question
• Definitions http//home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/kerlinger
  .htm
• Maps http//www.psy.tcu.edu/peg/acapsy.htm
• Topic -gt question (e.g. jealousy)
• A good question
• asks about relationships among constructs
• Researchable? Operational definitions adequate?
• E.g. codependencya good construct?
• Is it important? Will it advance theory?
• Does it test competing theory
• aggression reduced by modeling (Bandura) or
  catharsis (Freud)
• Propositions central or peripheral?
• (Locke Latham, 90) difficulty of goals who
  sets them?
• Sources
• Theory, intuition, prior research, practical
  problems, analogy (McQuire)

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Formulating a Question

• Review of literature
• Purposes
• Provides scientific context
• Avoid duplication
• Id potential problems in conducting the research
• Types of information
• Relevant theories
• Previous research on the topic
• Previous methods/procedures
• Types of analyses (quant/qual corr/experimental/q
  uasi)
• Primary v. secondary and Googlin
• Peer review (Refereed) v. popular press
• Lucy Holman (actual library) v. computer search
  (Google)

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Formulating a Question

• Formulate hypotheses
• Research hypotheses
• ifthen
• Direction (pos v. negative) (one tail or two)
• Statistical hypotheses
• Stated in mean differences (IV-DV),
• E.g. H1 Gp1 lt Gp2 Gp3
• direction of relationship (corr)
• E.g. will be significantly positively related

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Formulating a Question

• Designing the study
• How research design
• What to study operational definitions
• Where to study lab, field
• Whom to study population, sample, Ps
• When cross sectional/longitudinal
• Writing the proposal (Schroeder et al., 85)
• Anticipates problems
• What the results will tell you
• Anticipates limitations
• What if the null is supported/not supported?

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Replication Research

• Exact
• Conceptual
• Different setting, population, method
• Implications of replication
• Generalizing theory and / or findings
• Type I and type II errors
• Which are more costly? (trick question)
• Considerations
• Importance of hypotheses
• Adds new information? (risky shift group
  polarization)
• Avoid Over duplication

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Research for UtilizationApplied research

• Knowledge Utilization
• Truth test (give an example)
• Utility test (give an example)
• Design Considerations
• IVs
• Policy variables (manipulate them) (example?)
• Estimator variables (measure them) (example?)
• DVs
• Outcomes (utility and value)
• Research population (use appropriate one)
• Research Setting (to fit external reality)

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Bias in Research Questions

• Biased assumptions
• Re importance of population
• Assuming a general problem is applicable to only
  one group (girls contraception)
• Biased theory
• Erroneous assumptions
• E.g. women are masochistic
• Avoiding Bias
• Get a second opinion

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Chapter 4Formulating a Research QuestionSummary

• Formulating Research Hypotheses
• Replication Research
• Designing Research for Utilization
• Bias in Formulation of Research Questions
• Summary