The goal of this short paper is to show, why a clear research question is important for successful research and for a rigorous paper or thesis. In addition it outlines how a research question can be formalized in a sound form. Therefore the first chapter of this paper describes the different kinds of research questions and their characteristic. Chapter three focuses on the development process of a research question and chapter four concentrates on the research questions task and its impact on a research project. We conclude by summarizing how it impacts our thesis. . What is a research question? Generally a research question can be defined as a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied (Campbell et. al. , 1982).
The research question usually consists of one or two sentences that state precisely what will be confirmed, refuted or generally answered. There are several ways to draw a research question. One possibility is to start from a broad idea and then narrow it down.
Another approach is to begin with a specific question and generalize it in order to identify the overall research area. In either case t is important to distinguish the research question from the broader research area or the overall topic. Any topic will be difficult to research if it is too broad or too narrow. Thus for a proper paper or thesis a suitable and balanced research gap has to be identified and then defined through the research question. Furthermore, it sometimes is not quite clear at the beginning, which research question should be answered and what the corresponding research area is. Punch (1998) made an ostensive example: “When asked the key question ‘What are you trying to find out? ’, students will often respond by identifying an area. The research area is a broader topic within which many different research questions can be defined.
The Research paper on Research Question 2
The aim of the research paper, which is a requirement in the second term of the academic year for the advanced students, and sometimes for the intermediate students too, is to equip our students with precious skills of conducting research using various sources and then putting up all the data they have gathered into one meaningful whole and interpreting the results. They also learn how to format ...
The overall topic of hedge funds for example is a research area. Many different questions could be raised in this area. An example for a specific research question within the topic of hedge funds could be: „Has hedge fund performance decreased in recent years? “ 2. 1. General and specific research questions We have discussed the difference between research area and research question and are now aware, that a research area in general is a broad field whereas a research question focuses on a specific topic within that field.
Furthermore it is important to distinguish general research questions and specific research questions. General research questions give an idea what the topic is about and guide our thinking (Punch, 1998).
Furthermore they are of great value at the beginning of a thesis and when the first literature analysis is done. But general research questions are not specific enough to be answered and could lead into confusion when not specified more precisely. Creswell (2009) suggests that a research question should fulfill the following requirements: ? ? ? It should start with words such as “how” or “what”.
It should contain exploratory verbs, such as “explore” or “describe”. Its focus should initially be on one central phenomenon of interest. Compared to Punch (1998) Creswell (2009) does not differentiate between specific and general research questions. 2 2. 2. Relation between research question and hypothesis A well-thought-out and focused research question usually leads directly into the hypotheses of the research. According to a common definition hypotheses are “more specific predictions about the nature and direction of the relationship between two variables“ (Mellenbergh, 2008).
The Essay on Statistical Hypothesis Test Answers
Research Question 3 : Is there any significant difference between Buddhist and non-Buddhist in their use of nonviolent strategies to solve problems? Hypotheses Null Hypothesis (H₀) : There is no significant difference between Buddhist and non- Buddhist in their use of nonviolent strategies to solve problems Research Hypothesis (H₁) : There is a significant difference between Buddhist and non- ...
Strong hypotheses give insight into a research question and give a hint on what we will find when we answer the research question. A hypothesis gives therefore an a priori answer to the research question. Punch (1998) makes the following connection between hypothesis and research question: “A specific research question states what we are trying to find out. The hypothesis predicts, a priori, the answer to that question. ” Punch (1998) suggest that we do not need a hypothesis in any case. It only makes sense when we have an explanation in mind behind the hypothesis. A further question we should ask is what answer we expect and why.
If we expect a certain answer only because previous research has found it to be true, we do not need to propose a hypothesis. To summarize and find out whether a hypothesis is reasonable one can follow figure 1. Is a hypothesis reasonable? Do you have an explanation in mind for the question? Yes Is the expected answer predictable? Yes Is the answer predictable due to previous research? No It is suggested to formulate a hypothesis Figure 1: Decision scheme to decide whether a hypothesis is necessary for a research project (based on Punch, 1998) 3. Development of a research question
To develop a strong research question given a broad idea the following questions will help to find out whether the idea should be followed (Robson, 2002): ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Do I know the field and its literature well? What are the important research questions in the field? What areas need further exploration? Could my study fill a gap or lead to a greater understanding? Has a great deal of research already been conducted in this area? Has this study been done before? If so, is there room for improvement? Is the timing right for this question to be answered? Will the study have a significant impact on the field?
Once a broad research idea is found, the next step is to refine the area to get a specific research question. It is suggested talking to other people also interested in the topic. One approach to refine the research question with discussions is the Delphi technique. The Delphi technique uses a group of people who are either involved or interested in the research idea to generate a more specific research question (Robson, 2002).
The Essay on Stem Cell Research and the Human Genome Project
Applications of Biotechnology: Stem Cell Research and the Human Genome Project Stem Cells Stem cells are unspecialized cells found in large quantities in bodies of fetuses and in some parts of the adult body. These unspecialized cells are capable of forming other organs, which make it one of the controversial issues in medical ethics. The benefits of stem cell transplant are very huge, but the ...
After reviewing some literature and getting more familiar with the topic of interest there is probably the most critical state in generating a research question: The research area has to be tested against the suggested checklist. It may be that after a preliminary study one decides that the research question is no longer feasible. But that is exactly the significance of developing a solid research question. Then it is far better to revise the research question at this stage than to find out later, that an important aspect has been neglected. Therefore in literature it is suggested to take your time whenever a research question is developed (e. g. Sauders et al. , 2007).
It is one of the key criteria of research success to compose a clear research question.
Compared to the research area, defining a research question is not a straightforward matter. Research questions can unfold as the study develops or they can be fully prespecified at the beginning of the study. Punch (1998) pointed out, that there are advantages of prespecified research questions for the reasons described before. Another question that comes up when designing a research question is the complexity it will cover. Therefore it is suggested that researchers ask at the beginning of the definition of the specific research question if it is too broad, too narrow or just right.
Clough and Nutbrown (2002) suggest the “Goldilocks test” to decide whether a research question is too big or too small. Assessing the complexity of a research question is not quite easy at the beginning of a paper or thesis. The authors note that good research questions are those that are just right for investigation at this time, by this researcher and in the defined research setting. In this context again it makes a lot of sense to discuss the final research question with other people involved in the topic. Figure 2 outlines the research question’s part in Punch’s (Punch,1998) overall research model.
As explained previously the question is always defined in relation to a preselected research area and based on an extensive literature review. After the research question is verbalized and in case a hypothesis is needed, it is defined and the research is designed on the basis of the framing research question. It is determined which data is required to answer the question and the appropriate data is collected and analyzed. Based on the collected data the research question is answered or in case a hypothesis was defined, the hypothesis is tested for validity.
The Research paper on Applied Research Questions
1.What are the similarities between descriptive and inferential statistics? What are the differences? When should descriptive and inferential statistics be used? Descriptive statistics describes data by organizing factors of a sample such as culture, gender, age, or location and is shown with charts or graphs. Descriptive statistics can interpret larger portions of data and reduce larger portions ...
Figure 2: Research model (without (dark process) and with a hypothesis (incl. the light green steps) (based on Punch, 1998) 4. What is the main role of the research question? The matter about the research question’s significance can be analyzed on a more detailed level. Thus we try to assess the main role of the research question within a research project and answer the interrelated question why it is useful for the researcher and for the research in general. Punch identified the research question’s five main tasks that also describe the significance of the research question and its role in a research project (Punch 1998): ?
Research questions organize the project, and give it direction and coherence. ? Research questions delimit the project, showing its boundaries. 4 ? ? ? Research questions keep the researcher focused during the project. Research questions provide a framework for writing up the project. Research questions point to the data that will be needed. The previously listed purposes of the research question can be classified in two groups. On the one hand the question’s purpose is to keep the overall research project on track, on the other hand it makes sure that the researcher is focusing on the real purpose of his or her work.
In order to assure that the research is focused on a realistic scope and contribution, it defines the direction of the research project and sets up its boundaries. Thus the project is limited to a concrete problem which makes the overall project solvable. In relation to the overall research, a well defined research question guides the tasks and makes sure that individual tasks stay within the scope of application. In order to answer the research question the research needs to stay within the predefined constraints. For the researcher the research question has a magnificent advantage.
It helps him or her to keep the overall aim of this work in mind. Thus it is much easier to work in an efficient and target oriented way whenever the goal has been defined clearly. A well defined research question inherently defines the structure of the research. Thus, while writing up the research results in a paper or thesis the research question provides a framework for structuring the research report. Finally the research question also defines the kind of data that is necessary for answering it. It provides the basic understanding of the required qualitative or quantitative data and helps to define the ata collection process which includes more detailed information regarding the data itself as well as possible sources. In addition to the researcher, the research question also helps the reader of a publication to make a quick decision whether the publication is relevant for his or her area of interest or not. Therefore the research question can also support and speed up the literature review process. Additionally the research question can help the reader of any kind of research publication in order to understand the work and its limitation in the context that was defined by the writer. . Implication for our thesis As we both are at an early stage of our research and PhD project, where it comes to the definition of a specific research question, a serious examination of this topic was very helpful. The structure of the assignment in group form helped us to discuss our research area. This is exactly what we suggested several times in our paper. The process of reflection is very important. Explaining to each other what we want to discuss and work on in our thesis helped us looking at our questions from a different point of view.
The Essay on Project Management Processes for a Project
In the pursuit to deliver exceptional product software for internal users of the company, the selection of an appropriate process methodology is imperative. One of the departments noticed that the input data in the company’s internal systems did not reflect the actual data in other department systems. A project team was developed to create a new upgraded system that will sustain data from both ...
Each others input additionally helped us to develop an idea for the structure of our overall project. Another important learning was that it usually takes a lot of time to develop research questions. We both agreed that part of the developing process is to work in iterations. That means to start with an initial definition of the research question and revise, extend and improve it again and again until it is properly defined and a research process can be derived that is necessary to answer it. Thus our project taught us to remain relaxed in the overall research process.
Especially in the beginning of a PhD project one often gets nervous because it takes a long time in order to define the scope of a thesis without producing any significant results that can be used later. Therefore working on this topic helped us to keep our expectation regarding the progress of our PhD project on a realistic level because we now know that you have to start with very little steps. 5 Commented bibliography: Stefan Bischoff (11-618-303) Tanja Radler (04-1820-02) Campbell, J. P. ; Daft, R. L. ; Hulin, C. L. (1982).
The Research paper on Changing a Qualitative Research Into a Quantitative Study
Fry and her colleagues undertook a qualitative research to develop a moral distress model in military nursing. Using the same problem statement, literature analysis and background information, this paper aims at converting the qualitative study carried out by Fry and her colleagues into a quantitative study. The study entails setting different research questions and collecting data that aims at ...
What to Study: Generating and Developing Research Questions. Beverly Hills, CA, SAGE Publications.
The authors explicitly elaborate the best way of how to verbalize the research question. Additionally they also mention aspects that researchers need to be take into account when defining the research questions. This book was very helpful for our work. Clough, P. ; Nutbrown, C. (2002).
A Student’s Guide to Methodology. Beverly Hills, CA, SAGE Publications. The authors extensively describe the importance of methodology. The paper contains many examples that were very helpful for us. For many methodological approaches the authors provided excellent examples which enhanced understandability.
They also used examples from other research domains which in most cases showed the limits of applicability. Creswell, J. W. (2009).
Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Beverly Hills, CA, SAGE Publications. The book is generally not very useful to get more information about research question as the book focuses on different approaches of research design. Nevertheless the author describes in chapter the purpose and requirements of research questions. Disadvantageous was that the author does not differentiate between general and specific research question what in quite common it the other literature.
Mayring, P. (2002).
Theorie qualitativen Denkens. In Mayring, P. (ed. ).
Einfuhrung in die qualitative Sozialforschung. 5th ed. , Weinheim, Beltz, pp. 19-39. This article provides a general overview over qualitative research within the environment of qualitative social studies. The author identifies and discusses thirteen different aspects that are important for qualitative research and qualitative thinking. The value and purpose of the research question are not topics in this paper. Mellenbergh, G. J. (2008).
Research designs: Advising on Research Methods: A consultant’s companion.
Huizen, Johannes van Kessel Publishing. Chapters six and eight give a quick overview of the most important information. Therefore we used the book mainly for as a first source of information. Basically the text was written for the advisory business. The topic about hypothesis was not very helpful as the statistical methodology is predominantly described. Punch, K. F. (1998).
Introduction to Social Research. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Beverly Hills, CA, SAGE Publications. The third chapter which described the research question in detail was the most important source of information.
Compared to other literature the author summarized the relevant topics in one chapter. The logical structure of the topics and the simple language helped to use the chapter as an optimal initial literature. Robson, C. (2002).
Real World Research. 2nd ed. , Oxford, Blackwell. The book is mainly an application for the advisory business. Nevertheless some techniques (e. g. Delphi technique) were described that were useful for our topic as well. The systematic approach described in this context was well demonstrated. Most other chapters were though not relevant to us.
Sauders, M. ; Lewis, P. ; Thornhill, A. (2007).
Research Methods for Business Students. 4th ed. , Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall. The book “Research Methods for Business Students” is designed for a research methodology course and describes in logical order the process of the research design. One chapter focuses on research topic and the descriptions are therefore quite extensive. To us this was extremely advantageous as the importance of the research question has been showed quite well in the book. Overall the book is written comprehendible.
