1 / 19

Defining the Problem

How to identify a research topic and frame your study . Defining the Problem. What does the research/creative process look like?. Looking ahead…. Identify a topic that interests you Gather background information Find a faculty mentor that shares your interests

lowri
Télécharger la présentation

Defining the Problem

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. How to identify a research topic and frame your study Defining the Problem

  2. What does the research/creative process look like? Looking ahead…

  3. Identify a topic that interests you • Gather background information • Find a faculty mentor that shares your interests • Determine the purpose of your study and choose research methods • Conduct your research or creative project • Analyze your findings • Share your results through presentations or publications During the Research process you will…

  4. Setting up the frameworkfor your research is THE most important part of the process • Why? • The manner in which you set up your “question” and the following framework guides you through the research process Your CHALLENGE

  5. The introduction to your study is composed of three main components • 1.Purpose Statement • 2. Research Question • 3. Hypothesis Framing your research

  6. What subject areas interest you? Step 1: Identifying your topic

  7. Questions to ask yourself…. • 1. Is your topic worth researching? • Is there a gap of knowledge? • Are there discrepancies with previous studies? • To what end does it serve? • 2. Is your topic feasible to research? • 3. Should your topic be researched? Identifying your topic [cont]

  8. The purpose statement is a general description of what your research is about • The purpose statement sets the objectives, the intent and the major idea of a proposal or study • The purpose statement indicates “why you want to do the study and what you intend to accomplish” ~ Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman (2000) The purpose statement

  9. Qualitative vs. quantitative statements • Ex 1: The purpose of this study was to explore affective, social, and educational factors that may have contributed to the development of reading disabilities in four adolescents. The study also sought explanation as to why students’ reading disabilities persisted despite years of instruction. • Ex 2: We designed the study to compare the responses of Navy recruits on the IM and SD scales, collected under three conditions—with paper-and-pencil, on a computer with backtracking allowed, and on a computer with no backtracking allowed.

  10. The research problem is the center of your study The research problem is posed as a question that the data will attempt to answer The research problem is what exactly what you want to find out in your study—it narrows down the purpose by giving specific points The research problem

  11. What is a hypothesis? • A hypothesis is a focused statement which predicts an answer to yourresearch question. • A hypothesis is based on the findings of previous research as well as your previous experience with the subject. • A hypothesis is supposed to guide your research by establishing a starting point.

  12. What should a hypothesis do? • A hypothesis should… • Describe patterns • Predict relationships • Propose answers to questions.

  13. Example 1: Describing Patterns • Let’s say your research question is: “What factors lead to strong stock market performance?” • One hypothesis might be: “Stock markets tend to perform better when interest rates are low than they do when interest rates are high.”

  14. Example 2: Predicting Relationships • Let’s say your research question is: “What sort of people excel at basketball?” • One hypothesis might be: “Tall people tend to be better basketball players than short people are.”

  15. Example 3: Propose Answers • Let’s say your research question is: “Why did Vietnam join the World Trade Organization?” • One hypothesis might be: “Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization because it wanted to attract more foreign investment.”

  16. Variables vs. Constants • In most cases, developing a hypothesis means predicting relationships and/or patterns between variables. • What is a variable? • What is a constant?

  17. Variables • A variable is something that varies within a sample. • Examples: • On a men’s soccer team, positions, numbers, and player heights are all variables. • In a classroom, GPAs, names, and nationalities are all variables.

  18. Using variables to create a hypothesis • Most hypotheses will propose a relationship between two variables. • For example: Tallpeople tend to be betterbasketball players than short people. • This hypothesis includes two variables: • Height • Basketball ability • Therefore, our hypothesis is that one’s basketball ability depends on their height.

  19. Moving Forward • Developing a hypothesis is an essential step in the research process. • It reflects your understanding of your research question as well as the literature. • It helps you choose an appropriate methodology. • It provides a baseline for you to assess as you move along with your research.

More Related