Chapter 3: Research Question

Observation/

Background

survey

Broad area of

research

Literature

review

Problem

definition

Topic

Problem

statement

Research

questions

Theoretical

framework

Variables clearly

identified

Hypothesis

generation

Research

design

Methods

Data

collection

Analysis

Interpretation

Deduction

Hypothesis

substantiated?

RQ answered?

• Write research topic

• Formulate research questions

• A CROSS-NATIONAL COMPARISON OF SEX-TYPING AND SELECTED PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AMERICAN COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS AND ENGLISH SOCCER PLAYERS

• A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE BEHAVIOR OF GRADUATE STUDENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION, FOLLOWING THE RECENT INGESTION OF LARGE QUANTITIES OF ALCOHOL BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9:00 PM AND 10:00 PM ON TUESDAY EVENINGS DURING WINTER QUARTER

• Guides your purpose

• Each research question give clear idea of your research

Quantitative or qualitative?

Experimental? Survey?

Should you interview people, or would the data from a survey answer it?

• With RQs, easier to identify the assumptions underlying the question, and the “theories” behind it

• Basically

o Re-formulate your topic as a research question - one that ends

with “…?”

o Ask preliminary questions about this title

• Ask as many

• Generate several questions

o Formulate a direct question - be precise

• Questions you can ask

o What are the characteristics of this thing?

o What happens?

o And in what order do things happen?

o When does it happen? To whom?

o When does it NOT happen?

o For whom is it a problem? Why is it a problem for them?

o How can one tell it is a problem?

• Keep those you can answer

Topic Preliminary questions

Disruptive behaviour among Pre-TESL Students

What are the “ disruptive behaviours”?

What happens? When does it happen? To whom?

When does it NOT happen?

For whom is it a problem? Why is it a problem for them?

How can one tell it’s a problem?

• Shortlist the questions

o What exactly IS the research problem here?

o Why is it important?

o Why does it need to be solved?

o How could I go about solving it?

o What exactly would I have to do, to solve it?

o If I did that, what would my data look like?

o What would my findings look like?

• Answer the last three as precise as you can

• What or who will form my sample?

• Why those/that, rather than others?

• How will I select them?

• How will I gain access to them?

• What exactly will I use?

• Why that/those, rather than other equipment/instruments/analytical methods?

• What are the factors that contribute towards the disruptive behaviours of Pre-TESL students?

• What are the Pre-TESL students’ (with disruptive behaviours) attitudes towards authority?

• Is there a relationship between disruptive behaviour and previous schooling of Pre-TESL students ?

• A research topic is the broad subject matter being addressed in a study.

• A research problem is an educational issue or problem in the study

• A purpose is the major intent or objective of the study.

• Research questions are questions the researcher would like answered or addressed in the study.

o These are not survey questions

General

Specific

Topic/ Area

Research

Problem

Purpose

Statement

Research

Question

Pre TESL Students

with disruptive behaviour

Pre TESL students display

disruptive behaviour

To study why Pre TESL students

display disruptive behaviour

What are the factors that contribute

towards the disruptive behaviours

of Pre TESL students?

General

Specific

Topic Area

Research

Problem

Purpose

Statement

Research

Question

Online Learning

Isolation in the online learning

environment

To study how students perceive

social presence in the online

learning environment

What is the online learners’

perception of social presence in an

online learning community?

General

Specific

Topic Area

Research

Problem

Purpose

Statement

Research

Question

Science Education

Anxiety in science classes

To study anxiety of students who

attend Physics classes?

What is the anxiety level of students

who attend Physics classes at the

UiTM Faculty of Education,?

Is there a difference between the

anxiety level of male and female

students attending Physics classes at

the UiTM Faculty of Education,?

General

Specific

Topic Area

Research

Problem

Purpose

Statement

Research

Question

School leadership

Teachers are less competent;

Pahang registered a high

percentage of teacher

incompetency

To study the level of competence of

secondary school teachers in

Pahang

Is there ______?

General

Specific

Topic Area

Research

Problem

Purpose

Statement

Research

Question

Teacher motivation

Teachers in religious schools

are demotivated. SMA…..

reported a high number of

teachers leaving

To study the factors that contribute

to the lack of motivation among

teachers of SMA ……

To what extent does_____?

How does extrinsic reward

influence teacher’s motivation to

teach in SMA ….?

• Strategy to unpack the question

o highlight some of its different aspects

o make it easier to identify an angle from which the research

question can be answered

• Deriving a statement that can be true or false

Topic Questions Hypotheses

Disruptive behaviour in religious high schools

Is there a relationship between parents’ educational level and disruptive behaviours of religious high school students?

There is a relationship between parents’ educational level and the religious high school student’s display of disruptive behaviour

• How does group discussion facilitate concept formation?

• To what extent does family structure influence academic self efficacy?

• How do international students perceive the local community’s acceptance of their culture ?

• There is a relationship between self efficacy and cognitive learning outcomes

o Null hypothesis

o Alternate hypothesis

http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc/Articles/toku/Toku_Cross-cultural_VAR01.html

• Statement of Problem

• Distance education students generally tend of be adults who have a fully time or part time job, with predetermined financial and family commitments. They will have preset social obligations to fulfil. Entry requirements into distance education programs differ somewhat from those of full time students on campus students. In addition the mode of instructional delivery is different to their on campus cohorts. These factors in isolation or in combination have a bearing on student retention rates for distance education students.

• Statement of Problem

• It is also estimated that dropout rates from online courses were higher than their counterparts in traditional classes, with as many as 25-40% students in online courses dropping compared to 10-20% of students in on-campus courses dropping these courses (Parker, 1999). However, attrition has been reported to be as high as 70% to 80% (Dagger & Wade, 2004; Flood, 2002). Additional publications cite online attrition to be 10% to 20% higher than traditional on-campus programs (Angelino, Williams & Natvig, 2007; Carr, 2000). Notwithstanding, the extant research on retention and online programs have been sparse (Roach, 2002). Roach suggested that research studies for online programs were limited due to the “newness of online education” (Roach, 2002). Extant research has indicated that a better understanding of student dropout would enable educators and administrators to design courses which promote student progress (Kember, 1995; and Sweet, 1986). Garrison (1987) posits there is no area of research in distance education that has received more attention than the study of dropout.

• The purpose of this research is to study the issues surrounding retention of adult learners in distance education in Malaysia. The setting will be in a Malaysian Public University’s Distance Education arm.

Research questions

Background

survey

Research

problem

Theoretical

framework

Problems

RESEARCH

INTEREST/AR

EA

Issues

Concerns

• Refine your research problem

• State the purpose of your research

• Write your research questions

Observation/

Background

survey

Broad area of

research

Literature

review

Problem

definition

Problem

statement

Research

topic

Research

questions

Theoretical

framework

Variables clearly

identified

Hypothesis

generation

Research

design

Methods

Data

collection

Analysis

Interpretation

Deduction

Hypothesis

substantiated?

RQ answered?