U NIT 6: RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES HE 560: Research Methods in Higher Education Dr. Gina La Monica

G ENERAL INFORMATION Focus of the seminar: This week’s seminar is designed to help you understand the materials for this unit and to help you develop strong research questions that you can use on the discussion board and for future research projects. Questions?

UNIT OUTCOME Formulate decisions affecting higher education based on the development of research principles about a postsecondary scenario.

UNIT REVIEW This unit introduces the process of developing specific questions designed to narrow a study’s focus. From the Creswell text you will gain insights into the actual process of how these questions function. Required Readings - Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Chapter Seven: Research Questions and Hypotheses

K EY C ONCEPTS Central Question - The central question is a broad question that asks for an exploration of the central phenomenon or concept in a study" (Creswell, 2009, p. 129). Research Questions - "Quantitative research questions inquire about the relationships among variables that the investigator seeks to know" (Creswell, 2009, p. 132). Hypotheses - "Quantitative hypotheses...are predictions the researcher makes about the expected relationships among variables'" (Creswell, 2009, p. 132).

R ESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES This unit examines the importance of developing solid research questions or hypotheses for a study. Think of a purpose statement as a significant signpost for empirical research. Additional signposts that help narrow a study are referred to as research questions and hypotheses.

R ESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES ( CONT.) Research questions may take different forms depending on the type of study one constructs. For example, questions for qualitative research tend to be broad and open-ended, without yes or no answers. Quantitative research questions, however, measure relationships among variables. Quantitative research makes use of hypotheses

R ESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES ( CONT.) Hypotheses are predictions about the relationships among variables written in the form of a statement. When strong scholarly literature supports the type of variables in a study and how they relate, researchers may choose to test the relationship with a hypothesis. Research questions wonder what the correlation might be, whereas a hypothesis assumes a result. Both are valid for use in research, but the direction of the study determines which approach to use: research question or hypotheses.

R ESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES ( CONT.) This week we have been discussing the importance of developing solid research questions or hypotheses for a study. It is not difficult for beginning researchers to determine phenomena within higher education they wish to study, but it can be difficult to narrow their focus into a workable research question and hypotheses.

R ESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES ( CONT.) What research interest might you have within higher education that you would like to share with the class? Let’s work together to narrow these ideas into workable questions and hypotheses. How do researchers narrow their focus? What makes a workable research question? How do they differ between quantitative and qualitative research?

R ESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES ( CONT.) For example, retention issues are a major concern at postsecondary campuses. More freshman are admitted each year than ultimately persist to graduation. As researchers, we may have observed this phenomenon. Now we have to decide what method to use to study it. How should we proceed in order to design the best study possible? What decisions need to be made and why?

UNIT SUMMARY This week we examined the importance of developing solid research questions or hypotheses for a study. You learned how research questions and hypotheses help narrow and guide a study. Questions?

W RITING R EQUIREMENTS Write in the 3 rd person Assume the reader doesn’t have any knowledge about the subject or assignment requirements. Write a short introduction (3-5 sentences) with a thesis statement. Write a short conclusion (5-8 sentences) summarizing the paper. Limit direct quotes or exact words from an outside source to 1 to 2 sentences. Write 90% of the paper in your own words with correct citations. Always read the Turnitin report

G ENERAL INFORMATION Grades Completed Grades are completed by Sunday night 11:59 pm PST. Any assignments that have not been turned by that time will be given a 0 until the assignment has been submitted and graded. Rubric – when completing an assignment, please review carefully the rubric for that assignment. You will be graded solely based on the rubric. Questions?

G ENERAL INFORMATION Instructor Response – please give me at least 24 hours to respond to your questions. Thanks! Other Questions?