Research Problems INFO 271B

Research Problems for Quantitative Research

Inductive Logic of Research in Qualitative Studies Generalizations are made, or Theories to Past Experience And Literature Researcher Looks for Broad Patterns, Generalizations, or Theories from Themes or Categories Researcher Analyzes Data to Form Themes Or Categories Researcher Asks Open-Ended Questions of Participants Or Records Field Notes Researcher Gathers Information

The Deductive Approach in Typical Quantitative Research Researcher Tests or Verifies a Theory Researcher Tests Hypotheses or Research Questions From the Theory Researcher Defines and Operationalizes Variables Derived from the Theory Researcher Measures or Observes Variables Using an Instrument to Obtain Scores

A Primer for Thinking About Research Three general questions when thinking about designing research (Creswell 2003): What knowledge claims are being made by the researcher? What strategies of inquiry will inform procedures? What methods of data collection and analysis will be used?

Knowledge Claims Positivism/Post-positivism Constructivism Often starts with theory; deductive Constructivism Often does not start with theory; inductive Advocacy/Participatory Literally advocates action in a specific area Pragmatism The ‘problem’ is the key issue; specific methods chosen based on the nature of the problem(s)

Empirical observation and measurement Constructivism Positivism Determinism Empirical observation and measurement Constructivism Social and historical construction Theory generation Advocacy/Participatory Political Change-oriented Pragmatism Problem-centered Real-world practice (Creswell 2003)

Strategies of Inquiry Qualitative Quantitative Ethnographies Case studies Narrative research Quantitative Surveys Experiments

Approaches to Research Design Process Elements of Inquiry Knowledge Claims Strategies of Inquiry Methods Approaches to Research Design Process Questions Data collection Data analysis Qualitative Quantitative Mixed Methods Adapted from (Creswell 2003)

Research Problems and Questions Justification Research Question Testable Hypothesis 1 Testable Hypothesis 2

Three Criteria for a Research Problem What are we going to learn as the result of the proposed project that we do not know now? Why is it worth knowing? How will we know that the conclusions are valid?

Justifying Research Problems Explain what is not known about the problem. Why does the problem matter? Provide documentation that this is actually a problem. Available statistics? Available literature that shows that this is a needed area of inquiry?

What is not a Justification? No one has looked at it before. Literature has failed to address the issue.

Defining Research Questions What is a research question? “an interrogative sentence or statement that asks: What relation exists between two or more concepts?” A good problem can produce many research questions. The research question(s) can be restated in one or more ways to produce testable hypotheses.

The Research Question Common mistakes in defining research questions Very broad area of interest Too narrow Cannot be measured Not interesting to the researcher

Turning Research Questions into Testable Hypotheses

Testable Hypotheses Once a research problem has been identified and one or more research questions emerge, specific hypotheses are used to relate specific variables What is the role of operationalization at this point? Hypotheses should specify at least two variables and the relationship between them: E.g., Hypothesis 1: As Internet use increases, time spent with family members decreases.

Hypothesis “hypothesis statements contain two or more variables that are measurable or potentially measurable and that specify how the variables are related” (Kerlinger 1986) A good research question will produce one or more testable hypotheses. Testable hypotheses predict a relationship between variables (not concepts). Info 271B

Propositions and Hypotheses Propositions link concepts together with specific relationships Hypotheses link variables together with specific relationships Drug Use Violence Number of Times Person Consumed Drug X over Time T Observed ‘violent acts’ Over time Y Info 271B

Conditions of Causality Covariation Non-spurious relationship Logical time ordering Mechanism to explain how X causes Y X Y Info 271B

Causation and Causal Paths Direct causal paths Reciprocal causation Indirect causation X Y X Y X Z Y Info 271B

Theoretical Model with Variables Socioeconomic Status Academic Ability Academic Achievement Math skills Language skills Income Job Prestige Grades Level of Schooling attained Info 271B