1. Chapter 2 Conceptualizing Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses

2. Orientation What will not be covered today objectives
Detailed research problem
Research statement
hypothesis
Variables
objectives

3. Role of clinical research
Research can:
Identify issues unique to clinical settings
Illustrate causal pathways
Suggest direction for intervention
Inform policy
Build capacity
Create community of peers

4. Getting started: Overview of the research process
Conceptualizing the idea – what is the question?
Study site ?
What is known on the subject? >> reading
Refining & writing down the idea – specific aims,
concept note

5. Taking a closer look…

6. Basic Terminology Research problem Problem statement
troubling condition
Problem statement
A statement articulating the research problem and indicating the need for a study

7. Basic Terminology (cont’d)
Research questions
The specific queries the researcher wants to answer in addressing the research problem
Hypotheses
The researcher’s predictions about relationships among variables

8. Basic Terminology (cont’d)
Statement of purpose
The researcher’s summary of the overall study goal
Research aims or objectives
The specific accomplishments to be achieved by conducting the study

9. Sources of Research Problems
Experience and clinical fieldwork
Nursing literature
Social issues
Theory
Ideas from external sources

10. Developing and Refining Research Problems
Selecting a broad topic area (e.g., patient compliance, caregiver stress)
Narrowing the topic—asking questions to help focus the inquiry
Examples:
What is going on with…?
What factors contribute to….?

11. Evaluating Research Problems
Significance of the problem
Researchability of the problem
Feasibility of addressing the problem (e.g., time, resources, ethics, cooperation of others)
Interest to the researcher

12. Problem Statements
Should identify the nature, context, and significance of the problem being addressed
Should be broad enough to include central concerns
Should be narrow enough to serve as a guide to study design

13. Statement of the problem
Example
“A study to compare the knowledge and practice of post natal mothers regarding neonatal care from selected urban and rural settings of Bangalore”.

14. The Final Problem Statement
A problem may be written in Declarative form or Interrogative form. (question, probing)

15. Problem statements in declarative form
Research focus
Problem statement
Effect of relaxation on anxiety and dyspnea in patients with COPD
Comparison of anxiety:
Symptomatoloy among Cambodian refugee adolescents before and after resettlement in the United States
Effect of heart transplantation on
psychosocial functioning
This study investigates the effect of
relaxation on anxiety and dyspnea in
patients with COPD
(Gift, Moore,& Soeken, 1992)
Anxiety symtomatology in cambodian
refugee adolescents before and after
settlement in the United States had been
compared (Mueck and Sasse, 1992)
The study examines the effect of heart
transplantation on psychosocial functioning
(Bohachick et al., 1992)

16. Problem statement in interrogative form
Research focus
Problem statement
Factors that influence adaptation of
preadolescents and adolescents with
diabetes
Effect of group therapy on cognitive
functioning and depression in elderly
nursing home residents
Spiritual health, coping responses,
and devastating physical illness
What are the influences of age, coping
behaviour and self care on psychological,
social and physiological adaptation in
preadolescents and adolescents with insulin
dependent diabetes mellitus (Grey Cameron
and Thurber 1992)
What is the effect of group therapy on
cognitive functioning and depression in
elderly nursing home residents (Abraham
Neundorfer, Currie, 1992)

17. Statement of Purpose-Quantitative Studies:
Identifies key study variables
Identifies possible relationships among variables
Indicates the population of interest
Suggests, through use of verbs, the nature of the inquiry (e.g., to test…, to compare…, to evaluate…)

18. Statement of Purpose-Qualitative Studies:
Identifies the central phenomenon
Indicates the research tradition (e.g., grounded theory, ethnography)
Indicates the group, community, or setting of interest
Suggests, through use of verbs, the nature of the inquiry (e.g., to describe…, to discover…, to explore…)

19. Research Questions:
Are sometimes direct rewordings of statements of purpose, worded as questions
Are sometimes used to clarify or lend specificity to the purpose statement
In quantitative studies, pose queries about the relationships among variables

21. Example of the research question:
what is the relationship between non-compliance with the therapeutic regimen and development of stroke among hypertensive patients.
NOTE: some researchers insist that both the statement of purpose and research question should be involved in the study.

22. Research Questions: (cont’d)
In qualitative studies, position questions linked to the research tradition:
Grounded theory: process questions
Phenomenology: meaning questions
Ethnography: cultural description questions

23. Hypothesis: States a prediction
Must always involve at least two variables
Must suggest a predicted relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable
Must contain terms that indicate a relationship (e.g., more than, different from, associated with)

24. Simple Versus Complex Hypotheses
Simple hypothesis
Expresses a predicted relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable
Complex hypothesis
States a predicted relationship between two or more independent variables and/or two or more dependent variables

25. Directional Versus Nondirectional Hypotheses
Directional hypothesis
Predicts the direction of a relationship
Nondirectional hypothesis
Predicts the existence of a relationship, not its direction

26. Research Versus Null Hypotheses
Research hypothesis
States the actual prediction of a relationship
Statistical or null hypothesis
Expresses the absence of a relationship (used only in statistical testing)

27. Criteria for evaluation of the research problem
1- Significance of the problem: To be sure, if the problem is significant or not , you should ask yourself these question.
a- will the body of midwifery or nursing knowledge will be increased due to this study.
b- can the result be used in midwifery field.

28. 2- A research-ability of the problem:
A researchable questions are ones that involve variables capable of being defined and measured. Moral or ethical natures are incapable of being researched, because they based on person's values.

29. 3- Feasibility of the study:
a- time and timing: every study has a deadline
and finished in a specific period of time.
b- Equipment and supplies: the equipment and
supplies should be ready before the
final decision of conducting the study.

30. c- Cost (money): the investigator should
think carefully about cost before making the final selection of the project.
d. Administration support:
administration support is needed to conduct the study in the sitting (hospitals clinics, and schools).
e-Availability of the subject: is the researcher can draw his sample.

31. Please formulate objectives for this research statement?
Example
“A study to compare the knowledge and practice of post natal mothers regarding neonatal care from selected urban and rural settings of Bangalore”.

32. Objectives
To assess the knowledge of postnatal mothers regarding the neonatal care
To describe the practices followed in their family regarding neonatal care
To determine the association between knowledge and practices of neonatal care
To determine association of knowledge with selected variable
To compare the knowledge and practice of neonatal care between urban and rural mother

33. Clarifying the objectives
(a). Focus on objective one Knowledge of postnatal mothers regarding neonatal care, breast feeding, cord care, prevention of infection and maintenance of warmth (b). Focus on objective two Practice of family regarding neonatal care (c). Selected characteristic of respondent Age, Religion, Education, Occupation, Type of family, Income etc.

34. list of verbs used in research objectives
Arrange, Define, Order, Duplicate, Recognize,
Label, Relate, List, Recall, Match, Repeat
Memorize, reproduce, identify, understand, describe,
Report, Discuss, Restate, Explain, Review, Express, Select,
Identify, Sort, Indicate, Tell, Locate, Translate

35. Practice, Dramatize, Schedule, Employ, Search,
Apply, Operate, Choose, Prepare, Demonstrate,
Practice, Dramatize, Schedule, Employ, Search,
Illustrate, Solve, Interpret, Use, Analyze, Differentiate, Appraise, Discriminate, Calculate, Distinguish, Categorize, Examine,
Compare, Question, Contrast, Test, Criticize , Diagram

36. Variables
Definition of variable: is a characteristic or attribute of a person or object (polit, 2004).
Example of some variables
Weight.
Body temperature.
Blood pressure reading.
• Stress level.
• Anxiety level

37. Types of variables
1- Continuous variables: variable can take on a range of different values. Their values can be presented on continuum.
Examples
. Age
. weight,
. height.

38. 2- Categorical variables: variables that take on a
much smaller range of values.
Example:
. Male or female
. Pregnant / not pregnant .
. Smoker / non-smoker.
. HIV positive/ HIV negative.
. When the categorical variables take on only two values, they are sometimes referred to as dichotomous variables.

39. the outcome variable of
3. Dependent variables:
the outcome variable of
interest(effect).The dependent variable usually is
the variable the researcher is interested in understanding, explaining or predicting.

40. 4- Independent variable: the variable that is
believed to cause or influence the dependent
variable. In the experimental research the
independent variable is the variable that is
manipulated.
Note: the presumed cause is referred to as
the independent
Example: the extent to which lung cancer
(dependent variable) Depends on smoking
behavior (independent variable).

41. 5. Extraneous variable:
variable that confounds the relationship between independent variable and
dependent variable that needs to be controlled either in the research design or through statistical procedure.

42. Example of independent (IDV) and dependent variables (DV)
1- Do physician administer greater amount of
narcotic drug to men than women.
DV IDV
Amount of narcotic Gender

43. 2- what is the effect of activity and bed rest on weight reduction among Gestational diabetes women.
DV IDV
Weight reduction Activity& rest

44. 3- Is adherence to therapeutic regime decrease the incidence of PIH.
DV IDV
Incidence of PIH Adherence of therapeutic regime

45. Thanks A lot