1. DEVELOPING EMPIRICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS

2. AIM
Questions that can only and fully be answered using observations, will be called ‘empirical questions’
Some general guidelines for formulating ‘empirical research questions’
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3. DEVELOPING A RESEARCH QUESTION IS NOT SIMPLE
“Even the mere selection of (…) a question for worthwhile inquiry, is as a rule no mechanical act, but an act of creative mind (…). There is no rule of procedure to describe how the creative mind hits on such a question (…)” (Arnold Brecht)

4. Too broad
TOPIC
Relevant Answerable
QUESTION

5. FOUR PIECES OF ADVICE Too broad Context Causal or not?
TOPIC
Context
Causal or not?
Variable/units/setting
Answerable?
Relevant Answerable
QUESTION

6. TWO CONTEXTS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Practical problems
Political problems
Social problems
Theoretical questions
Puzzles
Existing research
Both are ‘scientific’, but the aims are different, let us call the first practical and the second academic

7. What are its causes and consequences?
How big is the problem?
What are its causes and consequences?
Did the selected option have the expected outcome? (outcome evaluation)
Problem & need analysis
Find & design options
Ex ante evaluation of options
Choice
Implementation
Ex post choice evaluation
Which options have been used by others?
Did we do as planned? (process evaluation)
Can we expect an option
to work?

8. A more general or new question?
Always: Will your answers be relevant for theory or for practical problems?
Question
Theory
Research design
Data collection
Data analysis
Answers/ Knowledge
A better theory?
Better technique for analyzing the data?
A better test provided by your research design?
Teveel tekst, waardoor deze aan de kleine kant is.
Animaties staan er nog ivm duidelijkheid presentatie
Better test:
able to establish temporal
precedence or better able to
exclude third variables? (And
thus a better test of an existing
Theory?)
Better/more data?

9. FOUR PIECES OF ADVICE Too broad Context Causal or not?
TOPIC
Context
Causal or not?
Variable/units/setting
Answerable?
Relevant Answerable
QUESTION

10. TWO TYPES OF EMPIRICAL QUESTIONS
Description  descriptive questions
Causes and effects  explanatory or causal questions
Some empirical questions are about …

11. DESCRIPTIVE OR CASUAL? “Assumed level of knowledge” Exploratory
Testing
Describing/
application
Descriptive
Developing variables
Testing descriptive expectations
Simple descriptions
Causal
Coming up with causal relationships
Testing causal relationships
Causal interpretations using theories
So, you need a clear understand of what you want to do and test when formulating the question

12. FOUR PIECES OF ADVICE Too broad Context Causal or not?
TOPIC
Context
Causal or not?
Variable/units/setting
It is assumed you know the basic ideas of factor analysis
Answerable?
Relevant Answerable
QUESTION

13. CLEARLY FORMULATED RESEARCH QUESTIONS
UTOS:
Units
Variables (Treatments and Observations)
Setting (time and place)

14. EXAMPLES OF CLEAR EMPIRICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Does the level of integration in society affect the amount of criminal behavior among young people (in Western societies)?
Does intercultural training affect the extent to which police officers discriminate against ethnic minorities in the Germany?

15. EXAMPLES OF UNCLEAR EMPIRICAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Does Russia have an effect on Europe?
Does the level of integration in society affect young people (in Western societies)?

16. FOUR PIECES OF ADVICE Too broad Context Causal or not?
TOPIC
Context
Causal or not?
Variable/units/setting
It is assumed you know the basic ideas of factor analysis
Answerable?
Relevant Answerable
QUESTION

17. IS RESEARCH POSSIBLE?
Have preliminary answers been developed / tested?
No? Are you able to do this yourself?
No again? STOP
Question
Theory
Research design
Data collection
Data analysis
Answers/ Knowledge
Are you able to analyze the data?
Teveel tekst, waardoor deze aan de kleine kant is.
Animaties staan er nog ivm duidelijkheid presentatie
which allows for
checking correlations, time
precedence and
non-spuriousness possible
Are data available? Or can they be collected within the time frame?
Is an appropriate design available?

18. THIS MICROLECTURE
Four guidelines when formulating questions that can only be answered using observations: ‘empirical questions’:
Context of research (practical or academic) clear?
Causal or descriptive? (exploring, testing or application?)
Units / Variables/ Setting clear?
Answerable? (theory, design and data available?)