1. Research Questions
Darleen Opfer

2. Types of Qualitative Research Questions
Grand Tour
Sub Questions
Qualitative Questions
One usually finds research questions or purpose statements in qualitative research and not objectives or hypotheses.
The research questions take two forms:
Grand tour questions – a statement in the most general form, posed very generally so as not to limit the inquiry.
Subquestions

3. Guidelines for writing qualitative questions
Ask one or two grand tour questions followed by no more than five to seven sub-questions.
The question format is related to specific qualitative methodologies.
Begin the question with the words what or how. Tell the reader that the study will do one of the following:
Discover (grounded theory)
Explain or seek to understand (ethnography)
Explore a process (case study)
Describe the experiences (phenomenology)
Pose questions that use non-directional wording.
Expect the research questions to evolve and change during the study.
Use open ended questions without reference to the literature unless dictated by a specific qualitative design.
Use a single focus and specify the site in the research questions.
Guidelines for writing qualitative questions:
Ask one or two grand tour questions followed by no more than five to seven subquestions. – The subquestions become topics explored in the data collection.
The question format is related to specific qualitative methodologies.
For example, in ethnography there exists a taxonomy of questions about experience, language, contrast, etc.
In critical ethnography the questions come from a body of existing literature
In grounded theory the questions may relate to the procedures for data analysis – open coding “what are the categories that emerge”, axial coding “How are these categories related to one another?”
Begin the question with the words what or how. Tell the reader that the study will do one of the following:
Discover (grounded theory)
Explain or seek to understand (ethnography)
Explore a process (case study)
Describe the experiences (phenomenology)
Pose questions that use nondirectional wording – don’t use directional words such as affect, influence, impact, determine, cause, and relate as these are associated with quant research. They also suggest cause and effect.
Expect the research questions to evolve and change during the study – you study is emergent
Use open ended questions without reference to the literature unless dictated by a specific qualitative design.
Use a single focus and specify the site in the research questions

4. Ethnography example:
How are conceptions of social studies played out – or not played out – in classroom practice?
How is the setting organized?
What kind of interpersonal dynamics exist?
What activities occur in each setting?
What information, opinions, and beliefs are exchanged among participants?
Examples of research questions:
Ethnography
How are conceptions of social studies played out – or not played out – in classroom practice?
How is the setting organized?
What kind of interpersonal dynamics exist?
What activities occur in each setting?
What information, opinions, and beliefs are exchanged among participants?

5. Case Study Example
How do women in a psychology doctoral program describe their decision to return to school? How do women in a psychology doctoral program describe their reentry experiences? And, how does returning to graduate school change these women’s lives?
Case Study
How do women in a psychology doctoral program describe their decision to return to school? How do women in a psychology doctoral program describe their reentry experiences? And, how does returning to graduate school change these women’s lives?

6. Activity 1: Qualitative Research Questions
For the first abstract, write research questions for the study described.
Activity 1: for the first abstract, write a qualitative research question

7. Types of quantitative research questions
They can be about comparisons between groups
They can be about the relationships between two or more variables
They can describe responses to variables
Quantitative Questions and Hypotheses
Research questions represent specific restatements of the purpose of the study.
In survey research these restatements are research questions and objectives for the study
In experimental studies the restatements are hypothesis to be tested.
Quantitative research questions can be of three types:
They can be about comparisons between groups
They can be about the relationships between two or more variables
They can describe responses to variables

8. Guidelines for quantitative research questions
They are developed from theory.
The dependent and independent variables should be kept separate and measured separately.
Select one form – hypothesis, research question, or objective – and not a combination.
Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or Alternative/Directional) should be determined by the audience.
Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or operational.
Typically use variables other than demographic variables as independent variables.
Use the same pattern of word order in the questions to establish a formal rhetorical style.
When writing research questions or hypotheses for quantitative studies, write descriptive questions first followed by multivariate (multiple variable) questions.
Guidelines for quantitative research questions:
They are developed from theory – the questions are testable propositions deduced from theory
The dependent and independent variables should be kept separate and measured separately
Select one form – hypothesis, research question, or objective – and not a combination
A hypothesis is a declarative statement about the relationship between two or more variables
Research questions also pose relationships but phrase the relationship in the form of a question
An objective is the same relationship statement in a declarative form

9. Forms for Hypotheses Null Hypothesis
There is no significant difference in the accumulation of resources and the productivity of faculty
Directional/Alternative Hypothesis
The more the accumulation of resources, the more productive the researcher
Choice of the forms of hypotheses used should be determined by the audience
Traditionally scientists used the “null hypothesis” which state that there is no relationship between or among variables
Example – There is no significant difference in the accumulation of resources and the productivity of faculty
More recently researchers have been using the “directional” or “alternative” hypothesis where the researcher posits a direction for the relationship. The directional is only used if the available literature suggests a hypothesize direction for the relationship
Example – The more the accumulation of resources, the more productive the researcher

10. Null Alternative Literary
There is no relationship between support services and academic persistence of nontraditional-aged college women.
The more that nontraditional-aged college women use support services, the more they will persist academically.
Operational
There is no relationship between the number of hours nontraditional-aged college women use the student union and their persistence at the college after their freshman year.
The more hours that nontraditional-aged college women use the student union, the more they will persist at the college after their freshman year.
Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or operational. Literary means that the variables are stated in abstract concepts. Operational means they are stated specifically.

11. Guidelines for quantitative research questions
They are developed from theory.
The dependent and independent variables should be kept separate and measured separately.
Select one form – hypothesis, research question, or objective – and not a combination.
Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or Alternative/Directional) should be determined by the audience.
Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or operational.
Typically use variables other than demographic variables as independent variables.
Use the same pattern of word order in the questions to establish a formal rhetorical style.
When writing research questions or hypotheses for quantitative studies, write descriptive questions first followed by multivariate (multiple variable) questions.
Typically use variables other than demographic variables as independent variables. Demographic variables (age, income, education, gender) are typically mediating variables in theories instead of major, independent variables.

12. Examples of repeated phrasing and variable order in hypotheses
There is no relationship between the use of ancillary support services and academic persistence of nontraditional-aged college women.
There is no relationship between family support systems and academic persistence of nontraditional-aged college women.
Use the same pattern of word order in the questions to establish a formal rhetorical style – repeat key phrases and state the independent variables first and the dependent variables last.
For examples-
There is no relationship between the use of ancillary support services and academic persistence of nontraditional-aged college women.
There is no relationship between family support systems and academic persistence of nontraditional-aged college women.

13. Guidelines for quantitative research questions
They are developed from theory.
The dependent and independent variables should be kept separate and measured separately.
Select one form – hypothesis, research question, or objective – and not a combination.
Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or Alternative/Directional) should be determined by the audience.
Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or operational.
Typically use variables other than demographic variables as independent variables.
Use the same pattern of word order in the questions to establish a formal rhetorical style.
When writing research questions or hypotheses for quantitative studies, write descriptive questions first followed by multivariate (multiple variable) questions.
When writing research questions or hypotheses for quantitative studies, write descriptive questions first followed by multivariate (multiple variable) questions.

14. Example of research question ordering for a quantitative study
How do students rate on critical thinking skills? (a descriptive question focused on the independent variable)
What are the students’ grades in science classes? (a descriptive question focused on the dependent variable)
What are the students’ prior grades in science? (a descriptive question focused on the mediating variable, prior grades)
What is the educational attainment of the parents of the students? (a descriptive question focused on the mediating variable, educational attainment of parents)
Does critical thinking ability relate to student achievement? (a multivariate question relating the independent and dependent variables)
Does critical thinking ability relate to student achievement, controlling for the effects of prior grades in science and the educational attainment of the students’ parents? (a multivariate question relating the independent and dependent variables controlling for the mediating effects of the two intervening variables)
Example – you want to conduct a study that examines the relationship between critical thinking skills (an independent variable measured on an instrument) and student achievement (a dependent variable measured by grades) in science classes for 14 year old students in a large metropolitan school district. You also want to control for things that may affect the relationship (intervening variables) including prior grades in science classes and parents’ educational attainment. Your questions may include:
How do students rate on critical thinking skills? (a descriptive question focused on the independent variable)
What are the students’ grades in science classes? (a descriptive question focused on the dependent variable)
What are the students’ prior grades in science? (a descriptive question focused on the mediating variable, prior grades)
What is the educational attainment of the parents of the students? (a descriptive question focused on the mediating variable, educational attainment of parents)
Does critical thinking ability relate to student achievement? (a multivariate question relating the independent and dependent variables)
Does critical thinking ability relate to student achievement, controlling for the effects of prior grades in science and the educational attainment of the students’ parents? (a multivariate question relating the independent and dependent variables controlling for the mediating effects of the two intervening variables)

15. Activity 2: Quantitative Research Questions
For the second abstract provided, write research questions for the study described.
Activity 2: Write quantitative research questions for the second abstract

16. Guidelines for mixed methods research questions and hypotheses
These studies need both qualitative and quantitative research questions
The questions need to incorporate the elements of good questions and hypotheses for qualitative and quantitative approaches
It may be difficult to specify research questions for the second phase of a two-phase sequential study where the second phase is to elaborate on the first. The researcher can state the questions in the final report of the study.
The order of the questions should follow the order of the phases of the study or the weight of the methods in the design.
In sequential studies, the questions can be introduced at the beginning of each phase.
Guidelines for Mixed Methods research questions and hypotheses
These studies need both qualitative and quantitative research questions
The questions need to incorporate the elements of good questions and hypotheses for qualitative and quantitative approaches
It may be difficult to specify research questions for the second phase of a two-phase sequential study where the second phase is to elaborate on the first. The researcher can state the questions in the final report of the study.
The order of the questions should follow the order of the phases of the study or the weight of the methods in the design.
In sequential studies, the questions can be introduced at the beginning of each phase.

17. Activity 3: Mixed Method Questions
For the third abstract, write research questions for the study described.
Activity 3: Write mixed methods questions for the third abstract

18. Activity 4: Your Own Research Questions
Write research questions for your own study.
Activity 4: Write your own research questions and add them to your conceptual map