Count the number of concepts or phenomena that your research problem statement proposes to investigate. Do not include any concepts or phenomena that define the population, only those to be directly measured or examined or described. If your research problem statement contains only one concept or phenomenon to investigate, skip to Part 2 of the Activity. If it contains two or more concepts or phenomena, use Part 1. Follow the steps in your chosen part sequentially.
Practice example: The research problem is the effect of emotional intelligence, learning style, and personality type on student satisfaction in community college freshmen is not known. Your list of concepts would be:
Immediately, you notice that "community college freshmen" is a very broad category and does not help you determine specific sample characteristics and variables. A quick review of your literature suggests that you should study female freshmen attending rural community colleges. So to your list you add to "community college freshmen":
Apply: Do Step 1 with your own research problem.
Next, write down exactly the form of measurement that your problem requires. The main forms include:
Practice Example: In the example, what is not known is the impact of the three IVs on the DV. Therefore, the kind of relationship we are seeking will be a causal relationship, based on that word effect.
Apply: Do Step 2 with your own research problem.
Now, craft a conceptual version of your question using these ingredients. After you have a draft, examine it carefully. Does your question:
If it misses on any point, correct it.
Practice example: A first draft of the conceptual version of the example might be:
What is the effect of personality type on the student satisfaction of female community college freshmen enrolled in rural community colleges?
If we're actually interested in whether this IV predicts the DV—prediction being a type of impact—another version might be:
How does personality type predict student satisfaction in female community college freshmen enrolled in rural community colleges?
Apply: Do Step 3, the conceptual version, for your own research question.
Practice Example: To determine effects (or impacts), one must do an experimental or a quasi-experimental design. This means that two or more groups are formed and the different effects of the IV are compared in those groups. To get to that, we look at the IV (or individual IVs if there is more than one). We ask ourselves what levels of the variable we are interested in. In reviewing the literature, we found that the so-called Big Five personality traits (Costa & McCrae, 1992) are widely used. This shows us five levels of personality type. But perhaps for some reason, we are most interested in the impact of extroversion and conscientiousness for the variable personality type.
Therefore, we might have an operational version of the research question that looks like this:
What are the statistically significant differences in levels of student satisfaction for female community college freshmen enrolled in rural community colleges who are highly extroverted compared with those who are highly conscientious?
Apply: Do Step 4 for your own research question.
Practice example: Our question has three variables to be measured, and therefore we have three subquestions to write:
What are the levels of student satisfaction in female community college freshmen enrolled in rural community colleges?
What are the levels of extroversion in female community college freshmen enrolled in rural community colleges?
What are the levels of conscientiousness in female community college freshmen enrolled in rural community colleges?
Practice Example: Because we have only one main question, we will need two hypotheses, a null and an alternate.
Prepare to revise and Reqwrite Your Question as Your Lit Review Deepens
Your search of the literature about your topic and research question will continue until you complete your dissertation. When you find new research that changes the nature or focus of your problem statement, your question will need to be revised accordingly. This is quite common. So plan to keep revisiting your research problem and question regularly, up to the point where they have been finally approved by your dissertation committee and the IRB and you are ready to start your participant recruitment. That question and only that question will be your final edition.
Practice example: The research problem is how education students in an online graduate program describe their experience of the process of assimilating and accommodating complex learning theories. Your concept or phenomenon statement would be:
Your sample characteristics identified in the problem statement would be:
Immediately, you notice that while the phenomenon is stated reasonably clearly, the sample characteristics are quite broadly stated. "Graduate students in education" does not help you determine specific sample characteristics to screen for. A quick review of your literature and reflection on your personal interests suggests that you should study female doctoral students in online programs affiliated with on-ground universities. Even that is too broad. There are many specializations within education, and at least two doctoral degrees, the EdD and the PhD. So to your list of sample characteristics, you decide to add:
Apply: Do Step 1 with your own research problem.
Next, write down exactly the form of inquiry that your problem requires. The main forms in qualitative research include:
Practice Example: In the example, the research problem (what is not known) is how these graduate students describe their personal experiences in coming to terms with and mastering (assimilating and accommodating) complex learning theories. Obviously, you could choose either a conversational inquiry or an analysis of texts. The latter might demonstrate accommodation (mastery), but would it allow you to learn about the experience of developing mastery (that is, of assimilating and then accommodating new learning)? It seems reasonable, then, since the problem is to learn how they describe their experiences of this process, to use a conversational inquiry.
Apply: Do Step 2 with your own research problem.
Now, craft a conceptual version of your question using these ingredients. After you have a draft question, examine it carefully. Does your question:
If it misses on any point, correct it.
Practice Example: Taking into account all these ingredients, a first draft of the conceptual version of the example might be:
How do women studying curriculum and instruction, special education, or nursing education in online PhD programs offered by a traditional on-ground graduate institution, describe their process of assimilating and accommodating complex learning theory?
Apply: Do Step 3, the conceptual version, for your own research question.
Rewrite the research question as often as it takes to make it crystal clear, succinct, and yet complete. Work with the grammar to make the English reading of the sentence more graceful and clear.
Prepare to Revise and Rewrite Your Question as Your Lit Review Deepens
Your search of the literature about your topic and research question will continue until you complete your dissertation. When you find new research that changes the nature or focus of your problem statement, your question will need to be revised accordingly. This is quite common. So plan to keep revisiting your research problem and question regularly, up to the point where they have been finally approved by your dissertation committee and the IRB and you are ready to start your participant recruitment. That question and only that question will be your final edition.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
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