Quantitative Research

PLANNING

1. Selecting a research topic

2. Reviewing existing literature

3. Formulating the research problem and research questions

selecting a research topic

sources

• Observation of everyday life

• prior research

• verifying or refuting a theory

• specific concerns of a certain group of people

• personal interest

ideally researchers would be motivated by a combination

replication

A source for research topics under ‘prior research’

repeating a study with a different sample or context

reviewing existing literature

— purposes of a literature review

• Informs the researcher of what other researchers have found

• can reveal gaps and weaknesses in research

• helps choose the most appropriate research method

• helps choose the most appropriate theoretical framework

Formulating the research problem and posing research questions

1. create a general research problem

2. reduce it into one or more research questions

3. determine whether the questions are answerable

4. examine their motivation

5. consider ethical issues

what makes a research question answerable?

there must be no

intellectual, practical, personal or ethical problems

that can hinder them