Week 4 Research Questions, Problems, Hypotheses

Research problem

An enigmatic, perplexing, or troubling condition

Problem Statement

A statement articulating the research problem and making an argument to conduct a new study

Statement of purpse

Summary of an overall goal

Research questions

The specific queries the researcher wants to answer (in addressing the research problem)

Hypotheses

The researcher's predictions about relationships among variables

Quantitative Studies involve concepts that are..

well developed and have developed methods of measurement (or can have)

Qualitative studies are undertaken because...

A researcher wants to develop a rich, context-bound understanding of a poorly understood phenomenon

Sources of Research Problems

Clinical experience, Nursing literature, Global issues, Political issues, Theory, Suggestions from external sources (e.g., priority statements of national organizations or funders)

How broad are research questions

Broad enough to include central concerns. Narrow enough to serve as a guide to study design

Components of a Problem Statement

Identification of the problem, background, scope, consequences, knowledge gaps, proposed solution

Identification of the problem

What is wrong with the current situation?

Background

What is the nature or context of the problem?

Scope

How big is the problem, and how many people are affected?

Consequences

What are the consequences of not fixing the problem?

Knowledge gaps

What information about the problem is lacking?

Proposed solution

How will the study contribute to the problem's solution?

Statement of purpose in Quan

Identifies key variables, relationships among variables, population, suggests through the use of verbs (to text, to compare, to evauate)

Statement of Purpose Qual

Identifies central phenomenon, duggest research tradition (grounded theory, etc), indicates group/community/setting of interest, suggest the nature of inquiry with verbs (to describe, to discover)

Research questions are sometimes...

direct rewordings of statements of purpose, worded as questions. or used to clarify or lend specificity to the purpose statement

Research questions in quan

Typically pose queries about the relationships among variables

Research Questions qual

Often pose queries linked to the research tradition:

Grounded theory questions

process questions

Phenomenology questions

meaning questions

Ethnography questions

cultural description questions

Research Hypothesis

States an expectation, a predicted answer to the research question, has two or more variables, suggests the predicted relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable

Hypotheses are almost exclusively

quantitative

How is a hypothesis tested

through statistical procedures, statistical analysis

A hypothesis must contain

terms that indicate a relationship (e.g., more than, different from, associated with)

What tense is a hypothesis stated in

present tense. the analysis also is

What does a hypothesis reflect or flow

Reflects/ flows from the problem statement, purpose statement, research question, and is congruent with them

Research vs null hypothesis

Research states the actual prediction of a relationship, null expresses the absence of a relationship. is usually assumed(used only in statistical testing)

Can you prove a hypothesis

No, you can only support it. "probably correct"

Directional Hypothesis

Specifies the expected direction of the relationship between variables (less than, greater than, more, decrease in)

Nondirectional hypothesis

Predicts the existence of a relationship, not its direction. Descriptive: wats the relationship between X and Y? Asks if a relationship exists

Yerkes Dodson Law of Optimal Arousal

The optimum arousal theory says that people are motivated to reach an optimal state of alertness or activation. Consistent with this perspective, the Yerkes-Dodson theory predicts that people perform better at a moderate level of arousal. The Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests that there is a relationship between performance and arousal. Increased arousal can help improve performance, but only up to a certain point.

Simple Hypothesis

Relationship between 2 variables.

Complex Hypothesis

Relationship between 3 or more variables

Limiting a hypothesis to only one relationship between 2 variables can...

Add clarity when understanding the relationship between the variables and the conclusions that follow data analysis

Associative

Variables exist side by side, Change in one goes along with change in another but... May not cause change in another

Casual

One variable brings about a change in one or more variables

"Directional hypothesis"

Hypothesis are never...

proved or disproved

Statistical hypotheses testing cannot...

provide absolute proof, only probabilistic information to support an inference that a hypothesis is probably correct (or not)

Critical Appraisals of Problems, questions and hypothesis

Evaluate whether researchers have adequately communicated their research problem.

Consider whether the problem has significance for nursing and evidence-based practice.

Determine whether the research problem is compatible with the chosen research paradigm and its associated methods.

Evaluate whether the statement of purpose or research questions lend themselves to research inquiry.