Research Problems, Questions, & Hypotheses

Research Problem

the purpose of the research is to solve the problem or contribute to the solution

Problem Statement

articulates the problem and offers an argument and explains the need for the study

Purpose Statement

summarizes the goal of the study

Research Questions

specific questions or queries the researcher wants to answer

produces facts to help solve a problem, produce new knowledge, add to theory, and to improve nursing practice

question must provide answers that explain, describe, identify, substitute, predict, or qualify

should be now questions that have relevance in the present

questions need to be clear

the question structures the rest of the research process

sometimes direct rewordings of statements of purpose

sometimes used to clarify or lend specifically to the purpose statement

Hypothesis

predictions related to the research questions

Problem Statement Components

identification of the problem → what is wrong with the current situation?

background → what is the context of the problem?

scope → how big is the problem, how many people affected?

consequences → what are the consequences of not fixing the problem?

knowledge gaps → what info about the problem is lacking?

proposed solution → how will the study contribute to the problems solution?

Quantitative Statement of Purpose

identifies key study variables

identifies possible relationships among variables

indicates the population of interest

suggests through the use of verbs the nature of the inquiry (to test, to compare, to evaluate)

Qualitative Statement of Purpose

identifies the central phenomenon

suggests the research tradition (grounded theory, ethnography)

indicates the group, community, or setting of interest

suggests through the use of verbs the nature of the inquiry (to describe, to discover, to explore)

Quantitative Research Question

typically pose queries about the relationships among variables

Qualitative Research Questions

often pose queries linked to the research tradition

grounded → process questions

phenomenology → meaning questions

ethnography → cultural description questions

Directional Hypothesis

specifies the expected direction of the relationships between variables

Nondirectional Hypothesis

predicts the existence of a relationship but not its direction

Null Hypothesis

expresses the absence of a relationship (used only in stats testing)

no relationship