writing
mmemo
purposestatement1.pptChapter 6
The Purpose Statement
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Introduction
- Purpose statement – establishes the intent of the entire study
- Most important statement in the entire study
- In articles, final statement in introduction
- In theses and dissertations, stand alone section
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
- The purpose statement
Indicates why you want to do the study
Indicates what you intend to accomplish
Is the central controlling idea in a study
Is written in a sentence or several sentences
Sets the objectives, the intent, or the major idea of a proposal or a study
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
- The purpose statement is NOT
The problem leading to a need for the study (see Chapter 5)
The questions to be answered by collecting data (see Chapter 7)
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
A qualitative purpose statement:
- A good qualitative purpose statement contains
The central phenomenon
The participants
The research site
- Include language drawn from qualitative inquiry
Use words such as purpose, intent, or objective to signal attention to this statement as the central controlling idea
Focus on a single phenomenon, narrows the study to one idea
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
A qualitative purpose statement:
Uses action verbs such as describe, understand, develop, explore examine the meaning of, generate or discover
Uses neutral words and phrases
Provides a general working definition of the central phenomenon or idea
Includes words that indicate the strategy of inquiry
Mentions the participants in the study
Identifies the site for the research
Delimits the scope of participation or research sites
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
A qualitative purpose statement:
The purpose of this _________________ (strategy of inquiry, such as ethnography, case study, or other type) study is (was? will be?) to ___________________ (understand? explore? develop? discover?) the ___________ (central phenomenon being studied) for ______________(the participants, such as the individual, groups, organization) at ______________ (research site). At this stage in the research, the _________________ (central phenomenon being studied) will be generally defined as ________________ (provide a general definition).
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
A quantitative purpose statement:
- Differs from the qualitative purpose statement in terms of language and focus
- Includes
The variables and their relationship
The participants
The research site
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
- Components of a good quantitative purpose statement:
Words to signal the major intent of the study, such as purpose, intent, or objective
Identify the theory, model, or conceptual framework
Identify the independent and dependent variables
Identify any mediating, moderating, or control variables used
Words to connect variables: “relationship between,” “comparison of,” “describe”
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
- Components of a good quantitative purpose statement:
Order the independent before the dependent variable
Mediating (intervening) variables may go between the two or after the dependent variable
Moderating variables after or related to independent variable
Mention the specific strategy of inquiry
Reference the participants or unit of analysis and site
Use the literature to define the key variables
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
- The purpose of this _______________ (experiment? survey?) study is (was? will be?) to test the theory of ______________ that ____________ (compares? relates?) the ____________ (independent variable) to _________________ (dependent variable), controlling for (mediating or moderating variables) for (participants) at ___________ (the research site). The independent variable(s) ______________ will be defined as (provide a definition). The dependent variable(s) will be defined as ____________ (provide a definition), and the control and intervening variable(s), ___________, (identify intervening variables) will be defined as ________ (provide a definition).
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
A mixed methods purpose statement:
- Contains
The overall intent of the study
Information about both the quantitative and qualitative strands of the study
A rationale for combining quantitative and qualitative strands
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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A mixed methods purpose statement:
- Guidelines include
Begin with words that signal intent: purpose, study aim, intent of
Indicate the overall purpose of the study from a content perspective
Indicate the type of mixed methods design
Reasons for combining both quantitative and qualitative data
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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A mixed methods purpose statement – Convergent design
This mixed methods study will address ___________ [overall content aim]. A convergent mixed methods design will be used, and it is a type of design in which qualitative and quantitative data are collected in parallel, analyzed separately, and then merged. In this study, ___________ [quantitative data] will be used to test the theory of ___________ [the theory] that predicts that [independent variables] will ___________ [positively, negatively] influence the ___________ [dependent variables] for ___________ [participants] at ___________ [the site]. The ___________ [type of qualitative data] will explore___________ [the central phenomenon] for ___________ [participants] at ___________ [the site]. The reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to ___________ [the mixing reason].
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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A mixed methods purpose statement – Explanatory sequential design
This study will address ___________ [content aim]. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design will be used, and it will involve collecting quantitative data first and then explaining the quantitative results with in-depth qualitative data. In the first, quantitative phase of the study, ___________ [quantitative instrument] data will be collected from ___________ [participants] at ___________ [research site] to test ___________ [name of theory] to assess whether ___________ [independent variables] relate to ___________ [dependent variables]. The second, qualitative phase will be conducted as a follow up to the quantitative results to help explain the quantitative results. In this exploratory follow-up, the tentative plan is to explore ___________ [the central phenomenon] with ___________ [participants at a ___________ [research site].
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
A mixed methods purpose statement: Exploratory sequential design
This study addresses ___________ [content aim]. The purpose of this exploratory sequential design will be to first qualitatively explore with a small sample and then to determine if the qualitative findings generalize to a large sample. The first phase of the study will be a qualitative exploration of ___________ [the central phenomenon] in which ___________ [types of data] will be collected from ___________ [participants] at ___________ [research site]. From this initial exploration, the qualitative findings will be used to develop assessment measures that can be administered to a large sample. In the tentatively planned quantitative phase, ___________ [instrument data] will be collected from ___________ [participants] at ___________ [research site].
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Significance and Meaning of a Purpose Statement
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Summary
- Importance of a purpose statement
- Advances central idea in a study
- Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods purpose statements differ
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
