RESEARCH PROCESS
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Week3_PPT_a1.pptxMSN5300 Week 3 Ch. 5
Faculty: Dr. James
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Chapter 5
Research Problem and Purpose
Learning Objectives
By the end of the class the students
will:
1. identify a researchable problem; 2. describe elements included in a research problem; and 3. describe elements included in a research
purpose statement.
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Research problem:
area in which there is a gap in nursing’s knowledge base
may be related to:
practice: generation of evidence for application (applied research)
knowledge: information not directly applicable to practice (basic research, theory-testing, qualitative research) but can inform practice
theory-generation: qualitative research that generates theory, model-testing research
Types of Research Problems and Gaps
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Elements of the Research Problem Statement
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Background statement—general summary of what is known about phenomenon of interest and statement of research gap
Significance statement—justification for importance of addressing knowledge gap
Identification of population of interest
Focuses on principal study concepts
Three parts:
Research Purpose
Statement of specific focus or aim (reason for performing study)
Components:
principal variables and setting
population
methodology and design
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How to Formulate a Purpose Statement
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Decide
…what topic is researchable and formulate several researchable questions;
Decide
…if questions are best studied using quantitative or qualitative research methods;
Discard
…those not answerable by preferred methodology;
Determine
…which questions are realistic and reasonable;
Formulate
…purpose statements.
Quantitative research
counts and analyzes findings using descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, or both, in order to answer the research question
Qualitative research
weaves information into a story or narrative to answer the research question
ALL problem statements and purposes should
reflect what the study will do
Topics, Problems, and Purposes for Different Types of Research
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discover the incidence(or amount or prevalence) of ______________ (descriptive)
investigate the relationship (or association) between ____ and ____ (correlational)
determine the effect of ____ on ____ (experimental; quasi-experimental)
Quantitative Purpose Statement Examples
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The purpose of this study is to….
describe the culture of _____ who ________ (ethnography)
describe the lived experience of persons with _____ (phenomenology)
describe _____ and the factors related to it (grounded theory)
recount the history of ______ in the period ______ in (location) (historical research)
Qualitative Purpose Statement Examples
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The purpose of this study is to….
Descriptive
Correlational
Quasi-experimental
Experimental
Types of Quantitative Research
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see Week 2 slides for descriptions
Phenomenology
Grounded theory
Ethnography
Historical
Exploratory descriptive qualitative
Types of Qualitative Research
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see Week 2 slides for descriptions
MSN5300 Week 3 Ch. 6
Faculty: Dr. K. Richards
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Chapter 6
Objectives, Questions, Variables, Hypotheses
Learning Objectives
By the end of the class the students
will:
1. differentiate between conceptual and
operational definitions; 2. describe types of variables in quantitative
research; and 3. create research and null hypotheses.
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formulate the research question
question may be derived from the purpose
hypothesis may be derived from the question (for statistical testing)
concepts (variables) are defined:
operationally
conceptually
After the Purpose…
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Conceptual level (abstract or theoretical level)
abstract meaning of concepts
derived from research framework
Operational level (concrete level)
describes how concept will be measured
Levels of Abstraction
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What researcher intends to accomplish throughout research
(not after)
Purpose: contained in nursing research abstract
restated at end of literature review
Objectives: found within Methods section or after Purpose Statement
all objectives together should equal purpose statement
Aims: pertain to desired study outcome
Purposes, Objectives, and Aims
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reflect research problem and purpose
clarify study goals
use same major variables identified in purpose statement
may add extra variables to examine in same population
Formulating Objectives or Aims (Quantitative Studies)
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also developed based on research problem and purpose
clarify study goals
use same major concepts identified in Purpose Statement and examined in same population
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Formulating Objectives or Aims (Qualitative Studies)
each purpose, objective, and aim has corresponding question
research question: concise, interrogative statement worded in the present tense
includes principal study concepts (variables) and relationships among them within a population
three parts:
questioning part such as “what is,” “what are,” “is there,” or “were there”
word that indicates what the researcher wants to know about the study variables or population
naming of the population and variables
Research Questions
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Study Question:
What are the cultural characteristics of Hispanic women experiencing postpartum depression?
Study Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to identify the cultural characteristics of Hispanic women experiencing postpartum depression.
Study Design:
Ethnography
Example of Question, Purpose, Probable Design
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Research Question hints heavily at type of study design
reflection of Research Purpose
if more than one research question, often relate to individual study objectives or aims
Formulating Questions (Quantitative Studies)
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Research Question (rarely found in research report) implies understanding context that acts as platform for human behavior and experience
uses broader, more global phrasing
question underscores experience, feeling, perception or process
may not mention population of interest
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Formulating Questions (Qualitative Studies)
Two different types (not operationalized)
concept on which research is focused
topic the researcher explores, known as the phenomenon of interest
2. emergent concepts, which are discovered during process of studying the phenomenon of interest
themes, essences, truths, factors, factors of interest, categories, codes, and core variables
Concepts in Qualitative Research
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Descriptive variables
describe study sample
demographics (ex., age, gender, ethnicity)
displayed at the beginning of the Results section
may appear in table format
Types of Variables in Quantitative Research
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Independent variable: either ‘control’, ‘treatment’, or ‘predictor’ variable, depending on study design
Experimental and quasi-experimental research: accounts for change in dependent variable
Predictive correlational research: used to predict dependent variable
Dependent variable: outcome variable
Independent and Dependent Variables
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Independent variable: intervention or treatment that is applied to experimental group but not control group
intervention must be intentional
Dependent variable: outcome depends on the action of the independent variable
result or outcome of study focus
Interventional Research Design: Independent and Dependent Variables
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Independent variable(s): one or more variables tested to predict dependent variable
% variance that can be predicted in outcome variable
Dependent variable: variable researcher is attempting to predict
outcome variable
Predictive Correlational Design: Independent and Dependent Variables
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not central to research purpose
not identified as either independent or dependent variables
has potential effect on study results (i.e., making independent variable appear to have more or less powerful effect on the dependent variable)
controlled for in the design phase
Interventional and Correlational Studies: Extraneous Variables
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Confounding variable: special subtype of extraneous variable
uniquely embedded in the study design because it is intertwined with the independent variable
cannot be controlled for once the study is under way
may make results meaningless
Interventional Studies: Confounding Variables
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Conceptual definitions
derived from:
theorist’s definition of a variable
concept analysis
literature review
previous publications on same topic
dictionary (medical or standard)
in both quant and qual research but very well-developed in qualitative research designs
Concepts: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Studies
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Quantitative research only
each variable to be measured must be operationally defined
describes way in which variable will be measured
not necessary in qualitative research because there is no measurement
Operational Definitions: Quantitative Research
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Stated relationship between or among variables within a specified population
directional vs. non-directional (direction of relation either specified or not)
null vs. research (alternate)
H0 (no relationship) vs. HA (there is a relationship)
Hypotheses
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does not “prove” hypotheses true or false: instead, “there is evidence” to support hypothesis as true
after many studies with same hypothesis and identical positive findings, “there is considerable evidence” to support
null hypothesis is “accepted,” or “rejected” (always provisional)
Testing Hypotheses
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