writing assessment

Generating and Developing Research Questions: Three Types

1. Questions that require value judgments or critical statements (rhetorical)

2. Questions that describe phenomena (historical, anthropological); often associated with qualitative research, such as case studies, for example and/or other kinds of deep studies of a single phenomenon or case; not usually generalizable)

3. Questions that lead to generalizations beyond the observed phenomena: This type, of research question is not the only valid kind of empirical research. It is, however, part of a long tradition of scientific research. It is thus very useful to understand the nature of such questions early in your doctoral studies. Key concepts around scientific, measurable research questions focus on the relationship between independent and dependent variables and have the following criteria:

1. Interrogative, Relational Question: looking to discover the kind of relationship[s] that exists between two or more concepts/constructs, with these criteria: ----Expresses a relation between two or more concepts/constructs/variables. -----States clearly and unambiguously a question: What are the possible relationships between Variable/Construct A and Variable/Construct B? -----Implies possibilities for observable, empirical testing.

2. Hypothesis: a conjectural statement [or assumption] of the relation between two or more variables. There are two basic types: -----Research hypothesis: the particular prediction of a relation between two or more variables that the researcher wants to test (directional or non-directional). -----Null hypothesis: states that no relationship other than chance expectation exists between the variables for which a relationship is predicted in the research hypothesis.

3. Potential Research Outcomes:

-----Solution/findings may contribute to the existing body of organized knowledge, as described in the literature -----Solution/findings may lead to new problems and further research. ----- Problem is suitable for a particular researcher’s *Interest and enthusiasm *Knowledge and experience *Resources: time, subjects, equipment, etc.

Adapted from the syllabus of Gustav Friedrich’s course, Methods of Inquiry: 514 at Rutgers University (2002). Retrieved from: http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~gusf/514syllabus.html .