Asking Good Research Questions And Critical Thinking

Question 1

What type of questions do quantitative researchers ask?

Answer 1

Concerned with explanation, hypothesis testing, relationships and causality

Question 2

What type of questions do qualitative researchers ask?

Answer 2

Concerned with understanding, meaning, sense making

Question 3

What makes a good research question?

Answer 3

Clearly specified question
A question that can be answered
A question that hasn’t already been answered
A question that is important and worth answering

Question 4

What is the theory of planned behaviour?

Answer 4

That attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural link to intention and then behaviour

Question 5

What are key criticisms of the Theory of Planned Behaviour?

Answer 5

Exclusive focus on rational reasoning
Exclusion of emotion and unconscious influences on behaviour
Lack of experimental support e.g. Intentions and mediator
Absence of temporal dynamics

Question 6

Are psychological theories ‘proven’?

Answer 6

Never proven - results just support or challenge research evidence

Question 7

What is a literature review?

Answer 7

It’s a way of finding what had already been done in the area of research you are interested in, by carefully and systematically searching for - and appraising - previously published research

Question 8

Why are literature reviews conducted?

Answer 8

To identify what has a already been done in your area
To identify what the important, unanswered questions are in your areas of interest
To develop critical thinking skills and ability to review existing published research
To help formulate a research question

Question 9

Types of literature reviews?

Answer 9

Scoping
Pragmatic
Narrative reviews and meta-ethnography (qualitative)
Systematic (with or without meta analysis)

Question 10

What is reliability?

Answer 10

Consistency of measurement

Question 11

What is validity?

Answer 11

Does this test measure what it claims to?

Question 12

What is internal validity?

Answer 12

Is your interpretation of the results correct?

Question 13

What are problems with internal validity?

Answer 13

Confounders and sampling bias

Question 14

What is external validity?

Answer 14

Can you generalise the sample to your population of research interest?

Question 15

What is a problem of external validity?

Answer 15

Non-representative sample sizes

Question 16

What are key criteria for evaluating quality in qualitative research?

Answer 16

Persuasiveness
Trustworthiness and integrity
Coherence

Question 17

What are key criteria for evaluating quality in quantitative research?

Answer 17

Reliability and validity of the measures used
Internal validity (particularly for experimental designs)
External validity and generalisability
Extent to which study methods and findings are replicable

Question 18

Critical appraisal of research p1:

Answer 18

Is the research question clear?
Is it an adequate rationale for the study provided?
Are the results accurately described?
Is the research design appropriate for the research question?
Were the measures used reliable?

Question 19

Critical appraisal of research p2:

Answer 19

Is the interpretation of the results accurate?
Does the study have good internal and external validity?
Are the potential limitations of the study adequately described?
Are potential con founders/alternative explanations for observed results acknowledged?

Question 20

What are five ways to develop your critical thinking skills?

Answer 20

Formulate a question - clear?
Gather information - evidence for introduction
Apply the information - critical appraisal (yes/no)
Consider the implications - strengths/weaknesses, do the results match/answer question
Explore other points of view - better choice of study design?