Research Problem Flashcards by Rachel Ong

What is the general research process? (8 steps)

Problem identification
Literature review
Formulation of research aims, objectives, questions and hypotheses
Methodology development
Data collection
Data analysis
Report generation
Findings dissemination

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What are the steps in problem identification?

Identify general and sub-areas of interest
Develop and refine research problem
Generate problem
statement
Formulate aims and objectives, questions, and
hypotheses

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What are the sources of research problems?

Clinical experience

Existing literature

Specific interest

Personal experience

Theories

Social issues

Folklore

Expert opinions

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What are the aspects of a research problem?

People – Individuals, groups,
communities, organizations
(e.g. Patients with obesity)
Problem – Unmet needs,
contradictions, unclear
relationships, troubling
situation
(e.g. Difficulties controlling
dietary behaviours)
Programme – content,
structure, mode of delivery
(e.g. Behaviour change programs)
Phenomenon – causal effect,
associations, perceptions
(e.g. effectiveness of the behaviour change program on improving diet control)

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What are some considerations (of a research problem) according to literature review and other existing information?

Interest

Supported by literature
- Do others share similar prioritisation of the
problem?
- How much has this topic been explored? Any
gaps?

Significant
- What is so important about solving the problem?

Novel
- Original and unique, assesses a knowledge gap?

Timely
- Is it a hot topic now that is currently a need in the field?

Magnitude of the problem
- What is the prevalence or severity of the problem?

Feasibility
- Experience/available knowledge
- Data availability (e.g. access to population, size of accessibility)
- Ethical issues

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What is a problem statement?

A clear and concise explanation of issue/challenge that you are targeting (to allow readers to quickly understand your intent).

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Components of a problem statement

Background/context
- identify problem and what is the ideal scenario without the problem?
- What has been done to solve the problem and what are
the shortcomings?
Significance
- How does the problem hinder ideal scenario?
- Problem’s negative impact(s)?
- Who will be most affected by solving the problem?
- What is the consequence of not solving the problem?
- What is the knowledge gap
that will be addressed?
Solution
- Realistic aim and objectives, how will the study contribute to the solution of the problem?

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How to formulate aims

Aim: Should be broad, general, long-term

e.g. To develop and implement a novel behaviour change programme that improves weight loss among people with obesity

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How to set an objective

Objectives: Should be specific, focused, short-term, measurable

E.g. To test the effectiveness of a novel behaviour change program in improving
weight loss among people with obesity

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How to formulate research question

rephrase objectives to focus on variables (PICO/PICo)

E.g. Research question: What is the effectiveness of a novel behaviour change
program in improving weight loss among people with obesity?

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How to formulate research hypotheses (if applicable)

E.g. Hypothesis: Patients receiving the novel behaviour change program will have a
higher amount of weight loss as compared to those who do not

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Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “UNDERSTAND”

Review
Identify
Explore
Discover
Discuss
Summarize
Describe

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Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “APPLY”

Interpret
Apply
Demonstrate
Establish
Determine
Estimate
Calculate
Relate

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Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “ANALYSE”

Analyse
Compare
Inspect
Examine
Verify
Select
Arrange

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Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “SYNTHESISE”

Propose
Design
Formulate
Collect
Construct
Prepare
Undertake
Assemble

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Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “EVALUATE”

Appraise
Evaluate
Compare
Assess
Recommend
Conclude
Select
TesT

Types of Qualitative study designs

Descriptive
Phenomenological
Ethnographical
Grounded theory
Participatory action research (PAR)

Types of quantitative study designs

Experimental (hypothesis testing)
- Randomised controlled trials
- Quasi-experimental trials
Non-experimental (descriptive, correlational)
- Cross-sectional
- Cohort
- Case-control

Example of descriptive qualitative/quantitative study research aims

To explore the experience of
dealing with post-surgical
changes in patients after
bariatric surgery

To examine the level of
academic stress among
nursing year 3 undergraduate
students.

Examples of Descriptive correlational studies aims

To examine the relationship
between self-efficacy and
self-care proficiency among
patients with heart failure.

To examine the association
between hospital length of
stay, disease severity, anxiety
and depression among
patients with chronic kidney
disease

Examples of experimental studies aims

To examine the effectiveness
of a mindfulness-based stress
reduction (MBSR) program on
improving health-related
quality of life (HR-QOL)
among breast cancer
survivors.

To examine the effectiveness
of the Screen for Life program
on improving diabetes
screening rates in Singapore.

Types of research questions

Effectiveness of intervention/therapy/program

Accuracy of diagnosis/ assessment/evaluation

Etiology/causation

Prognosis/long-term effects of condition

Meaning

How to use PICO to craft quantitative RQ

P: Population/problem (characteristics of target group of people)
e.g. Nurses

I: Intervention/exposure
(what do you want to do to the people?)
e.g. Knowledge, attitude and practice of malnutrition care among inpatients

C: Comparison
(not applicable for qualitative studies)

O: Outcome
(what is being measured to indicate effect of intervention/exposure?)
e.g. Prevention of malnutrition among hospitalised patients

Research aim: To examine the knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses in malnutrition prevention among inpatients.

RQ: What is the knowledge, attitude, and practice of nurses towards malnutrition prevention for hospitalised patients?

How to use PICo to craft qualitative RQ

P: Population/problem
e.g. Patients with Type 2 diabetes

I: Interest
(phenomenon of interest, such as experience, behaviour, event)
e.g. Experience with diet restriction

C: Context
(what is the setting?)
e.g. To improve blood glucose control

RQ: What is the experience of patients with Type2 diabetes on diet restriction to improve blood glucose control?

What is a research hypothesis?

A statement that predicts relationship between two or more variables in a specific population. - Between independent variable(s) (influencing factor[s]) and dependent variable (outcome) - Provides a testable, measurable explanation/prediction of a research question - Written in present tense, concise and clear - Only for quantitative research designs

What is a null hypothesis

Null hypothesis: no significant relationship between independent and dependent variables, no difference between groups

What are the 3 types of research hypothesis?

1. Hypothesis of point-prevalence e.g. The behaviour change program significantly improve weight loss among patients with obesity by 5%. 2. Hypothesis of difference e.g. There is significant difference in weight loss among patients who receive the behaviour change program (intervention group) as compared to those who do not (control group) 3. Hypothesis of association e.g. There is significant relationship between self-efficacy and dietary control among patients with obesity.

Steps for hypothesis testing

1. State null hypothesis * H0: μ = m0 (which means no effect, no relationship, no difference between true and observed mean) 2. State alternative hypothesis(es) * H1: μ ≠ m0 (two-tailed: there is difference between true and observed mean) * H2: μ > m0 (upper-tailed: true mean > observed mean) * H3: μ < m0 (lower-tailed: true mean < observed mean) 3. Set significance level (α) * Normally 0.05, which means that there is 5% chance that you will reject your H0 when H0 is true 4. Collect data 5. Calculate statistics including p-value (probability of observing a sample statistic by chance, given that H 0 is true) * E.g. if p-value=0.03, it means that 3 out of 100 times of your sample observation occurs by chance, given that H0 is true (meaning that it is unlikely that your observation occurred by chance) * If p-value=0.90, it means that 90 out of 100 times of your sample observation occurs by chance, given that H0 is true (meaning that it is very likely that your observation occurred by chance) 6. Interpret results

Types of errors in hypothesis testing

Type 1 error: False positive - You reject the null hypothesis when it is actually true. - You think there is an effect or difference when there actually isn’t. Type 2 error: False negative - You fail to reject the null hypothesis (when it is actually false) - You think there is no effect or difference when there actually is.

What are research paradigms?

“the set of common beliefs and agreements shared between scientists about how problems should be understood and addressed” (Kuhn, 1962) Guides how problems are solved – a key facet of any research project.