research problem & design

Question 1

What is research problem?

Answer 1

refer to difficulty which a researcher experiences in the context of theoretical / practical situation &
intent 想要 to obtain a solution

Question 2

purpose of research problem (3)

Answer 2

1) introduce the reader to importance of topic being studied.

2) Place the problem into a particular context 把问题放在指定的环境

3) provide the framework for reporting the results
- indicate what is necessary to conduct the study

Question 3

Source of research problem (10)

Answer 3

10) consultation with expert

1) personal experience
2) practical experience
3) critical appraisal of literature
4) previous research
5) existing theories
6) social issues
7) brainstoming
8) intuition 直觉
9) folklores 民间传说
# 10) consultation with expert

Question 4

Techniques involved in defining a problem (5)

Answer 4

1) State the problem in a general way
2) understand the nature of the problem
3) survey the available literature
4) develop the ideas through discussions
5) rephrase the research problem into a working proposition 建议

Question 5

1) State the problem in general way

Answer 5

• researcher immerse himself throughly in the subject concerning which he wish to pose a problem
• in case of social research, field observation is done & undertake preliminary 初步 survey (pilot survey)

Question 6

2) understand the nature of problem

Answer 6

• best way to understand is discuss with those who first raised to find out the problem originally came & with what objective
• if state the problem by own, consider all factors that induce us to make general statement related the problem
• discuss with those who good in knowledge of problem

Question 7

3) survey the available literature

Answer 7

• need realise which data and materials are available that help to narrow the problem &
  find the technique that might be used
• help researcher know if there are certain gaps in theories & previous studies

Question 8

4) develop ideas through discussions

Answer 8

• can generate various new ideas
• discuss with rich experience individual to enlighten on different aspects of his proposed study
• help him sharpen his focus of attention on specific aspect within field

Question 9

5) rephase the research problem into a working proposition

Answer 9

at final stage, put the research problem in specific term - become operationally viable 操作上可行 & help in develop working hypotheses

eg: BMI

Question 10

Definition of research design

Answer 10

• is conceptual 概念性 structure which research is conducted
• constitute the blueprint for collection, measurement, and analysis of data
• decision regarding what, where, when, how much about the research study.

Question 11

importance of research design (3)

Answer 11

1) plan that specific the sources & types of info relevant to the research problem

2) strategy which will be used for gather & analyze data

3) include time & cost budget since most studies are done under these two constraints 限制条件

Question 12

Features in research design (4)

Answer 12

must contain
1) clear statement of research problem
2) procedures & techniques used for gather info
3) population to be studied
4) methods used in process & analyze data

Question 13

good research design (5)

Answer 13

involve
1) means of obtain info
2) availability & skills of the researcher
3) objective of problem
4) nature of problem
5) availability of time & money for research work

Question 14

Types of research design (2)

Answer 14

1) Observational
- cross-sectional study
- case-control & cohort study

2) interventional (experimental)
- clinical trial
- community trial

Question 15

1.1) cross-sectional study

Answer 15

[ often make inference 推理 about possible relationship / gather preliminary data to support further research ]

• analyze info from a specific period
• only collect data, do not interfere with the subjects (anything)
• consider several characteristics at once
• exposure and outcome measured simultaneously

(use to describe characteristics that exist in a community, not determine cause-and-effect relationships between different variables)

Question 16

1.2) case-control study

Answer 16

• determine the relationship between several variables to suggest possible causes of problem
• do not control who is expose or not
• outcome first , exposure later
  (present to past)

eg: people with disease (cases) compare with people without disease (control)
[ to determine whether, in the past, cases have been expose more (or less) to risk factor than control ]

Question 17

1.3) cohort (follow-up) study

Answer 17

• determine the relationship between several variables to suggest possible causes of problem
• do not control who is expose or not
• exposure first, outcome later
  (present to future)

-group are followed-up over time to determine whether incidence 发生率 of disease is more/less in exposed group than the non-exposed group

Question 18

2) interventional trials

Answer 18

• has control who is exposed & not exposed to the factor under investigation 调查

Question 19

2.1) clinical trials

Answer 19

• are interventional study of the effect of specific treatment on patient who already have a particular disease

eg: most clinical trials involve testing new drug / medical device

Question 20

2.2) community trials

Answer 20

• are interventional study done at community / facility level

eg: researcher test feasibility of new approach at system level

Question 21

Observational VS experimental study design

Answer 21

1) obs: less validity
exper: more

2) obs: cannot determine causality因果关系
exper: can

3) obs: no randomization / blinding
exper: randomization & blinding

4) obs: less
exper: require more resources and time

5) obs: less
exper: ethical concern when dealing with potentially harmful exposure

6) obs: good
exper: difficult if outcome being studied is rare