Unit 2: Ch. 6 Flashcards
Research problem
A puzzling, perplexing, or troubling situation
Something you can do research on and get ideas on how to solve the problem
Problem statement
A statement articulating the research problem and making an argument to conduct a new study
Just an explanation for the problem and justification for why the study should be conducted
Topic
At the most general level, a researcher selects a topic on which to focus
Statement of purpose
aka purpose statement
Researcher’s summary of the overall goal
-99% of the time it’s there (usually at end of introduction)
Sometimes the words aim or objective are used instead of purpose
Research questions
Specific queries researchers want to answer, which guide the types of data to be collected in a study
Researchers who make specific predictions about answers to research questions pose ____ that are then tested.
Hypotheses
The research problem must…?
- be important
- “a study must be feasible, fundable, and significant” - be feasible to study
- doable as far as time commitment is concerned; not extremely expensive; in terms of researcher’s expertise (researcher already has to know something about topic beforehand); in terms of availability of subjects, facility, equipment, ethical considerations
- ex: a study that would take 40 years isn’t feasible - have the potential to generate or refine relevant knowledge for practice
- significance means study should be build on previous research - Build on previous research
- Promote theory testing or development
T/F: Not every study is fundable
True.
-ex: a lot of nursing research is funded by the government (NINR, etc.) and a lot of times the federal government has funding priorities –> if your research isn’t one of THEIR priorities it may not be fundable
____ studies usually involve concepts that are fairly well developed and for which reliable methods of measurement have been (or can be) developed
Quantitative
____ studies are often undertaken b/c a researcher wants to develop a rich and context-bound understanding of a poorly understood phenomenon.
Qualitative
Sources of research problems
- Clinical experience
- working on a unit there may be something you keep encountering and you discover it’s researchable - Nursing literature
- may discover gaps in the literature (areas for future research) - Social issues
- topics are sometimes suggested by global, social, or political issues of relevance to healthcare community (e.g. health disparities) - Theory
- look at theory and test theory as a way of doing research - Suggestions from external sources
- ex: going to conferences; look at what funding agencies are supporting
Researchers who have developed a ____ of research may get inspiration for “next steps” from their own findings, or from a discussion of those findings with others.
Program [of research]
T/F: Researchers often begin with interests in a broad topic area, and then develop a more specific researchable problem.
True
Problem statements, especially for quantitative studies, often have most of the following 6 components.
- Problem identification
- what’s wrong w/ the current situation? - Background
- what’s the nature of the problem, or the context of the situation, that readers need to understand? - Describe the scope of the problem
- how big of a problem is it, and how many people are affected? - Describe the consequences of the problem
- what’s the cost of NOT fixing the problem? - ID knowledge gaps
- what info about the problem is lacking? - Proposed solution
- how will the new study contribute to the solution of the problem?
Aims and objectives
Accomplishments to be achieved
Usually it’s there but depends on the author and the needs of the problem; have more to do w/ conducting research than writing research
In a quantitative study, a statement of purpose identifies…?
The key variables and the possible interrelationships, as well as the population of interest (i.e., all the PICO elements)
Variables: independent (IV) and dependent (DV)
Suggests, through the use of verbs, the nature of the inquiry (e.g. to test…, to compare…, to evaluate…)
In a qualitative study, a statement of purpose indicates…?
The nature of the inquiry, the key concept or phenomenon, and the group, community, or setting under study.
Suggests through the use of verbs, the nature of the inquiry (e.g. to describe…, to discover…, to explore…)
Examples of purpose statements
- The goal of this study was…
- The purpose of this study was…
- The objective of this study was…
- The purpose was to describe…
- The aim was to determine differences between groups…
- This study examined relationships among…
- This investigation determined the effect of…
Where can the purpose statement be found?
The beginning of the research article
The abstract often includes it
The end of the introduction section*
*most common location
Grounded theory
Processes; social structures; social interactions
In qualitative studies; asks process questions
Phenomenological studies
Experience; lived experience; meaning; essence
In qualitative studies; asks meaning questions
Ethnographic studies
Culture; roles; lifeways; cultural behavior
In qualitative studies; asks cultural description questions
Critique of the problem and purpose
Present? Clear and concise? Population named (ex: geriatrics/pediatrics)? Problem limited in scope? Generate new knowledge? Is the study feasible? Is the study ethical?
Research questions
Specific queries the researcher wants to answer in addressing the problem
Typically asked when a hypothesis can’t be written (ex: too little is known about the topic)
Typically follow the introduction and purpose statement
-purpose statement at end of introduction and if there’s going to be a research question/hypothesis it’ll immediately follow purpose statement
May ask for descriptions or comparisons, or may ask about relationships
-quantitative study: relationships about variables
examples: What’s the prevalence of anxiety among college students? What’s the relationship between anxiety and test scores among college students?
Hypotheses
Predictions about relationships among variables
States an expectation, usually involves 2 or more variables, suggests a predicted relationship; will contain terms such as more than, different from, associated with…
Most often found in quantitative studies
- that’s b/c qualitative studies are more about description
- quantitative studies: more about predicting on a subject you know about
Tested through statistical procedures
Research questions and hypotheses are similar to ____ (PICO) questions in that they focus the study and keep researchers on track
Clinical
Research questions in Qualitative studies
In qualitative studies, research questions often pose queries linked to research tradition:
- grounded theory: process questions
- phenomenology: meaning questions
- ethnography: cultural description questions
Research hypotheses
Usually state the expected relationship between variables (independent and dependent)
Directional hypothesis
Predicts the direction of a relationship
Specifies not only the existence but the expected direction of the relationship between variables (book definition)
ex: there will be more of Thing A than Thing B
Nondirectional hypothesis
Predicts the existence of a relationship, not its direction
Does NOT stipulate the direction of the relationship (book definition)
ex: there is a relationship, but doesn’t predict direction (more than, less than, stronger/weaker than, more severe than…) of the relationship
Research questions and hypotheses
Research question: interogative statement asking about the variables to be studied
-ex: what’s the relationship between speed walking and BP?
Hypotheses: declarative statement of expected relationships among variables to be studied
-ex: women who speed walk have lower BP than women who don’t speed walk
Null hypotheses
State that there is no relationship between the independent and depend variables
-ex: older pts are just as likely as younger pts to fall
The null hypothesis is the formal statement of this assumption of innocence
Hypotheses and proof
Hypotheses are never proved or disproved
Hypotheses may be supported or not supported by the data from the study
When it comes to research you can NEVER completely prove a thing (whatever is being studied)
- you can either provide support for it or not provide support for it
- ex: smoking and lung cancer –> lots of evidence (overwhelming) that smoking causes lung cancer but we cannot definitively say smoking causes lung cancer
Critique of hypotheses
clear and concise
- ID’s variables
- predicts the nature of relationship
- ID’s the population
must be testable
- predicts anticipated outcomes
- measurable/observable variables
- objective
theoretical foundation
-ideally but there are also lots of studies that may not talk about theoretical foundations
