Choosing a Research Topic
- Interest
- usually choose topics of interest to the researcher
- interest may develop from
- personal interest in a phenomenon
- the influence of knowledge after having worked in the field
- observations made from the world
- Problem Solving
- there exists a need to generate an alternate more effective or efficient solution to a problem
- Previous Research
- "Research begets research"
- based on the findings of a previous study
- one many seek to replicate the study
- extend the generalizability of the study by testing different populations or, in different settings
- Generally research raises more questions than it answers
- based on the findings of a previous study
- Theory
- can serve as a rich source for hypothesis formulation
- Theories make predictions
- Which then can be transformed into a testable hypothesis
- Theories make predictions
Literature Review
- Review the Existing Literature on a Topic
- Purpose is to familiarize oneself with the works that have already been conducted in the topic area
- It helps to guide the research in the appropriate direction by answering several questions related to the topic area…And generating other questions that may not have been previously considered
- Questions that should be Addresses in the Lit Review
- Has work been conducted in this topic area?
- What do the results of these studies suggest?
- Was any unforeseen methodological difficulties encountered that I should be aware of for my study?
- Does more research on this topic need to be conducted? And if so, in what specific areas?
Formulating a Research Problem
- It takes the form of a concise question regarding the relationship between two or more variables
- Its important to make sure the question is specific enough to avoid confusion and to indicate clearly what is being studied
- Vagueness is to be AVOIDED
- Criteria
- Should describe the relationship between two or more variables
- Should take the form f a question
- Must be capable of being tested empirically
- Operational Definitions
- Main function is to avoid confusion within the research design
- it defines key concepts and terms so that readers understand clearly what and who is being measured in a research study
- This is crucial for replication and understanding the limits of generalizability
Articulating Hypotheses
- Hypotheses attempt to explain, predict, and explore the phenomenon of interest
- It is the researcher's educated guess about how the study will turn out
- All hypotheses must be falsifiable
- Meaning they are capable of being refuted based on the study's results
- All hypotheses must make a prediction about the relationship between the two or more variables
- Null Hypothesis
- Always predicts that there will be no difference between the groups/variables being studied
- It is the null hypothesis which is tested
- It is either rejected or not rejected based on the results of statistical analysis
- Rejecting the null hypothesis only allows the researcher to not reject the alternate hypothesis…Never Accept
- Alternate Hypothesis
- Always predicts that there will be a difference between the groups/variables being studied
- Hypotheses CAN NOT be "Accepted"
- Reject
- Fail to reject
- Directional vs. Nondirectional Hypothesis
- The use of directional hypotheses depends on the researcher's knowledge about how the groups will differ
- There is a belief that the groups will differ
- AND, there is a belief about how the groups will differ
- Nondirectional
- There is a belief that the groups will differ
- BUT, there is no belief regarding how the groups will differ
Choosing Variables to Study
- Variable: anything that can take on different values
: Constant - something that can not vary
- Independent Variable
- The factor manipulated or controlled by the researcher
- This is what the experimental group will be exposed to
- Levels of the Independent Variable
- Simplest Form: it is either Present or Absent
- one group is exposed to the experimental condition while the other is not
- Multiple Levels
- Groups in the experiment receive varying degrees of the independent variable
- Multiple Independent Variable
- a study can have multiple independent variable…this would demand for larger sample sizes based on the number of variables
- Simplest Form: it is either Present or Absent
- Dependent Variable
- Is the measurable effect of the Independent variable
- Baseline Measure
- is necessary to show if any effect occurred as a result of experiencing the independent variable
- this measure is taken prior to, and after exposure of the independent variable
- Categorical Variables
- variable that can take on specific values only within a defined range of values
- EX: gender, race, eye color
- Continuous Variables
- Variables that can theoretically take on any value along a continuum
- Benefit is that it allows precision of measuring
- EX: income, weight, age
- Continuous variables may be changed into categorical variables
- EX: Age Categories (Young Adulthood, Elderly) or Income Brackets
- Quantitative Variables
- Vary in amount
- The frequency with which something happens
- Qualitative Variables
- vary in kind
Research Participants
Selection:
Pre-existing or target groups- some research studies require specific groups; difficulties may arise such as generalizability
Sample- representative subset of population
Random selection- participants are chosen in such a way that each member of the population has an equal probability to be selected to participate
- often difficult to accomplish, unless population is narrowly defined; narrowly defining population has negative effect of limiting the representativeness of the resulting sample
- the results of a study cannot be generalized based solely on random selection; evidence for generelizability comes from replication studies
Assigning Study Participants to Groups
Random Assignment- assigning in such way that each participant has equal probability of being assigned to any of the groups within the study; effective way to ensure that groups are equivalent
Nuisance Variables- variables that are not under researcher control
Without equivalent groups several variables may come into play; compromising results
Random Assignment is most effective in large sample sizes
Multiculturalism Considerations
- considerable effect on a researcher’s choice of a research question and design (even if researcher is unaware)
- important in selection and composition of the sample participants used in particular research studies