WRITING RESEARCH QUESTION OBJECTIVES By Dr KHADIJA N

WRITING RESEARCH QUESTION & OBJECTIVES By Dr. KHADIJA N. ABDULLAH

Research question It is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied. One simple hint: It should be followed by a question mark! Well-crafted questions guide the systematic planning of research. Formulating your questions precisely enables you to design a study with a good chance of answering them.

Research Objectives, Questions, & Hypotheses Research Purpose Research Problem Research Topic

Remember! There is a difference between a research topic and a research question. Research topic, idea and research theme are almost the same. You may have found your topic, but within that topic you must find a research question.

THE RESEARCH QUESTION(S) SHOULD: Be derived from and clearly linked to the overall research purpose Identify the ‘target population’; the key ‘variables’ and key relationships between these variables, and subsequent ‘hypotheses’ on their basis Help us to determine what type of study to be needed (e. g. descriptive, analytical etc) Help us to think about how to collect data, i. e. an idea of the possible research methods Help us to identify the factors that may affect the quality of research results

GUIDELINES FOR A GOOD RESEARCH QUESTION 1. Relevant The question should be of an academic worth and fair intellectual interest to people in the field your study (e. g. economy of resources, public needs, or new relationships, say, of obesity and stress with the lifestyle, etc. ). It may also come from issues raised in the literature. Or follow the purpose for your research (academic, institutional, funding, etc. ) 2. Manageable and feasible You need to be realistic about the scope and scale of the research (e. g. time, money, travelling involved, your own mental and physical capacities). Any research question that is not manageable should be avoided in the first place, e. g. would you be able to access people, areas, or documents from which to collect the data you would need to answer the question?

3. Substantial and (within reason) original Even if very small, the research question should be your own idea. It should not be simply copied from somewhere. No plagiarism from the INTERNET or previous studies please. No ‘cut’ and ‘paste’. Plagiarism is both illegal and unethical, and there are clear penalties for this by your institution. Original research is rare, but the basic ideas should be from your own thinking that you can always modify or replace after the literature review; but you must develop your own skills for producing a research project. 4. Clear and simple The complexity of a research question can lead to a confused or unclear research topic. A question must be simple, concise and straightforward. It should not be contradictory and unclear, e. g. “what is the effect of negative inter-personal relationships between senior and junior managers at different hierarchical levels of a large hospital”? (Here, we are don’t know what is negative, who are senior or junior, what are the different hierarchical levels, and what is a large hospital!!)

5. Interesting This is the key! Do not make life difficult for yourself. Your research question must be of interest to you (throughout the research project!) and must remain intriguing for you through the duration of the research project. There are two traps to be avoided. 1. Some questions that are convenient but you may not be actually interested; 2. Some questions are fads – have a short life. They may have risen out of a particular opportunity (like funding), or a trend. Once the circumstances or trends change, you are likely to lose interest and it gets difficult to carry on.

The FINER criteria for good research question F--- Feasible Adequate number of subjects Adequate technical expertise Affordable in time & money Manageable in scope I---- Interesting To the investigator To peers To community N--- Novel Conforms, refutes or extends previous findings E---Ethical Amenable to a study that IRB will approve R---Relevant To scientific knowledge To clinical &health policy To future research * IRB---Institutional Review Board

WRITING A RESEARCH QUESTION The PICOT frame/approach

TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Seek to describe a phenomena and often study “how much”, “how often”, or “what is the change”. Example: How often do medical students take energy drinks?

TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS B. Causal Questions Compares two or more phenomena and determines if a relationship exists. Often called relationship research questions. Example: Does the amount of calcium in the diet of elementary school children affect the number of cavities they have per year?

TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS C. Comparative Questions Aim to examine the difference between two or more groups in relation to one or more variables. The questions often begin with “What is the difference in. . . ”. Example: What is the difference in salt intake of hypertensive and normotensive people?

Question Type Patient Problem Intervention or Comparison or Outcome or Population Exposure Control Measure Therapy In patients with is hydrotherapy traditional osteoarthritis of more effective physiotherapy the knee than in relieving pain? Prevention For obese children does the use of community recreation activities compared to reduce the risk educational of diabetes programs on mellitus? lifestyle changes Diagnosis For deep vein thrombosis is D-dimer testing or ultrasound Prognosis In healthy older within the year women that after injury suffer hip fractures Etiology Do adults more accurate for diagnosis? what is the relative risk of death? who binge drink compared to have higher those who do mortality rates? not binge drink

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ØResearch objective are the results sought by the researcher at the end of the research process. ØThe objectives of a research project summarize what is to be achieved by the study. ØObjective should be closely related to the statement of the problem.

Writing your research objectives helps to: ü Define the focus of the study ü Clearly identify variables to be measured ü Indicate the various steps to be involved ü Establish the limits of the study ü Avoid collection of any data that is not strictly necessary.

1. General objectives are broad goals to be achieved. The general objectives of the study state what the researcher expects to achieve by the study in general terms. General objectives are usually less in number.

2. Specific objectives are short term & narrow in focus. General objectives can broken into small logically connected parts to form specific objectives. General objective is met through accomplishing all the specific objective.

Research objectives should be “SMART”

TIME TO PLAY! (Exercise)

GROUP EXERCISE TIME: Preparation: 1 hour Presentation: 10 minutes/group 1)This is a group exercise, you have to choose a group leader who shall present your completed work. 2)First, you have to choose a research topic. 3) Then formulate your research question for the chosen topic. 4) Finally design your research objectives.

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