Copyright © 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams

Copyright © 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams
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Chapter 4
Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypothese
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Question
Tell whether the following statement is true or false:
A research problem is perplexing or enigmatic situation that a
researcher wants to address through disciplined inquiry.
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Answer
True
A research problem is perplexing or enigmatic situation that a
researcher wants to address through disciplined inquiry.

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Question
What is a hypothesis?
A. An enigmatic, perplexing, or troubling condition
A statement articulating the research problem and
indicating the need for a study
The specific queries the researcher wants to answer in
addressing the research problem
The researcher’s predictions about relationships among
variables
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Answer
D
Research problem: an enigmatic, perplexing, or troubling
condition
Problem statement: a statement articulating the research
problem and indicating the need for a study
Research questions: the specific queries the researcher wants to
answer in addressing the research problem
Hypotheses: the researcher’s predictions about relationships
among variables
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Basic Terminology
Research problem

An enigmatic, perplexing, or troubling condition
Problem statement
A statement articulating the research problem and indicating the
need for a study
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Basic Terminology (cont.)
Research questions
The specific queries the researcher wants to answer in
addressing the research problem
Hypotheses
The researcher’s predictions about relationships among
variables
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Basic Terminology (cont.)
Statement of purpose
The researcher’s summary of the overall study goal
Research aims or objectives
The specific accomplishments to be achieved by conducting the

study
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Sources of Research ProblemsExperience and clinical
fieldworkNursing literatureQuality improvement
initiativesSocial issuesTheoryExter nal suggestions
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Developing and Refining Research ProblemsSelecting a broad
topic area (e.g., patient compliance, caregiver stress)Narrowing
the topic—asking questions to help focus the inquiry
Examples: What is going on with . . .?What factors contribute to
. . .?
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Evaluating Research ProblemsSignificance of the
problemResearchability of the problemFeasibility of addressing
the problem (e.g., time, resources, ethics, cooperation of
others)Interest to the researcher
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Problem StatementsShould identify the nature, context, and
significance of the problem being addressedShould be broad
enough to include central concernsShould be narrow enough to
serve as a guide to study design
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Statement of Purpose—Quantitative StudiesIdentifies key study
variablesIdentifies possible relationships among
variablesIndicates the population of interestSuggests, through
use of verbs, the nature of the inquiry (e.g., to test…, to
compare…, to evaluate…)
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Statement of Purpose—Qualitative StudiesIdentifies the central
phenomenonIndicates the research tradition (e.g., grounded
theory, ethnography) Indicates the group, community, or setting
of interest Suggests, through use of verbs, the nature of the
inquiry (e.g., to describe . . ., to discover . . ., to explore . . .)
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Question
Statements of purpose in qualitative studies may “encode” the
tradition of inquiry, not only through the researcher’s choice of
verbs but also through the use of “buzzwords” associated with
those traditions. What is a grounded theory?
Process questions
Meaning questions
Cultural description questions
Experience questions
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Answer
A

Grounded theory: process questions
Phenomenology: meaning questions
Ethnography: cultural description questions
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Research QuestionsAre sometimes direct rewordings of
statements of purpose, worded as questionsAre sometimes used
to clarify or lend specificity to the purpose statementIn
quantitative studies, pose queries about the relationships among
variables
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Research Questions (cont.)In qualitative studies, pose queries
linked to the research tradition:
Grounded theory: process questions
Phenomenology: meaning questions
Ethnography: cultural description questions
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Question
Tell whether the statement is true or false:
A simple hypothesis expresses a predicted relationship between
one independent variable and one dependent variable.
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Answer
True
A simple hypothesis expresses a predicted relationship between
one independent variable and one dependent variable.
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HypothesisStates a predictionMust always involve at least two
variablesMust suggest a predicted relationship between the
independent variable and the dependent variableMust contain
terms that indicate a relationship (e.g., more than, different
from, associated with)
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Simple versus Complex Hypotheses
Simple hypothesis
Expresses a predicted relationship between one independent

variable and one dependent variable
Complex hypothesis
States a predicted relationship between two or more independent
variables and/or two or more dependent variables
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Directional versus Nondirectional Hypotheses
Directional hypothesis
Predicts the direction of a relationship
Nondirectional hypothesis
Predicts the existence of a relationship, not its direction
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Research versus Null Hypotheses
Research hypothesis
States the actual prediction of a relationship
Statistical or null hypothesis
Expresses the absence of a relationship (used only in statistical
testing)

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Chapter 3
Key Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and Quantitative
Research
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Copyright © 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Willi ams
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Question
A variable is a characteristic or quality that takes on different
values.
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Answer
True
A variable is a characteristic or quality that takes on different
values.
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Question
The dependent variable is the presumed cause of the probl em.
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Answer
False
The independent variable is the presumed cause (of a dependent
variable). The dependent variable is the presumed effect (of an
independent variable).
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Variable
A characteristic or quality that takes on different values, that is,
something that varies from one person to the next
Examples:Blood typeWeightLength of stay in hospital

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Types of VariablesContinuous (e.g., height)Discrete (e.g.,
number of children)Categorical (e.g., marital
status)Dichotomous (e.g., gender)Attribute variable versus
active variable
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Types of Variables (cont.)
Independent variable—the presumed cause (of a dependent
variable)
Dependent variable—the presumed effect (of an independent
variable)
Lung cancer (DV)
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Question
Conceptual definition is the operations a researcher must
perform to collect the desired information.
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Answer
False
Conceptual definition: the abstract or theoretical meaning of a
concept being studied
Operational definition: the operations (measurements) a
researcher must perform to collect the desired information
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Definitions of Concepts and VariablesConceptual definition: the
abstract or theoretical meaning of a concept being
studiedOperational definition: the operations (measurements) a
researcher must perform to collect the desired information
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Relationships
Relationship: a bond or connection between variablesCause-

and-effect (causal) relationship (e.g., cigarette smoking and
lung cancer)Functional (associative) relationship (e.g., gender
and life expectancy)
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Major Classes of Quantitative Research
Experimental research
Researchers actively introduce an intervention or
treatment.
Nonexperimental research
Researchers collect data without intervening or introducing
treatments.
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Major Research Traditions in Qualitative ResearchGrounded
theory researchPhenomenological research Ethnographic
research
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Question
What is the first phase in a quantitative study?
A. Conceptual phase
B. Design and planning phase
C. Empirical phase
D. Analytic phase
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Answer
A
The phases in a quantitative study are: Phase 1: Conceptual
phasePhase 2: Design and planning phasePhase 3: Empirical
phasePhase 4: Analytic phasePhase 5: Dissemination phase
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Phases in a Quantitative StudyPhase 1: Conceptual phasePhase
2: Design and planning phasePhase 3: Empirical phasePhase 4:
Analytic phasePhase 5: Dissemination phase
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Major Steps in a Quantitative StudyPhase 1: Conceptual phase
Formulating the problem
Reviewing related literature
Undertaking clinical fieldwork
Defining the framework and developing
conceptual definitions
Formulating hypotheses
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study (cont.)
Selecting a research design
Developing intervention protocols
Identifying the population
Designing the sample plan
Phase 2: Design and planning phase
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study (cont.)Phase 2: Design and
planning phase (cont.)
Specifying methods to measure research
variables and collect data
Developing methods to protect
human/animal rights
Finalizing and reviewing the research plan
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study (cont.)Phase 3: Empirical
phase
Collecting data
Preparing data for analysis
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study (cont.)Phase 4: Analytic
phase
Analyzing the data
Interpreting results
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study (cont.)Phase 5:
Dissemination phase
Communicating the findings
Utilizing findings in practice
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Activities in a Qualitative Study
Conceptualizing and planning the
study

Conducting the study
Disseminating the findings
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Research Journal Articles
Summarize the context, design, and results of a study; the
primary method of disseminating research evidence
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Content of Journal
ArticlesAbstractIntroductionMethodologyResultsDiscussion
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