Chapter 3 - Problem Statement Formulation

Chapter 3

Research Problems: Statements, Questions,
and Hypotheses

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Importance of Research Problems

 Formulates a clear, concise, and
manageable research problem
 Communicates to others
 Focus and importance of problem
 Educational context and scope
 Framework for reporting results
 Indicates evidence-based inquiry

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 2

Sources of Problems
 Casual observation
 Relationship between cognition and affect
 Relative effectiveness of positive or negative
reinforcement
 Deductions from theory
 Effectiveness of using math manipulatives
 Relationship between instructional style and
learning style
 Related literature
 Study of dropouts in your locale
 Use of math manipulatives in secondary schools


Sources of Problems
 Current social and political issues
 Gender and race equity
 Inclusion

 Practical situations
 Evaluations of specific programs
 Effectiveness of local initiatives
 Personal experience and insight
 Teaching statistical courses from an applied
perspective
 Effectiveness of non-threatening classroom
assessments


Formal Problem Statements

 Purpose
 Introduces reader to importance of
problem
 Places problem in an educational context
 Provides framework for reporting results—
findings and conclusions


Problem Formulation in
Quantitative Research
 Is phrased as statements, questions or
hypotheses
 Provides identification of population,
variables, and logic of problem
 Presents logic of constructs, variables,
and operational definitions


Construct

 Complex abstraction not directly
observable
 e.g., motivation, meta-cognition, self-
concept, aptitude, etc.
 Derived from theory
 Expresses idea behind a set of particulars
 Can combine several variables into
meaningful patterns


Variable

 An event, category, behavior or attribute
 Composed of attributes of levels that
express a construct
 Each variable a separate and distinct
phenomenon
 Two types based on what is measured
 Categorical variables—groups variable into
attributes (categories)
 Continuous measured variable—can assume
an infinite number of values within a range


Research Variable Types

 In experimental research
 Independent—comes first—influences or
predicts
 Also called manipulated or experimental
variable
 Antecedent
 Dependent—comes second—if affected or
predicted by independent variable
 Consequence


Research Variable Types

 In non-experimental research
 Independent variable cannot be
manipulated
 In correlational studies
 Antecedent called predictor variable
 Dependent variable called criterion
 Not always possible to tell which comes
first
 When prediction not goal, but rather to see if
there is a relationship between variable


Operational Definition for
Variable
 Assigns meaning to a variable by
specifying activities or operations
necessary to measure, categorize, or
manipulate variable
 Tells researcher what is necessary to
answer question or test hypothesis


 Identify population, variables and logic of
problem
 Specific research questions and hypotheses
 Questions—simple and direct
 Descriptive—typically asks “what is” and implies a
survey research design
 e.g., What is current dropout rate in Louisiana?
 Relationship—implies a correlational design
 e.g., What is relationship between math attitude and
math achievement?
 Difference—implies a comparison
 e.g., Is there a difference in effectiveness of graded
and non-graded homework?


Research Hypotheses in

 Statements
 e.g., purpose of this research is to ....
 Questions
 e.g., What is ...?


Research Hypotheses in
 Tentative statement of expected
relationships between two or more
variables
 e.g., there is a significant, positive
relationship between self-concept and math
achievement
 States direction of relationship
 Should be testable, verifiable
 Should offer a tentative explanation
based on theory or previous research
 Concise and lucid


Qualitative Research
 Is phrased as statements or questions,
never as hypotheses
 Broad statements: how, what and why
 Begins with selecting general topic and
mode of inquiry
 i.e., interactive and non-interactive


Qualitative Field Records,
Descriptions, and Abstractions
 Employs inductive reasoning
 Selects a particular case (rather than variables
as in quantitative) for in-depth study
 Case is a particular social situation chosen by
researcher in which some phenomenon will be
described by participants’ perceptions
 Aim is to gain understanding of a broader
phenomenon
 Qualitative field records
 Participant observation field notes
 Interview tapes
 Researcher notes on historical documents


Narrative Descriptions
 Detailed narrations of people, incidents, and
processes
 Completed after data collection because of
discover-orientation of research
 Called “rich” or “thick”
 Contains information on
 People
 Incidents
 Participants’ language
 Participants’ “meanings”
 Synthesized abstractions
 Summary generalizations and explanations of major
research findings of study


Problem Reformulation

 Initial statement of a broad, general
question
 i.e., foreshadowed problem, phrased as
“what,” how,” and “why” of situation
 Condensed problem statement
identifying a specific focus
 Reformulation of problem during
research—emergent design


Statements of Qualitative Research
Purposes and Questions
 Qualitative problem statements
 Qualitative traditions of ethnography,
phenomenology, case study, grounded
theory, and critical study
 Focus on current phenomena through
interactive data collection
 Historical problem statements and
questions
 Analysis of documents and archives
 Focus on understanding past


Mixed Method Problem
Formulation
 Equal priority to all questions
both quantitative and qualitative data
collected about same time
 Research questions and foreshadowed
problems
 Problems usually presented together
 Findings from both kinds of data would be
analyzed and interpreted together
(triangulation)


Formulation
 Measured results explained by
qualitative data
 Data collected sequentially
 Quantitative phase provides general
results explained with qualitative data
 Explanatory design


Formulation
 Qualitative questions, then quantitative
questions
 Used when there is little prior research on a
topic or practice that is new
 Qualitative methods used first to investigate
scope of phenomenon
 Quantitative methods investigate findings in
a more structured way
 Exploratory design


Significance of Problem Selection

 Rationale for a study
 Justifies why an evidence-based inquiry is
important
 Indicates researcher’s interest/choice
 Knowledge of an enduring practice
 Theory testing
 Generalizability


Significance of Problem Selection

 Extensions of understanding
 Methodological advancement
 Current issues
 Evaluation of a specific practice or policy
at a given site
 Exploratory research


Standards of Adequacy for
Problem Statements
 General research problem
 Does statement of general research
problem imply possibility of empirical
investigation?
 Does problem statement restrict scope of
study?
 Does problem statement give educational
context in which problem lies?


Significance of Problem
 Does problem contribute to one or more of
following?
 Develops knowledge of an enduring practice
 Contributes to theory development
 Expands current knowledge
 Provides an extension of our understanding
 Advances methodology
 Related to a current social or political issue
 Evaluates specific practice or policy at given site
 Explores an issue about which little is known


Specific Research Question or
Hypothesis
 Quantitative
 Does specific research purpose, question,
or hypothesis state concisely what is to be
determined?
 Does level of specificity indicate question
or hypothesis researchable? Do variables
seem amenable to operational definitions?
 Is logic clear? Are variables identified?
 Does research question or hypothesis
indicate framework for reporting results


Qualitative
 Do research questions, foreshadowed
problems, or condensed problem
statements indicate particular case of
phenomena to be examined?
 Is qualitative methodology appropriate
for description of present of past events?
 Is logic reasonably explicit?
 Does research purpose indicate
framework for reporting findings?


Mixed Methods

 Is relative emphasis of each method
made explicit?
 Is order in which quantitative and
qualitative data collected clear?


Other Criteria

 Is problem one in which researcher has
a vital interest and a topic in which
researcher has both knowledge and
experience?
 Are problem and design feasible in terms
of measurement, access to case,
sample, or population, permission to use
documents, time frame for completion,
financial resources, and like?


Other Criteria
 Does researcher have skills to conduct
proposed research and to analyze and
interpret results?
 Does proposed research ensure
protection of human subjects from
physical or mental discomfort or harm?
 Is right of informed consent of subjects
provided?
 Will ethical research practices be
followed?


Chapter 3 - Problem Statement Formulation

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