ch2

1. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
The Research Problem
Chapter 2

2. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.

3. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Sources of Problems
• Experience
• Related literature
• Theory
• Noneducation sources (theories and procedures in
other fields that apply to education)
• Qualitative research problems

4. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Evaluating Research Problems
• Should have significance (contributes to body
of knowledge)
• Should lead to further research
• Must be researchable (can be investigated through data
collection)
• Should be ethically appropriate (will not harm subjects)
• Should be suitable for researcher (interesting and suits
researcher’s skills, time, and resources)

5. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
The Research Question
• Must be a specific question inherent in the problem
selected
• Specifies the population and variables
• Can be a statement or a question
• Is clarified by operational definitions

6. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Identifying Population and Variables
• Research question: What is the effect of problem-
based simulation on the conceptual understanding of
middle-school science students?
• Population: Middle-school science students
• Variables: Problem-based simulation (independent);
conceptual understanding in science (dependent)

7. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
The Hypothesis in Research
• Presents researcher’s expectations, or predictions,
about the relationship between two or more variables
within the quantitative research question

8. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Purpose of Hypothesis
• Integrates information that enables researcher to make
a tentative statement about how variables are related
• Provides a way to connect the literature to the current
study
• Provides direction to research
• Provides framework for reporting findings and
conclusions

9. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Characteristics of a Usable Hypothesis
• Must be empirically testable
• Should be stated simply and concisely
• Should be consistent with existing body of knowledge

10. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Types of Hypotheses
• Research hypothesis states the results the
researcher expects to find; it may be statement about
the expected relationship or difference. Can be
directional or nondirectional.
• Null hypothesis states that there is no relationship
between the variables; it is a negation of what the
researcher expects.

11. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Directional versus Nondirectional
• Directional hypothesis states the direction or nature
of the expected relationship or difference
• Nondirectional hypothesis states relationship exists
but does not specify direction or nature of expected
relationship

12. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Testing a Null Hypothesis
1. State the research hypothesis.
2. State the null hypothesis.
3. Select a research method to observe hypothesized
relationship.
4. Gather empirical data, and calculate descriptive statistics.
5. Calculate inferential statistics to determine probability.
6. Retain or reject null hypothesis, if probability of observed
findings due to chance is very small.

13. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Quantitative Research Plan Elements
• Problem: Clear statement of problem, rationale, and
background
• Research question and hypothesis: Concise
statements of questions to study followed by
researcher’s expectations
• Methodology: An explanation of how study will be
conducted
• Data analysis: An overview of how to analyze the data

14. © 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.
Class Activity
• In small groups, given a set of research questions,
identify possible research questions and null and
alternative hypotheses.