The document provides definitions and examples for key parts of a research study, including: research topic, problem, purpose, objectives/aims, questions, and hypotheses. It uses a study on advanced practice nursing students' knowledge of obesity management to demonstrate these concepts. The learner is prompted to generate their own research topic, problem, purpose, objectives/aims, questions, and hypotheses by typing responses under each section. The purpose is for the learner to begin contemplating their own potential research area and how it could be structured.

1. Instructions
You should obtain a Word document that contains the results of
the activity. Save a copy of the document to your computer and
upload a copy for instructor review to this assignment
page.Introduction
In this activity, you will be learning about the different parts of
a research study.
You will first be introduced to the definitions of the concepts,
then examples of the concepts are provided. The examples used
in this activity will be from the article, Advanced practice
nursing student knowledge in obesity management: A mixed
methods research study (Fruh et al., 2019).
As you learn about each of the concepts, you will complete your
own examples of the sections of your research proposal. You
will begin contemplating your own research area of interest (it
may be Mental Health, behavioral, or any other particular area
related to Health), and generate preliminary sentences that
represent each of the research terms examined in this activity.
1. RESEARCH TOPIC:
What is the definition of research topic?
“They are broad collections of ideas for potential research
projects, related to one phenomenon of interest” (Burns &
Groves, 2017, p. 76).
A research topic is the collection of concepts in a clinical area
of interest that nurse researchers plan to explore or examine in
their study.
There is usually not only one sentence that describes the
research topic. The research topic is interspersed throughout the
introduction paragraphs.
Example from the article, Advanced practice nursing student
knowledge in obesity management: A mixed methods research
study (Fruh et al., 2019):

2. “...APN students’ confidence of obesity management as well as
satisfaction of APN curriculum on and curricular
recommendations regarding obesity management” (Fruh et al.,
2019, p. 59).
YOUR RESEARCH TOPIC:
(Type your Research Topic)
2. RESEARCH PROBLEM:
What is the definition of research problem?
“A research problem is an area in which there is a gap in
nursing's knowledge base” (Burns & Groves, 2017, p. 76).
Gaps are realized or identified by performing several activities
such as: consulting with experts in the field, performing a
literature search in various journal databases, and/or using your
own experience working in the field.
There is a general structure to writing the introduction section
of the research paper. It is usually a few paragraphs long and
involves a few essentials that include:
1. What is known about the research topic;
2. What is unknown about the research topic; and finally,
3. Justification for conducting the study or project.
Example from the article, Advanced practice nursing student
knowledge in obesity management: A mixed methods research
study (Fruh et al., 2019):
What is known:
“The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and

3. American College of Endocrinology have recognized the
substantial public health hazard obesity poses, so, together,
these two professional organizations have developed an
evidence-based clinical practice guideline to support healthcare
providers with direction on the appropriate treatment of the
diseases of overweight and obesity” (Garvey et al., 2016 cited
in Fruh et. al, 2019, page 60). These guidelines provide an
algorithm that includes educating and screening all patients;
staging of the disease if the screen is positive; and
recommending treatments that include lifestyle modification,
behavioral therapy, pharmacologic therapy, and bariatric
surgery. Determination of treatment is dependent on disease
stage and presence of comorbid conditions (Garvey et al.,
2016). The recommendations of pharmacological therapy to
combat obesity are echoed by The Endocrine Society, which
composed a clinical practice guideline focused primarily on
anti-obesity medications (Apovian et al., 2015 cited in Fruh et.
al, 2019, p. 60).
What is Unknown or the Gap:
Healthcare providers, including nurse practitioners (NPs),
family physicians, obstetrician/gynecologists, and internists
have reported that more training, clinic time, resources, and
reimbursement are needed for them to effectively treat patients
with obesity (Petrin et al., 2016). Similarly, Brown et al. (2007)
found that healthcare providers reported they do not feel
confident in counseling individuals regarding weight-loss and
view this as an obstacle to obesity management, yet limited
evidence exists for effective obesity education in medical
training programs (Vitolins et al., 2012).
Counseling confidence is a factor in providers' ability to guide
patients in management of overweight and obesity. Bleich et al.
(2015) found a gap between nurses' levels of confidence and
their self-reported success in helping patients achieve personal
weight-management goals.
Justification for Proposal:
Factors that may impact the confidence of the healthcare

4. provider to manage obesity effectively are the provider's own
body mass index (BMI; Bleich et al., 2012). Physicians (N=498)
with a BMI in the overweight or obese categories (n = 230)
were less likely to initiate a discussion regarding weight
management with patients having obesity. This group of
physicians with a BMI in the overweight or obese categories
also had less confidence counseling patients with obesity on
dietary and exercise recommendations.
One way to increase the number of providers who are competent
in obesity management is to prepare the next generation through
enhanced curriculum within advanced practice programs
(American Nurse Practitioner Foundation, 2013; Keyworth et
al., 2012). In turn, promotion of the self-efficacy of an
Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) student may be realized
through appropriate obesity-management education” (Fruh et
al., 2019, p. 60).
YOUR RESEARCH PROBLEM:
(Type your Research Problem)
3. RESEARCH PURPOSE:
What is the definition of the research purpose?
“It is a clear, concise statement of the researcher’s specific
focus or aim: the reason the study was performed” (Burns &
Groves, 2017, page 76).
It typically begins with “The purpose of this study is…” or “The
aim of this study is…” or “The intent is to…”
Not all research articles will explicitly state their research
purpose with these statements; however, it is important to make
it clear within all research proposals. Thus, you should practice
making your research purpose statement clear and concise.
Example from the article, Advanced practice nursing student
knowledge in obesity management: A mixed methods research
study (Fruh et al., 2019):

5. “The purpose of this study was to identify Advanced Practice
Nursing (APN) students' confidence of obesity management as
well as satisfaction of APN curriculum on and curricular
recommendations regarding obesity management”, (Fruh et al.,
2019, p. 59).
YOUR RESEARCH PURPOSE:
(Type your Research Purpose)
4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES/AIMS:
What is the definition of the research objectives or aims?
“When the author of a research study states a purpose, an
objective, or an aim, this is merely an explication of an
intention” (Burns & Groves, 2017, p. 99).
The objectives or aims of a study are very similar; in fact, there
is little difference.
The research objectives may be provided in a list. Each
objective in the list typically refers to the “different part of the
study, or to a statistical consideration of certain variables and
their interrelationships” (Burns & Groves, 2017, page 99).
The aims are related to what the researcher(s) envision as the
outputs of the study.
You will see the terms objectives and aims used interchangeably
within journal articles and research studies.
Example from the article, Advanced practice nursing student
knowledge in obesity management: A mixed methods research
study (Fruh et. al, 2019):
“The [aims] of this study [were] to 1) identify APN students'
comfort and knowledge of providing care to patients with
obesity, 2) ascertain student satisfaction with existing

6. education, and 3) obtain curricular suggestions regarding
obesity management. Additionally, this study offered
opportunities for APN students to describe difficulties as well
as positive experiences when managing obesity in the clinical
setting,” (Fruh et. al, 2019, p. 60).
YOUR RESEARCH OBJECTIVES/AIMS:
(Type at least Three Research Objectives/Aims)
5. RESEARCH QUESTION:
What is the definition of research question?
“It is a concise, interrogative statement that is worded in the
present tense and includes one or more of a study’s principal
concepts” (Burns & Groves, 2017, p. 101).
The research question typically has three parts which include
the: 1) questioning part of the sentence like “what is…”; 2)
word that indicates what the researcher wants to know; and 3)
naming of the population and variables.
You might have more than one research question for a research
study. There might be a primary research question followed by
sub-research questions. Researchers organize their research
questions in various ways.
Example from the article, Advanced practice nursing student
knowledge in obesity management: A mixed methods research
study (Fruh et al., 2019):
“The following research questions guided this study: 1) Are

7. APN students comfortable with the overall management of
patients with obesity? 2) Based on national guidelines, at which
numeric BMI level would a healthcare provider initiate therapy
with anti-obesity medications? 3) Does the BMI of the APN
student influence the level of comfort addressing obesity-
management issues with his/her patients? 4) How thoroughly
did the APN students feel they had been prepared to provide
obesity management during their graduate nursing
education?” (Fruh et al., 2019, p. 60).
YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION:
(Type One or Two Research Questions)
6. RESEARCH QUESTION:
What is the definition of research hypothesis?
“It is a stated relationship between or among variables within a
specified population”(Burns & Groves, 2017, p. 111).
The relationships described in the hypothesis are your research
variables. These are directly related to your research population
that is identified in the research purpose.
It is common to have more than one hypothesis depending on
how many variables and research questions are in your study.
Unfortunately, the authors of this article did not explicitly state
their hypotheses. This is not unusual within a journal article,
though, it is good practice to include them. It can be inferred
from the review of the literature within the background of this
paper that researchers anticipated overall low ratings of
confidence in obesity management, with a further decrease in
confidence for clinicians with higher body mass indexes

8. (BMIs). These relationships are based on the findings from
other studies that the authors discuss in this paper.
If the authors were to list a hypothesis for the Fruh et. al (2019)
study, they might write the following: ‘...we hypothesize that
clinicians with BMIs that are overweight or obese will have
lower levels of confidence in management of obesity compared
to clinicians with a healthy BMI.’
YOUR RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS:
Type Your Hypothesis (ONE OR TWO) For Each of Your
Research Questions)