Planning a research project and

formulating research questions

Overview
advice on timing;
advice on generating research questions;
advice on writing to help you produce
compelling findings;
advice on understanding the requirements of a
dissertation project;
advice on what makes a good dissertation.

Think about your research

Try to think about your research at the
earliest possible stage.
Think early on about topics which might
interest you - this saves time later on.
Remember: A piece of research can be a talking
point for a job interview, as it is something the
student has done!

Discussing with supervisor

Supervisor can help you identify helpful research areas.
Use your supervisor to the fullest extent that you are allowed.
Follow supervisors suggestions they are given in your best
interests.
If you encounter problems, keep in touch with supervisor!

Managing time and resources

Key Points:
Work out a timetable - start and finish dates
for every stage of research.
Find out about the resources available (if any)
for travel expenses, stationery, photocopying,
postage costs, recording and transcription
equipment.

Identifying research questions

Once you have selected a topic, you need to
develop research questions:
Totally open-ended research is risky
Poorly formulated questions will lead to poor
research
Research questions help to focus your literature
searches, data collection, analysis and writing

Make sure your research questions are:

clearly defined and researchable

theoretically grounded
linked together
neither too large nor too small

Formulating a research question

A research question should end with a question
mark.
If there is no question mark, it is not a
research question.
Be selective with your questions from the
possible research areas.
Be guided by the principle that the research
questions we choose should be related to one
another. If they are not, our research will
probably lack focus.

Steps in selecting research questions:

an example

Criteria for Evaluating your

Research Question
Questions should be clear.
Questions should be researchable.
Questions should connect with established theory and research.
Questions should be linked to each other.
Questions should have potential for making a contribution to
knowledge.
Questions should be neither too broad nor too narrow.

Preparing a Research Proposal (1)

What is your research topic or, alternatively,
what are your research objectives?
Why is your research topic (or why are those
research objectives) important?
What is your research question or what are
your research questions?
What does the literature have to say about your
research topic/objectives and research
question(s)?

Preparing a Research Proposal (2)

How are you going to go about collecting data
relevant to your research question(s)? In other
words, what research methods are you
intending to use?
Why are the research methods/sources you
have selected the appropriate ones for your
research question?
Why are the research methods/sources you
have selected the appropriate ones for your
research question?

Preparing a Research Proposal (3)

Who will your research participants be and how will
they be selected (or if the research will employ
documents, what kinds of documents will be the focus
of your attention and how will they be selected)?
If your research requires you to secure access to
organizations, have you done so, and if not, what
obstacles do you anticipate?
What resources will you need to conduct your research
(for example, postage, travel costs, recording and
transcription equipment, photocopying, software) and
how will those resources be funded?

Preparing a Research Proposal (4)

What is your timetable for the different stages
of the project?
What problems do you anticipate in doing the
research (for example, access to
organizations)?
What are the possible ethical problems
associated with your research?
How will you analyse your data?

Preparing for your research

Once research questions are identified, consider:
Who/what do you need to study in order to
investigate your research questions?
How easily can you gain access to a sampling frame?
What kind of sampling strategy will you employ (for
example, probability sampling, quota sampling,
theoretical sampling, convenience sampling)?
Can you justify your choice of sampling method?

Getting ready for data collection

and analysis
Be aware of safety issues
Keep a research diary or log book of what you
have done and when
Keep records of sample recruitment / response
rates
allow time for transcription
Familiarize yourself with technical equipment
and computer software packages
Begin coding as soon as you have some data

Make your own choices

Choose a topic that interests you
Ask yourself whether you can answer the research
question
Read a lot, read thoroughly and appropriately.
Identify your strengths, weaknesses, interests, and
personal development opportunities.
Dont pre-commit to one idea, approach, research design,
or data source.
Use opportunities to talk to others.
Research something that is likely to be interesting to
others.
Start writing early.
Remember that this is not your life work or a bid for a
Nobel Prize.
Listen to your supervisor, but make your own choices.

Key Points
Follow the dissertation guideline.
Allow plenty of time to think of your subject.
Use your supervisor to the fullest extent allowed.
Plan your time.
Formulate some research questions to express what
it is about your area of interest that you want to
know.
Writing a research proposal is a good way of getting
started.
Consider access, sampling issues and pilot study.
Keep good records of what you do in your research.

Scientific methods
Using the scientific method,
A researcher conducts a study in five phases:
Asking a question,
Researching existing sources,
Formulating a hypothesis, conducting a study,
and drawing conclusions.

Ask a Question
The first step of the scientific method is:
to ask a question,
describe a problem, and
identify the specific area of interest.

The topic should be narrow enough to study within a

geography and timeframe.
"Are societies capable of sustained happiness?" would be too
vague.

Research Existing Sources

The next step is to conduct background research
Literature review, which is a review of any existing similar or
related studies.
A visit to the library,
Thorough online search

This step helps researchers gain a broad understanding of work,

previously conducted on the topic at hand, and
enables them to position their own research to build on prior knowledge.

Researchers are responsible for correctly citing existing sources

they use in a study or that inform their work.
While it is fine to borrow previously published material (as long as
it enhances a unique viewpoint), it must be referenced properly
and never plagiarized.

Formulate a Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an assumption about how two or more
variables are related;
it makes a conjectural statement about the relationship
between those variables.

Independent variables are the cause of the change.

The dependent variable is the effect, or thing that is
changed.

Formulate a Hypothesis
How does gender (the independent variable) affect rate
of income (the dependent variable)?
How does one's religion (the independent variable)
affect family size (the dependent variable)?
How is social class (the dependent variable) affected by
level of education (the independent variable)?

Formulate a Hypothesis

Hypothesis
The greater the availability of affordable
housing, the lower the homeless rate.
The greater the availability of math
tutoring, the higher the math grades.
The greater the police patrol presence,
the safer the neighborhood.
The greater the factory lighting, the
higher the productivity.
The greater the amount of observation,
the higher the public awareness.

Independent Dependent
Variable
Variable
Affordable

Homeless
Housing
Rate

Math Tutoring Math Grades

Police
Safer
Patrol
Neighborho
Presence
od

Factory
Productivity
Lighting

Public
Observation
Awareness

Research Methods
Method

Survey

Field Work

Experiment

Implementation

Questionnaires
Interviews

Observation
Participant
observation
Ethnography

Analysis of
government data

Yields many
responses

Challenges

Can survey a large

sample

Quantitative data are

easy to chart

Case study

Deliberate manipulation of
social customs and mores

Advantages

Can be time consuming

Can be difficult to encourage
participant response
Captures what people think and
believe but not necessarily how
they behave in real life
Time consuming

Yields detailed,
accurate real-life
information

Qualitative data is difficult to

organize

Tests cause and effect

relationships

Hawthorne Effect

Data captures how people behave

but not what they think and
believe

Ethical concerns about

peoples wellbeing