Research Preliminaries Essay

This course is a brief overview about research design that is intended to cover the basics of designing and implementing a scientific study. Although this course will address every step of the research process, it is by no means exhaustive and is no substitute for a college level course in research methodology, nor is it a substitute for an experienced research advisor. Choosing a Topic For a researcher to choose a topic for a project, it is important to consider a broad area of inquiry and interest. This may be as broad as â€Å"global eye health† or â€Å"personality psychology,† but it should be an area that is of interest to the researcher. However, a broad area is useful only at the beginning of a research plan. Within a broader topic of inquiry, each researcher must begin narrowing the field into a few subtopics that are of greater specificity and detail. For example, a researcher may be interested in â€Å"global eye health,† but could focus more specifically on â€Å"proper eye care and how it affects individuals.† Although this topic is still too broad for a research project, it is more focused and can be further specified into a coherent project. Literature Review The literature review should be conducted early in the research process, directly after you choose a topic. A literature review can bring clarity and focus to your research problem and broaden your knowledge base in your research area. The literature review is crucial because an important responsibility in research is to add to a body of knowledge and to compare your findings with others. The procedure is simple: search the literature in your area of interest, review the selected studies, and develop a theoretical framework for your own study What makes a good research question? Not all research questions are good ones—in other words, not all questions can be answered through qualitative and quantitative research methodology. A good research question needs to: 1. â€Å"Make sense†: In other words, you must clearly define your terms using known definitions outlined in the literature. For example, a poor research question would be: How do people’s lives improve after surgery? Not only does this research question fail to specify the study population, it contains the vague term â€Å"improve†. The researcher must specify what he/she means by this term—does it involve a physical improvement or rather an improvement in mental state? The more specific your research question, the better. 2. Address an important and relevant issue: Scientific research is done to increase knowledge, not simply for a single researcher’s personal satisfaction. Whatever question the researcher sets out to solve must have some beneficial implications. A good research question will also always have relevance to the time, place, and population of the study. Not already have been done: A good research study will be novel. This means that there will be some new aspect of the study that has never before been examined. In fact, not only is replication a good way to get a research methodology, it is how science is supposed to advance knowledge. When replicating a pervious study, it is best to add or change one or two things to increase the novelty of the research. 3. Be â€Å"operationalizable†: Oftentimes, beginning researchers pose questions that cannot be operationalized, or assessed methodologically with research instruments. From the example above, the idea of life improvement could be operationalized by a Quality of Life survey—a well known and validated research tool. In general, the more abstract the idea, the harder it is to operationalize. 4. Be within a reasonable scope: A good research project will be manageable in depth and breadth. The scope will depend on the amount of time and the availability of resources you have for your study. In general, the more focused the research question the more likely it will be a successful project. For example, a study that seeks to identify the prevalence eye disease in a specific village is more likely to succeed than a comparable study that seeks to identify eye disease prevalence in the world population. Qualitative and Quantitative Studies Not all research projects require study measures. Some research simply involves observing the results of events in the field and drawing conclusions based on a theoretical framework. Others may involve analyzing data from clinics or other institutions, using statistics and reasoning to find patterns that may have important implications. However, many projects involve direct contact with participants, using an operationalized definition of a phenomenon. These projects require well-designed measures in order to be considered valid. There are two broad categories of research: quantitative and qualitative. A study is classified as qualitative if the purpose is primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or event; the information is gathered through the use of variables or measured on qualitative measurement scales, and if analysis is done to establish the variation in the situation or problem without quantifying it. Qualitative studies tend to be more â€Å"in-depth†, focusing on a smaller population but probing deeper into a given problem. This research is often associated with focus groups, interviews or surveys and seeks to answer open-ended questions. Thematic and content analysis are two methods used to analyze qualitative data. Disciplines such as anthropology, history, and sociology are more inclined towards a qualitative approach. On the other hand, quantitative studies often use standardized measures, numerical values, have larger sample sizes, and analyze data using statistical programs. A study is classified as quantitative if the researcher seeks to quantify the variation in a phenomenon and if information is gathered using quantitative variables. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, and advantages and disadvantages. Disciplines such as epidemiology, economics and public health are more inclined towards quantitative research. Hypothesis A hypothesis is a suggested explanation for an observed relationship or a causal prediction about a relationship among several variables. Every research project is based on a hypothesis, which generally begins with a specific question. A hypothesis takes the operationalized definition of the factors to produce a clear prediction of the causal relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable in the statement. The independent variable is a factor that the researcher can control or manipulate (whether or not a person receives basic eye care services), and a dependent variable is a factor that the researcher cannot manipulate, but instead varies in relation to the independent variable (the economic productivity of the individual). For example, a hypothesis might be â€Å"We predict that if nearsighted participants are provided with corrective lenses that bring their vision to 20/20, they will earn more money per week on average over the course of three months than nearsighted participants who did not receive corrective lenses.† When formulating a hypothesis, it is important not to try to â€Å"prove† that the hypothesis is true. Instead, one should seek to find evidence that it is not true.