Statement of Problem, RQ Development, and Significance of Proposed Study

This discussion has three parts. You will be asked to articulate the need for your study, known as the research problem and include a draft of your research question (RQ) as well as the potential significance of the research. As we have discussed, it is the job of the scientific investigator to identify new areas of inquiry and ways to gain new knowledge in these areas. Research questions are used by scientists to frame potential areas of inquiry. 

But before developing a research question, the research problem must be identified and justified. To justify the research question, scientists will consider the implications of the problem for those who have a stake in the results of the investigation. The significance of the findings will be presented to the stakeholders and sponsors of the investigation.

Your task is to consider what you have learned as you reviewed the literature and to identify what must be learned if we are to advance the knowledge base.

Statement of Problem

Summarize the following in one or two short paragraphs:

• What do we know so far about the area of the literature that you reviewed?
• What do you think we need to know to advance the knowledge base?
• How will this new knowledge serve the stakeholders (scientists, care providers, families, patients, institutions) that may in turn be served by implementation of new developments?

Distill your statement of the research problem to one or two sentences that describe what must be learned about the problem.

Refer to the qualitative or quantitative project guide (linked in Resources) for help placing the research problem in the context of your course project. Begin working independently on completion of the template to support your completion of the project.

Research Question (RQ) Development

Identify your research question by differentiating between qualitative and quantitative research questions. Refer to the appropriate qualitative or quantitative project guide (linked in Resources) for tips.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research Questions

• Qualitative research questions ask for description and interpretation of phenomena through the identification of socially constructed themes and categories.
• Qualitative questions address concepts associated with thoughts, feelings, and actions that are not necessarily accessible via empirical methods of measurement.
• Qualitative data take the form of stories, narratives, and observations.
• Qualitative questions identify the target population and phenomena under consideration.
• Qualitative questions do not test empirically measured data.

Characteristics of Quantitative Research Questions

• Quantitative research questions point to empirical methods that will test the hypothesis or hypotheses associated with the question.
• Quantitative research questions have independent and dependent variables.
• Quantitative research questions measure relationships or correlations and/or manipulate natural phenomena through experimentation.
• Quantitative data are presented in numerical categories or quantities.
• Quantitative research questions do not interpret socially constructed themes, narratives, and observations.

Significance of Proposed Study

Summarize the following in one or two short paragraphs:

• Why is this proposed research important to your field of study?
• If it were possible for this study to be conducted, what would it contribute to our understanding?
• How would this research provide theoretical and/or practical knowledge, and why?

Response Guidelines

Offer substantive comments and detailed constructive feedback to one of your peers. Please respond to a new learner for each discussion.

Resources

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