Research Procedure

1. Choosing a research problem

2. Determining the research problems
3. Determining the purpose statement
4. Determining the research objective
5. Determining the research hypotheses
6. Reviewing the literature
Research
7. Planning the research design
Procedure
8. Determining the sampling procedure
9. Developing research instrument
10. Determining the validity and reliability of research instrument
11. Determining the data collection procedure
12. Collecting data
13. Analysing and interpreting data
14. Discussing and reporting research findings
1. Choosing a Research Problem
• A research problem is an educational issue,
controversy, or concern that guides the need
for conducting a study.
• Examples of good research problems for
educational are:
1. The disruptions caused by at-risk students in
classrooms
2. The increase in violence on college campuses
3. The lack of parental involvement in schools
for students with challenging behaviours

(Creswell, 2012)
1. Choosing a Research Problem
• 5 ways to assess whether you should research a
problem:
1. Study the problem if your study will fill a gap or
void in the existing literature
2. Study the problem if your study replicates a past
study but examines different participants and
different research sites
3. Study the problem if your study extends past
research or examines the topic more thoroughly
4. Study the problem if your study gives voice to
people silenced, not heard, or rejected in society
5. Study the problem if your study informs practice

(Creswell, 2012)
1. Choosing a Research Problem

How to justify the need

to study the research
problem?

Suggestions made by
Personal or others’
experiences in the other researchers as
Personal experiences
workplace reported in the
literature

Used in both quantitative

Used in both and qualitative research,
Used in qualitative
research, such as quantitative and such as experiments,
narrative research qualitative research, surveys, correlational
such as action research studies, grounded theory
studies

(Creswell, 2012)
1. Choosing a Research Problem
Flow of ideas to a “Statement of Problem” Section (Creswell, 2012)

Topic Research Justifications Deficiencies Relating the

Problem for the in the Discussion to
Research Evidences Audiences
Problem
Subject area A concern Evidence from Evidence that Audiences that will
or issue, a the literature is missing profit from the
problem or practical study
experience
Example
Parents’ role in Need for Past literature We need to Parents can better
promoting better has evaluate how assess their role
access to access for documented parents can Counselors can
college by students of poor promote better involve
underrepresen colour attendance access parents
ted students Colleges can better
work with parents
2. Determining the Purpose Statement
• The purpose statement is a statement that
advances the overall direction or focus for the
study.
• It describes the intent of the study, the
objectives, and the major idea of a study.
• This idea builds on a need (the problem) and is
refined into specific questions, the research
questions.
• It often appears as the last sentence of an
introduction which begins with the phrase “The
purpose of this study is…”
3. Determining the Research Objective
• A research objective is a statement that
specifies goals that the researcher plans to
achieve in a study.
4. Determining the Research Questions
• Research questions are questions that narrow
the purpose statement and research
objectives to specific questions that the
researcher seeks to answer.
4. Determining the Research Questions
A research questions should be:
Feasible —enable you to collect data.

Clear (i.e. most people agree as to what the key terms in the question
mean).

Significant (i.e. it is worth investigating because it will contribute important

knowledge about the human condition)

Ethical (i.e. it will not involve physical or psychological harm or damage to

human beings, or to the natural or social environment of which they are a
part)

Indicates a relationship of some sort (i.e. two or more qualities are

suggested as being connected or related to each other in some way).
4. Determining the Research Questions
Examples of research questions with appropriate methodology
1. Does client-centered therapy produce more satisfaction in
clients than does traditional therapy?
(experimental research)
2. How do parents feel about the school counselling
programme?
(survey research)
3. What are the cultural influences that affect the professional
development of athletic trainers in a high school setting?
(ethnographic research)
3. How do nontraditional students experience clinical education
with people who are younger than themselves?
(phenomenological research)
4. Determining the Research Questions
Examples of research questions with appropriate methodology
5. Do teachers behave differently toward students of different
genders?
(causal-comparative research)
6. How can we predict which students might have trouble
learning certain kinds of subject matter? (
correlational research)
6. What was the process of implementing (or not-implementing)
the protocols (from the perspective of dentists, practice staff,
and patients)? How did this process vary?
(grounded theory research)
8. Are the descriptions of people in social studies in textbooks
biased?
(content analysis research)
Differences among the Topic, Research Problem,
Purpose and Research Questions
• A research topic is the broad subject matter
addressed by the study.
• A research problem is a general educational
issue, concern or controversy addressed in
research that narrows the topic.
• A purpose is the major intent or objective of
the study used to address the problem.
• Research questions narrow the purpose into
specific questions that the researcher would
like answered or addressed in the study.