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Lesson 3selecting and Defining Research Topic Lesson 2

The document outlines the process of selecting and defining a research topic in qualitative research, emphasizing the importance of a focused and manageable topic. It provides steps for narrowing down broad subjects, identifying researchable questions, and ensuring the topic is interesting, ethical, and significant. Additionally, it discusses the characteristics of a good research topic and the differences in stating qualitative versus quantitative research questions.

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2 views

Lesson 3selecting and Defining Research Topic Lesson 2

The document outlines the process of selecting and defining a research topic in qualitative research, emphasizing the importance of a focused and manageable topic. It provides steps for narrowing down broad subjects, identifying researchable questions, and ensuring the topic is interesting, ethical, and significant. Additionally, it discusses the characteristics of a good research topic and the differences in stating qualitative versus quantitative research questions.

Uploaded by

joyousmlenga6
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

SELECTING A TOPIC

By

WEZZIE KMC CHIZIWA


Research outline
1. Background/Introduction
Problem statement
•Main research question
•Specific objectives
•Justification/Significance of the study
2. Literature review
3. Methodology
•research design
•data collection tools
•data analysis
4. Results
5. Discussion of results
6. Conclusion
7. Recommendation
SELECTING AND DEFINING A
RESEARCH TOPIC
A topic is a subject matter of the
proposed study
A research topic is an important
aspect in research
It provides a focus and structure of
your study
Selecting a topic is the most
challenging part of the process
When properly done it makes
the research process
manageable
Broad topics are difficult and
unmanageable
Need to narrow down the topics
Topics change depending on the
circumstances and emerging
issues
Questions to consider
What is researchable?
How to identify a research
topic?
What are general steps in
choosing a research topic?
What is researchable?
Something that will contribute
knowledge in the subject area
Developing a new theory
Proving the relevance of established
theories in a different environment
Testing theories or established ideas
with new data set or new methodology
Providing solution to a problem
Important tips
Choose a topic:
That no one else is likely to research on
With moderate amount of published work
That can enthusiastically pursued
That can sustain your interest and can be
solved
It is worth doing and cannot lead to other
problems
That is manageable and likely to contribute
to literature
Steps to go through when
choosing a research topic
Step 1 Choose the broad subject area
that interest you most
Ordinary issues : teaching & learning,
assessment , discipline, absent,
educational quality & access etc
Emerging issues : gender HIV/AIDS,
special needs education,
decentralization, street kids climate
change etc
Step 2 Narrow your area
From broad area choose specific area
that interests or concerns you most (eg
in the broad area of HIV/AIDS you may
narrow down to VCT or relationship
between alcohol and HIV/AIDS
Narrow your focus (country, time,
period, target group etc)
This is your opportunity to explore deep
interest in the subject (academic, career
or otherwise)
Step 3 figure out what most people
would want to ask about your specific
research area that has been chosen
Do some critical thinking on your topic
Verifiablequestions (definitions,
frequencies, magnitude and data)
Complex matters ( relationships and

comparisons, agreements ,
disagreements , solutions, predictions
etc)
Questions about and Assumptions and

how they can be altered


Step 4 think about a set of
research questions
What you might be able to do
Confirm hypothesis or
Analyse and interpret a history,

the life of a community, a set of


relationships in more open and
less predetermined ways.
Step 5
Reduce the scope of your research to
manageable level
Study a part that seems to represent the whole
Prioritise the research questions
Set your research in the context of previous
research
Think about making use of existing data
Talk to knowledgeable people about your
research questions
Don’t rush – define the study and seek
literature ( theories and methods)
Identifying a topic or question
How do you identify a
topic or question to
research on?
Finding a topic or a problem
is the most difficult task for
beginning researchers
Sources research topics
Theories
Personal experiences
Studies that can be replicated
Library searches
Reflect on your course work – how can
you test theories using real life
situations
Reflect on issues of the global
perspective
Theory
A theory is an organized body of
concepts, generalization and
principles that can be subjected to
investigation
Theories of learning & behavior
Jean Piaget, Vygotsky, Bandura etc
Such studies are rich to confirm or
dispute and altogether modify
Personal experiences
As we interact we raise
several questions
Class discussions
Reading articles
Reading educational
journals
Studies that can be replicated
Existing studies but done using
Different subjects /participants

or retesting its hypothesis

Use different ways of analysis

Use different contexts

Use different instruments


Library searches
Do a lot of literature reading
Narrowing topics
Broad topics
Difficult
to carryout
Not manageable

Cannot be completed

Narrow topics
Can easily be accomplished
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD
TOPIC
Interesting
 Drives researchers motivation
Researchable
 Can be investigated through collecting and
analyzing data
Should prayer be allowed in school?
This is not researchable it cannot resolve the
problem through collecting and analyzing
data
“Should” statement are matters of opinion
Refined to researchable topic
 Examine the effects on teachers and students
of school prayer
Have theoretical or practical
significance
 That
which contributed to understanding of
education theory or improvement
Manageable
 Your expertise
 Time

 Resources

 Levelsof research skill


 Appropriate participants

 Measuring instruments
Ethical
Must not potentially harm
participants
Physical

Emotional

Psychological

Short & precise topic


Should be short 15 words below
Stating the research topic
Stating the topic varies depending on
whether it is qualitative and
quantitative
Quantitative
Written statement specifying the variables
of interest and specific relationship
between those variables & participants
Investigation of the importance of
reinforcement on quality of standard
eight learners English composition
Stating qualitative research
It is more general language than
quantitative
 Tend to stay in the field more to understand the
participants
The purpose of the study is to describe
the nature of students engagement with
mathematics
Intention is to gather details about
children ways of entering into and
sustaining their involvement with
mathematics
Qualitative researchers ask at least
one central question and several sub
questions.
 Main research question
 Sub questions

They begin the questions with words


such as how or what
and use exploratory verbs, such as
explore or describe.
Broad question allows participants to
explain
Exercise
Write one central
questions followed by five
to seven sub questions.

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