Asking Answerable Questions
“One cannot get a clear answer to a vague question.
The language of science is particularly distinguished
by the fact it centers around well-stated questions.
If there is one part of a scientific experiment that is
more important than any other part, it is the framing
of the question that the experiment is to answer. If
it is stated vaguely, no experiment can answer it
precisely. If the question is stated precisely, the
means of answering it are clearly indicated. The
specific observations needed, and the conditions
under which they are to be made, are implied in the
question itself.”
Wendell Johnson (1946)
Two Parts to Asking Answerable
Questions
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How can I generate relevant questions
for research?
How can I structure the research
question to make them “answerable”?
How do I generate questions
for research?

We use the scientific method as a set of
rules for asking and answering
questions

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the scientific method suggests rules or
criteria for formulating questions, making
observations to answer them, and relating
the answers to the existing body of
knowledge
questions formulated for research should
be unambiguous, clearly defined, and
precise
How do I decide what I want
to investigate?

FIRST, must decide what to investigate


what question do you want to try to
answer
deciding what to study is important
because it affects the impact of the
research as well as the likelihood that you
will complete the research
How do I decide what I want
to investigate?

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Impact - the effect that answering a
particular question will likely have on
the clinical process in SLP or AUD
Likelihood of completing the research several factors must be considered:

the time required to make the necessary
observations -- the longer you take to
make the observations, the less likely you
are to complete your research
Factors (con’t)

The complexity of the procedures required
to make the necessary observations


the more complex the procedures, the less
likely you may be in completing the
research
the availability of subjects

if subjects aren’t available in sufficient
numbers within a reasonable time period,
the probability is reduced that the project
will be completed
Factors (con’t)

Time available for the project

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availability of supporting personnel or
equipment

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the longer it takes to complete the project, the
less likely it will be completed
statistician
technician
available funding

if the costs for completing the project are
high, the less likely it will be completed
How do I generate questions
for research?

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“So what” or “who cares” -- need to
generate relevant questions for which
there is a need to answer
Identify a problem area -- several
factors to consider in identifying a
problem area:

personal interests

try to identify the problem area within the field
of CDIS that is of most interest to you
How do I generate questions
for research?

Competencies


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identify an area in which you have the
training and expertise to be able to carry
out the project
availability of equipment and facilities
for making observations and analyzing
data
population of subjects available for the
study
How do I generate questions
for research?

Generate one or more questions to
answer that are relevant to the area


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these questions define the research topic
they indicate what the investigator is trying
to find out
you can usually determine from the
question what the possible answers could
be
questions specify what has to be done to
answer them
What approaches can you use
to generate a question?

Review literature in the area
selected in order to identify:
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questions that have been formulated but
only partially answered
questions that have been formulated but
not answered
questions that have not been formulated
but should be
Formulated questions that
have been partially answered


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May be didn’t use a random sample of
subjects to answer the question
observations may not have been
reliable, valid, or both
experimenter bias
Formulated questions that
have not been answered
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May be found in discussion section of articles
review papers in an area of interest which
summarizes and integrates the research in a
particular area
best way to locate review papers is through
an abstracts journal (psychological abstracts,
dsh abstracts, language and language
behavior abstracts, index medicus, and
dissertation abstracts

publications in which individuals or committees
indicate what research they feel is needed in
particular areas
Questions that have not been
formulated but should be
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The strategy here is to:
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1. Do a careful search of the literature in
the area to determine what is known

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search can be facilitated by using abstracts
journals
organize the literature so that it is apparent
what is known about the area
2. Formulate questions which, if
answered, would be likely to increase our
understanding of the area.
What approaches can you use
to generate a question?

Use personal interests

examine your clinical experience in the
area of interest for questions that seem
worth answering and then search the
relevant literature to determine whether
they have been answered

ask yourself, “what clinically relevant questions
have I wanted answers for but there were not
data to answer it?” What questions am I
assuming have been answered, but haven’t?
What approaches can you use
to generate a question?

EX. One might ask whether the number of
sessions per week of a particular length is
optimal for reducing the severity of their
clients’ communicative disorder. Perhaps
the sessions are 1) longer and more
frequent than necessary; 2) longer but not
more frequent than necessary; 3) less
frequent but no longer than necessary; 4)
shorter and less frequent than necessary
What approaches can you use
to generate a question?

Ask questions that are based on answers
of authority or tradition rather than
empirical data.

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EX. How do we know that a procedure does
what it is supposed to do?
Brainstorm with colleagues
How can I structure the question
to make it answerable?

You need to structure a question so it is
obvious what observations have to be
made to answer it

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EX: 1. Is hypnosis effective in treating
stuttering?
2. Is the post-hypnotic suggestion,
“you will not stutter any more”, effective in
reducing stuttering frequency?
you must have observations that are
possible to make
How can I structure the question
to make it answerable?
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The question must be clear and unabmiguous
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EX: Do persons with cleft palates have normal
intelligence?
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What segment of the CP population are you
investigating (lip only, hard palate only, soft palate
only, hard and soft palate, etc.)
what is meant by intelligence (performance on what
task or test?)
More answerable question: Are five year old
children who have clefts of the palate only more
likely to have below normal intelligence as
measured by the Stanford-Binet than five year old
children who do not have this condition?
Asking Answerable Questions
Less Answerable Ques

How much can aphasics
be expected to improve
between 1 month and 1
year following trauma?
More Answerable Ques
 How many points
can receptive
aphasics be
expected to gain on
the average on the
MAT between 1 mo.
and 1 yr. following
trauma?
Asking Answerable Questions
Less Answerable Ques

Does drinking alcoholic
beverages reduce
stuttering?
More Answerable Ques
 Does drinking 5
highballs in a period
of 2 hrs reduce the
stuttering
frequencies of most
adult stutterers?
Asking Answerable Questions
Less Answerable Ques

Are home assignments
helpful for correcting
articulation errors?
More Answerable Ques
 Are homework drill
sheets for final
consonant deletion
helpful in the
transfer stage of
therapy in correcting
this error?
Asking Answerable Questions
Less Answerable Ques

Is a particular earprotector effective in
preventing noise
induced hearing loss?
More Answerable Ques

Is a particular earprotector effective in
preventing a temporary
threshold shift if used in
the presence of noise of
a particular intensity
with a particular
spectrum for a
particular period of
time?
In Sum ...
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To ask answerable questions, must
specify:
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WHO subjects are
WHAT conditions are
WHAT measurements will be