Research Questions
Darleen Opfer
Types of Qualitative Research
Questions
Grand Tour
 Sub Questions
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Guidelines for writing qualitative questions
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Ask one or two grand tour questions followed by no more than
five to seven sub-questions.
The question format is related to specific qualitative
methodologies.
For example, in ethnography there exists a taxonomy of questions
about experience, language, contrast, etc.
In critical ethnography the questions come from a body of existing
literature
In grounded theory the questions may relate to the procedures for
data analysis – open coding “what are the categories that emerge”,
axial coding “How are these categories related to one another?”
Begin the question with the words what or how. Tell the reader
that the study will do one of the following:
Discover (grounded theory)
Explain or seek to understand (ethnography)
Explore a process (case study)
Describe the experiences (phenomenology)
Pose questions that use non-directional wording.
Expect the research questions to evolve and change during the
study.
Use open ended questions without reference to the literature
unless dictated by a specific qualitative design.
Use a single focus and specify the site in the research questions.
Ethnography example:
How are conceptions of social studies
played out – or not played out – in
classroom practice?
– How is the setting organized?
– What kind of interpersonal dynamics exist?
– What activities occur in each setting?
– What information, opinions, and beliefs are
exchanged among participants?
Case Study Example
How do women in a psychology doctoral
program describe their decision to return
to school? How do women in a psychology
doctoral program describe their reentry
experiences? And, how does returning to
graduate school change these women’s
lives?
Activity 1: Qualitative Research
Questions
For the first abstract, write research
questions for the study described.
Types of quantitative research
questions
– They can be about comparisons between
groups
– They can be about the relationships
between two or more variables
– They can describe responses to variables
Guidelines for quantitative research
questions
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They are developed from theory – the questions are testable
propositions deduced from theory
The dependent and independent variables should be kept separate
and measured separately
Select one form – hypothesis, research question, or objective – and
not a combination
Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or
Alternative/Directional) should be determined by the audience
Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or operational. Literary
means that the variables are stated in abstract concepts.
Operational means they are stated specifically.
Typically use variables other than demographic variables as
independent variables. Demographic variables (age, income,
education, gender) are typically mediating variables in theories
instead of major, independent variables.
Use the same pattern of word order in the questions to establish a
formal rhetorical style – repeat key phrases and state the
independent variables first and the dependent variables last.
When writing research questions or hypotheses for quantitative
studies, write descriptive questions first followed by multivariate
(multiple variable) questions.
Forms for Hypotheses
Null Hypothesis
There is no significant difference in the accumulation of
resources and the productivity of faculty
Directional/Alternative Hypothesis
The more the accumulation of resources, the more
productive the researcher
Null
Alternative
Literary
There is no relationship
between support services
and academic persistence
of nontraditional-aged
college women.
The more that
nontraditional-aged college
women use support
services, the more they will
persist academically.
Operational
There is no relationship
between the number of
hours nontraditional-aged
college women use the
student union and their
persistence at the college
after their freshman year.
The more hours that
nontraditional-aged college
women use the student
union, the more they will
persist at the college after
their freshman year.
Guidelines for quantitative research
questions








They are developed from theory – the questions are testable
propositions deduced from theory
The dependent and independent variables should be kept separate
and measured separately
Select one form – hypothesis, research question, or objective – and
not a combination
Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or
Alternative/Directional) should be determined by the audience
Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or operational. Literary
means that the variables are stated in abstract concepts.
Operational means they are stated specifically.
Typically use variables other than demographic variables as
independent variables. Demographic variables (age, income,
education, gender) are typically mediating variables in theories
instead of major, independent variables.
Use the same pattern of word order in the questions to establish a
formal rhetorical style – repeat key phrases and state the
independent variables first and the dependent variables last.
When writing research questions or hypotheses for quantitative
studies, write descriptive questions first followed by multivariate
(multiple variable) questions.
Examples of repeated phrasing and variable
order in hypotheses
1. There is no relationship between the use of
ancillary support services and academic
persistence of nontraditional-aged college
women.
2. There is no relationship between family support
systems and academic persistence of
nontraditional-aged college women.
Guidelines for quantitative research
questions








They are developed from theory – the questions are testable
propositions deduced from theory
The dependent and independent variables should be kept separate
and measured separately
Select one form – hypothesis, research question, or objective – and
not a combination
Choice of the forms of hypotheses used (Null or
Alternative/Directional) should be determined by the audience
Hypotheses can also be stated in literary or operational. Literary
means that the variables are stated in abstract concepts.
Operational means they are stated specifically.
Typically use variables other than demographic variables as
independent variables. Demographic variables (age, income,
education, gender) are typically mediating variables in theories
instead of major, independent variables.
Use the same pattern of word order in the questions to establish a
formal rhetorical style – repeat key phrases and state the
independent variables first and the dependent variables last.
When writing research questions or hypotheses for quantitative
studies, write descriptive questions first followed by multivariate
(multiple variable) questions.
Example of research question ordering for a
quantitative study
1. How do students rate on critical thinking skills? (a descriptive question
focused on the independent variable)
2. What are the students’ grades in science classes? (a descriptive
question focused on the dependent variable)
3. What are the students’ prior grades in science? (a descriptive question
focused on the mediating variable, prior grades)
4. What is the educational attainment of the parents of the students? (a
descriptive question focused on the mediating variable, educational
attainment of parents)
5. Does critical thinking ability relate to student achievement? (a
multivariate question relating the independent and dependent
variables)
6. Does critical thinking ability relate to student achievement, controlling
for the effects of prior grades in science and the educational
attainment of the students’ parents? (a multivariate question relating
the independent and dependent variables controlling for the
mediating effects of the two intervening variables)
Activity 2: Quantitative Research
Questions
For the second abstract provided, write
research questions for the study
described.
Guidelines for mixed methods research questions
and hypotheses
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These studies need both qualitative and quantitative research
questions
The questions need to incorporate the elements of good questions
and hypotheses for qualitative and quantitative approaches
It may be difficult to specify research questions for the second
phase of a two-phase sequential study where the second phase is to
elaborate on the first. The researcher can state the questions in the
final report of the study.
The order of the questions should follow the order of the phases of
the study or the weight of the methods in the design.
In sequential studies, the questions can be introduced at the
beginning of each phase.
Activity 3: Mixed Method Questions
For the third abstract, write research
questions for the study described.
Activity 4: Your Own Research
Questions
Write research questions for your own
study and add these to your conceptual
map.