Refining your research question(s)?

Dr. Andy Van NeutegemKIN 515 Gap Analysis

The research process

The two basic questions are:

1.What to investigate? Why? (step 1-3)

2.How to investigate it? Why? (step 4-6)

Idea / Review of Literature

Research question(s)

Conceptual model & hypotheses

Data needs

Data collection

Methodologies

Theory should

inform all stages.

Why are research questions important?

“Well-crafted questions guide the systematic planning of research. Formulating your questions precisely enables you to design a study with a good chance of answering them.”

-- Light, Singer, Willett, By Design (1990)

# Step How

1 The problem area; a vague research idea

What’s important? Personal interests and skills?

2 Identify a researchable problem, the research question(s)

Difficult! Read literature and discuss. Field visits, Manageable (time, data, ...)?

3 Conceptual basis (theory) & develop hypotheses

Literature, present knowledge, predictions from theory. Use box-arrow diagrams /models)

4 Identify data needed to ‘test hypotheses’

Dependent – independent variables, proxies, enough data variation

5 How to get data? Surveys to be done.

Availability, primary vs. secondary data. Time and money constraints

6 Methodologies to be used Statistical methods, econometrics (‘economic tricks’), simulation (e.g., programming)

The next steps:

(7) data collection; (8) data analysis; (9) interpretation and discussion of results; (10) conclusions; and – as a small detail – (11) write your theses about (1) – (10)!

(1) A good research idea•Choose something you are interested in,

think it fascinating, relevant for your future work,… ▫You’ll need that personal motivation during

long evenings/nights the weeks before the TOPIC is submitted.

•Policy relevant and ‘hot’:▫useful to someone▫more motivating to work on▫help in your future carrier▫see journals (popular/scientific), policy and

other documents to find out ‘what’s hot and what’s not’.

(2) Research Question: why is it important?

• The most difficult part, spend time on it! • Risk if not well defined:

▫ collect data that will not be used; ▫ don’t collect data that would be useful.

• A good research question limit the scope • A good research question structure the

thesis or project: ▫ define relevant literature, ▫ develop good hypotheses, ▫ define data needed, ….

• It helps the reader – you tell them what you are going to answer. It simply makes it more interesting!

What is a good research question?

• Formulated as a question, i.e., has a ?• Sharply defined and can be answered in

one sentence, possibly with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. ▫ Not so good: Which factors influence the

adoption of physical activity practices? ▫ Or: What is the role of physical education in

schools to adopt life-long physical activity?▫ A better one: Do schools provide enough

physical education to support lifelong physical activity?

• A puzzle or apparent paradox▫ contradictory impacts▫ contrary to conventional wisdom.

Crafting the Research Question

•Developing a research question takes time and patience.

•It requires a question or hypothesis that related to an important field of inquiry; answering ‘so what’?

•Be sure you can answer or address the question or hypothesis

•8 principles can be addressed in a series of statements that house the research question

A good research question will…

1. be clearly linked to overall project goal or area of study

2. allow the target population to be identified3. guide the appropriate level of aggregation (e.g.

class, course, curriculum, institution)4. identify the outcome variables - hypothesis5. determine what type of study is needed (e.g.

descriptive, relational, experimental)6. identify background characteristics that might

influence outcomes7. raise questions about how to best collect data8. influence the number of participants in the study

Writing a good question…

Hints:•Not all 8 principles need to be reflected in

the research question•Avoid wordy research questions•The research question can be framed with

a number of statements that address the 8 principles

•Your question can be simple and build on work of others – it is a dissertation not a thesis

(3) The hypotheses

•Since you are writing a theses, a central part of it should obviously be the (hypo)theses.

•“The principle intellectual instrument in research”. It's a key in the scientific method.

•Definition: “A reasonable scientific proposal”. “An educated guess”.

•The hypothesis posits the expected relationship between some variables.

•Two requirements: ▫Must fit known facts▫Be testable

Do all researches need to have hypotheses?•No, but most of them would be better if

the research is organized around them! •What’s the difference between research

question and hypotheses? ▫Might be small▫Hypotheses often more specific, and each

research question will have several hypotheses.

Facts vs. hypotheses•The hypothesis is based on known facts, but

takes it a step further, often by combining facts and thereby creating (possible) links.

•Fact 1: Sport organization are often underfunded.Fact 2: Gold medal performances often requires financial investments from sport organizations.Hypothesis: Budget constraints make sport organizations invest less in gold medal performances.

Look at the research excerpt provided and identify the research question and/or hypothesis?

What are the important aspects of the research question or hypothesis that makes it such a feasible research ?

Assess the research question based on the 8 principles/criteria.

Activity #1

Activity # 1 (cont’d)

be clearly linked to overall project goal or area of study

allow the target population to be identified identify the outcome variables – hypothesis guide the appropriate level of aggregation (e.g.

class, course, curriculum, institution) determine what type of study is needed (e.g.

descriptive, relational, experimental) identify background characteristics that might

influence outcomes raise questions about how to best collect data influence the number of participants in the

study

Please tick

Research QuestionLong-term athlete development models such as Bayli’s (2001; 2004) have focused attention to the whole athlete career, diverting attention away from the potentially more sensationalistic event of career termination. As such, there needs to be a corresponding shift in career transition research from career retirement to career transition throughout the sport career which also includes career retirement. At present there is a paucity of research in career transition in sport that attempts to understand the athlete’s experiences from a long-term development perspective that accounts for the interrelatedness of the past, present and future transition experiences. This research seeks to move beyond descriptive models of career transition as isolated events in sport and to understand the transition experience within the context of long-term athlete development that emphasises the interplay of sport and non-sport transitions in shaping the athlete’s perception and subsequent adaptation to the situation. Adopting the position that transition in a sport career offers the opportunity for growth and development, this research also seeks to understand the factors affecting the athlete’s adaptation response to such transitions. With these issues in mind, the main research questions become: What is understood by career transition in sport within the context of long-term athlete development? In addressing this research question, it is important to analyse the career transition process utilizing a methodology that allows for an analysis of transition from a long-term development perspective. As such, the second research question becomes: How can a biographical methodology be employed to analyze this social phenomenon?

Writing the Research QuestionWhat is the effect of social media on

athlete behaviour?

Better:How did social media affect Canadian athlete performances in the London 2012 Games?

Best:How did Facebook blogs affect Canadian athlete competition anxiety in the London 2012 Games?

Getting Started....

Exercise:

Evaluate the research question below:

Is their an effect of social media on athlete behaviour?

• Can be answered with a Yes or No!• Very Broad and may be too general in a response• Will the answer make a difference? So what?

Re-write the question to make it better!

Take home messages

•What do you want to find out?▫Simple– would grandma understand?

•How to do it?▫Specific & concrete

•Make it exciting!•If you can google the answer then it

probably is not the greatest research question.

Activity #2Answer the questions or respond to the tasks below based on your sport-specific research interest related to a gap analysis.

1. Area of interest/topic:

2. Why is it important?

3. Write an initial ‘Research Question(s)’:

4. Who can assist in answering the research question(s)?

5. Where can you go to in order to answer your question/hypothesis:

6. Is the data source feasible?

Activity # 3Your research question:

be clearly linked to overall project goal or area of study

allow the target population to be identified

identify the outcome variables – hypothesis

guide the appropriate level of aggregation (e.g. class, course, curriculum, institution)

determine what type of study is needed (e.g. descriptive, relational, experimental)

identify background characteristics that might influence outcomes

raise questions about how to best collect data

influence the number of participants in the study

Research Focus/Question:Please tick

Activity #4

1. Be prepared to present to the group in a discussion forum your research focus/question(s) based on review of the literature.

2. Use Activity #2 as the framework to present your information.

3. Please ensure that you link your research interest/focus to a perceived gap in your sport program or team/athlete performance Consider the assignment in Unit #1 Sport Analytics in

which you were challenged to determine an hypothesis regarding your sport’s gold medal potential.