CGT 411 Research Presentation

1. CGT 411 Research Presentation Conducting Research: What Do You Need to Think About? Part 2 – Developing the Question

2. Developing the Instrument Design Strategy • Phase 1: Determine the Research Questions • Phase 2: Constructing and Refining Research Questions • Phase 3: Drafting and Refining the Instrument

3. 6 Research Decision 5 Measurement Questions 4 Investigative Questions 3 Project Questions 2 Research Questions 1 Investigator Dilemma The Management/Research Question Hierarchy

4. Investigator Dilemma • The symptom of an actual problem • Not difficult to identify a dilemma, however choosing one to focus on may be difficult • Research Question Categories • Choice of purposes or objective: What do we want to do? • Generation and evaluation of solutions: How do we do it? • Troubleshooting or control situation: How can we improve?

5. Developing the Question • Searching published data for a starting point • Revision of the project questions • Fine tune the research question • Examine concepts and constructs • Break research questions into specific second-and-third-level questions • Verify hypotheses with quality tests • Determine what evidence answers the various questions and hypothesis • Set the scope of your study

6. Developing the Question • Investigative Questions • Questions the researcher must answer to satisfactorily arrive at a conclusion about the research question • Measurement Question • The questions we actually ask or extract from respondents • Exploration • Recent developments • Predictions by informed figures about the prospects of the technology • Identification of those involved in the area • Accounts of successful ventures and failures by others in the field

7. Determining the Research Question • Investigator dilemma  the dilemma that needs to be resolved • Research question  termed in constructs; this is what the researcher must answer • Investigative questions  these answers provide detail and coverage of the research questions • Measurement questions  allows researcher to gather information

8. Final Steps in Research • Data analysis • Reporting the results • Executive summary • Overview of the research • Implementation strategies for the recommendations • Technical appendix

9. Getting to the Measurement Questions • What type of data is needed to answer the investigator’s dilemma? • What communication approach will be used? • Should the questions be structured, unstructured, or some combination? • Administrative: identify setting characteristics • Classification: sociological/demographic • Target: address the issues at hand • Should the questions be disguised or undisguised?  have to be careful here  potential IRB issues • Exhibit 12-4

10. Constructing and Refining Research Questions • Measurement questions should: • Consider subject content • Consider the wording of each question • Consider the response strategy • Question development and question sequencing are typically completed at the same time

11. Variables • Theory deals with identifying constructs and their relationship to theoretical propositions  constructs cannot be observed at this level • Empirical level deals with converting propositions to hypotheses and testing them. • Constructs = variables in practice • Dichotomous • Discrete • Continuous

12. Variables • Researchers hypothesize about these relationships • Independent variable (IV): presumed cause • Dependent variable (DV): presumed effec

13. Variables • In each relationship, there is typically on IV and one DV  it is normally thought that the IV “causes” the DV • However, it is usually not this simple  other factors influence the effect had on the DV • Moderating Variable (MV): second IV that has some significant contributory effect on the proposed relationship

14. Variables • Nearly an infinite number of extraneous variables (EV) that can affect a given relationship • Typically make assumptions or exclude from study • However some could be considered confounding variables  control variables • Intervening Variables (IVV): those that affect the phenomenon in question but cannot be measured, observed, or manipulated. (spurious)

15. Hypotheses • Refers to observable phenomena • Descriptive • Typically state the existence, size, form, or distribution of some variable • Can be replaced by a research question • Useful for testing statistical significance • Relational • Describe the relationship between two variables with respect to some case • Correlational: no cause implied, just a relationship • Explanatory (causal): cause implied, although the IV need not be the sole reason for change in DV, must be careful when interpreting direction of cause

16. Hypotheses • Guides the direction of the study • Identifies facts that are relevant • Suggests which form of research design is appropriate • A good hypothesis should fulfill three conditions: • Must be adequate for its purpose • Must be testable • Must be better than its rivals