Research Questions, Objectives, and Hypothesis
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The document outlines the process of developing research proposals, emphasizing the formulation of research questions, objectives, and hypotheses within the context of health research in Nepal. It discusses how well-structured research questions guide study design and data collection, while clearly defined research objectives focus the study. The document also highlights the importance of hypotheses in shaping research methodologies and the relationships between variables.
Research Questions, Objectives, and Hypothesis
- 1. Health Research Proposal Development & Research Management Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) Ramshah Path, Kathmandu, Nepal Research Questions, Objectives, and Hypothesis Ashok Pandey
- 2. Presentation Contents • Problem • Formulating Research Questions • Formulating Objectives • Developing Hypothesis
- 3. Research Fundamental questions WHAT Objectives Research questions Hypothesis
- 4. Research Questions • Research studies do not always contain hypotheses • Exploratory and descriptive studies may pose research questions instead
- 5. What is a researchable question? • Helps solve a problem, add to theory, or improve current practice – Most important – • the core research problem identified is expressed in a specific question format • the process to answer the Research Question guides the rest of the journey • Needs to be usable, current, and clear • The answer(s) to the question will explain, describe, identify, predict or qualify
- 6. Why research question? • Everything flows from the research question. • It will determine – the study design – the population to be studied, – the setting for the study, – the data to be collected, – and the time period for the study etc.
- 7. Sources for the RQ Clinical Experience Mentor Literature Overview Conferences Research Experience
- 8. What kind of Questions form Research Question • What is the situation? • What is the relationship between the variables? • What population is affected? • When did the event happen? • What factors are associated with the condition? • What caused the condition? • What is the effect of an intervention?
- 11. How to structure a research question? PICO format Population, Intervention/exposure of interest Comparison/Control Outcome Sometimes additional T for Time
- 13. Writing the research questions What are the underlying factors perceived by community people related to suicidal tendencies? What is the level of utilization of community mental health clinic services? What is the effect of facility based counseling in managing the Depressive Disorders?
- 14. Research Questions Study Designs • What is the prevalence of raised blood pressure among adults in Province 5? – Descriptive • What are the factors associated with ANC drop out in Arghakhanchi district? – Analytic • How effective is health promotion and education through mother’s groups to reduce risk factors of CVDs among adults in Province 5? – Effect of interventions
- 16. Research Objectives • Core of the entire research work (paper) • Fundamental note for what a research is all about • Summarize what is to be achieved by the study • Closely related to the statement of the research problem (in a research paper, usually the last paragraph or sentence of Introduction section) • Overview of the expected solution to the problems
- 17. Why should research objectives be developed? • Focus the study (narrowing it down to essentials). • Avoid the collection of data which are not strictly necessary for understanding and solving the problem that is identified. • Organise the study in clearly defined parts or phases. • Get a clear understanding of what data type is involved. • Get an idea of an appropriate study design. Properly formulated, specific objectives will facilitate the development of research methodology and will help to orient the collection, analysis, interpretation and utilisation of data.
- 18. How should we state the objectives? • Are clearly phrased in operational terms, specifying exactly what you are going to do, where, and for what purpose. • Expressed in limited words that is minimally essential, and one thing at a time. • Cover different aspects of the problem and its contributing factors in a coherent way and in a logical sequence. 3Cs – Clear; Concise; Coherent
- 19. Types of research objectives General objective: states what researchers expect to achieve by the study in general term (1-2 sentences, broad perspective) Specific objectives: – smaller, sequential, logically connected parts of general objective – They are the specific aspects of the topic that we want to study within the framework of research – Should systematically address the various aspects of the research problem and key factors that are assumed to influence or cause the problem – Should specify what to do in the study, where and for what purpose
- 20. Example General Objective: To assess the present situation of practices of indigenous medical knowledge and its resources and to find out the methods/techniques to manage common ailments by the traditional healers. Specific Objectives: 1. To identify different forms of traditional medical knowledge holders/practitioners who are practicing traditional health care practices as a providers. 2. To estimate different types of medications practices among traditional healers. 3. To document the indigenous medical knowledge and practice related diversities on traditional medicine. 4. To determine the visitor frequency and trends with different types of treatment methods.
- 21. Title: Together but alone: The effect of men's migration on mental health of their left behind wives General Objective: to explore why and how migration of men effect the mental health of their left-behind wives. Specific Objective: Please think and make the specific objective
- 22. Some verbs commonly used in writing objective General objective • Assess • Describe • Investigate • Explore • Characterize Specific objective • Identify • Define • Estimate • Determine • Develop • Demonstrate • Compare • Classify • Measure • Examine
- 29. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES more than a guess परिकल्पना
- 30. What is a hypothesis? • A prediction or explanation of the relationship between one or more independent variables (PREDISPOSING/RISK FACTORS) and one dependent variable (OUTCOME/CONDITION/DISEASE) • A HYPOTHESIS is a prediction of a relationship between one or more factors and the problem under study that can be tested.
- 31. Definitions of Hypothesis • “A hypothesis is a conjectural statement of the relation between two or more variables”. (Kerlinger, 1956) • “Hypothesis is a formal statement that presents the expected relationship between an independent and dependent variable.” (Creswell, 1994)
- 32. Hypotheses Shape and guide a research study in terms of: • identification of study sample size • what issues should be involved in data collection • the proper analysis of the data • data interpretation
- 33. Hypothesis Formulation • Formulate a hypothesis • Frame the hypothesis in a format that is testable • Test the hypothesis
- 34. Hypothesis Formulation • Observations from: – Literature (review PubMed on topic area) – Natural experiments (e.g. migrant studies) – Multi-national comparisons – Descriptive studies (assessment of person, place, and time characteristics) – Creativity
- 35. Suppose a study is being conducted to answer questions about differences between two regimens for the management of diarrhea in children: the new type of ORS and the time-tested indigenous herbal solution made from locally available herbs. One question that could be asked is: “Is there a difference in overall improvement (after three days of treatment) between the new ORS and the herbal solution?" Example
- 36. Yes No There could be only two answers to this question:
- 37. Null Hypothesis A null hypothesis is usually a statement that there is no difference between groups or that one factor is not dependent on another and corresponds to the No answer. "There is no difference between such improvement”
- 38. Alternate Hypothesis Associated with the null hypothesis there is always another hypothesis or implied statement concerning the true relationship among the variables or conditions under study if no is an implausible answer. This statement is called the alternate/research/scientific hypothesis and corresponds to the Yes answer. Non Directional "There is a difference between the improvement achieved by a three days treatment with the ORS and that of the herbal solution" (alternate hypothesis).
- 39. Types of Alternate Hypothesis: Directional vs. Non-Directional • Non-directional hypothesis – Shows the existence of a relationship between variables but no direction is specified • Directional hypothesis – Specifies the direction of the relationship between independent and dependent variables
- 40. More Examples • Null hypothesis – There is no difference in efficacy of mood disorder management between counseling alone and counseling combined with medication • Non-directional hypothesis – There is a difference in efficacy of mood disorder management between counseling alone and counseling combined with medication • Directional hypothesis – Counseling combined with medication results in greater efficacy compared to counseling alone in Mood disorder patients
- 41. Example Hypotheses: POOR Eating junk food is associated with the development of cancer. GOOD The human papilloma virus (HPV) subtype 16 is associated with the development of cervical cancer. 41 Hypothesis Framing
- 42. Topic vs. RQ vs. Hypothesis Interest: A general interest in a specific field Topic: A broad idea requiring further analysis – Could include population, variables, etc. RQ: Brings a piece of the topic into focus? Hypothesis: A tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts and can be tested. - Conjectural statement that identifies the predicted relationship between two or more variables.
- 43. Eg. Topic vs. RQ vs. Hypothesis Interest: Endocrinology. Type II DM. Topic: Vit. D3 and its relationship to Type II DM RQ: Does administration of 4’000 IU of Vit. D3 daily in addition to Metformin in adults with newly diagnosed T2DM improve glycemic control, compared to Metformin alone? Hypothesis: Our expected answer for the RQ!
- 44. Newton “Disappointment is when a beautiful hypothesis is destroyed by an ugly fact” 44
- 45. Conclusion From research problem to hypothesis, a social science example
- 46. Thank you