Research Questions

Last time we considered theories and that they should lead to predictions. Now we take it to the next step and use those predictions to develop research questions. We examined the patient-by-treatment-context interactive model of Christensen and Johnson (2002), and we predicted that it is the primary health provider (PHP) who is the determining factor- so if the PHP was understanding of a patient's nontraditional medical beliefs, it should increase vaccination use.  Now let's develop a research question based on the prediction. 

RQ1: What is the relationship between PHP's support of patients' nontraditional medical beliefs and patients' use of vaccinations? 

To use this research question we would need to have a way to measure "PHP's support of patients' nontraditional medical beliefs" and also a way to measure the patients' beliefs. If you were able to find such measurement tools in the literature, great! You could do a quantitative study measuring PHPs' support, patients' beliefs, and the actual use of vaccinations. But let's say you could not find such measurement tools. You have a couple of choices: 1) develop your own measures or 2) do a qualitative study to examine the opinions of both patients and PHPs. This last choice would require two new research questions. 

RQ2: What are PHPs' opinions about patients' nontraditional medical beliefs and vaccinations? 

RQ3: What are patients with nontraditional medical beliefs opinions about their PHPs and vaccinations? 

Let's consider how we went about this process.  

Literature review led to Theory, which led to Predictions which led to Research Questions which led to the Research Method 

So some things to notice, I did not start with the method, rather I let the theory, predictions, and research questions determine the appropriate method. Next time we will consider when to use various research designs. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Putting theories to work

Last time I discussed a method to find relevant theories for your topic of interest and to begin to consider possible predictions from the theory. Let's use an example and think things through using the patient-by-treatment-context interactive model of Christensen and Johnson (2002). The model proposes that the relationship between patient characteristics (e.g., personality and beliefs) and patient adherence (e.g., preventative care) is moderated by the treatment context (e.g., primary health provider characteristics and behavior). I like to draw things out so I get a better understanding of it.

						Patient adherence (preventative care, vaccinations)
	Patient characteristics (personality and beliefs)
				Treatment context (e.g., primary health provider characteristics and behavior)

 

 

So we can begin tweaking some of the variables and think about how they would be affected in the model. We could consider patients who do not have faith in modern medicine. The model suggests that it is the primary health provider (PHP) who is the determining factor- so if the PHP was understanding of the patient's beliefs, it should increase vaccination use.   

Let's consider how we went about this process so far. 

The Literature Review led to a Theory which led to Predictions

Next time we will take it to the next step of research questions. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Christensen, A. J. & Johnson, J. A. (2002). Patient adherence with medical treatment regimens: An interactive approach. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(3), 94-97.

Theory and Research Design

One of the common issues students have when they are beginning to think about doing research is how all of the pieces that are necessary fit together. Do you begin with the research design and try to find a study to fit it? What is the deal with theories, where do they fit into the thinking? There actually is a way to clarify these pieces. Let's start even broader by talking about reviewing the literature. What does that mean? It means finding recent articles on your general topic of interest and beginning to read. Notice what theories the authors discuss when talking about the topic. After you have read 10 articles or so on the topic, stop and evaluate. Are there consistent issues that are mentioned? What theories have been discussed, did the authors make predictions for their study based on the theory? If you are not seeing any predictions or discussions about how the theory is impacted by the new findings- you need to look for a new theory. You need to be able to make predictions based on the theory you will finally use.

So let's say you have narrowed the search down to two theories. Now I want you to go back to the library and find some review articles using those theories. By the time you have read those you should have good understanding of the theory and how it relates to your topic of interest. Think about the variables other researchers have used related to your topic and how the theory predicts things will develop. Next time, I will work through an example of what I discussed today. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Chapter 5- Implications and Conclusions

The final sections of Chapter 5 are your chance to wrap up your study for the reader and leave them with most the important points. In the Implications section, you should first examine the potential impact for positive social change at the appropriate level for your study (individual, family, organizational, and societal/policy). Be careful that implications for social change do not exceed the study boundaries. In other words, be realistic, your study won't change the world, but it may have an impact in some small area. 

Next, you should describe methodological, theoretical, and/or empirical implications, as appropriate. Consider what we have learned from your study in terms of new methodology. Have you added to a theory or made some aspect clearer? Has your data provided an insight into your population that wasn't known previously? Finally, are there recommendations that you can make for practice, for example, for clinicians or health care providers? 

The final section of your dissertation is the Conclusions. You need to provide a strong “take home” message that captures the key essence of the study. What do you want people to remember about your study? These are your final words on your study, make them memorable, and clear! 

Next time I will begin a series on using theories to determine your research method. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Chapter 5- Limitations and Recommendations

The next two sections in Chapter 5 are Limitations and Recommendations. These sections ask you to take a step back and evaluate your study. Keep in mind that all studies have limitations; it is just part of the process. Describe the limitations to generalizability and/or trustworthiness that arose from execution of the study. Resist the temptation to simply copy from Chapter 1, carefully think about who participated in your study and what that means in terms of generalizability. An example might be if you did your study in a rural area, it may not be generalizable to urban areas. Again, this is fine – but you need to recognize it.  Your new limitations should be used to rethink what was written in chapter 1 for the proposal. 

The Recommendations section asks you to think through what the next research steps may be. Remember that science is based upon building upon others' research – this is your chance to influence the future! Describe recommendations for further research that are grounded in the strengths and limitations of the current study as well as the literature reviewed in chapter 2. Think about your research methods, what alterations do you suggest for future researchers? What aspects still need to be studied? Are there changes in theory that you think need to be made? Your study is now part of the literature in the field, what areas are left to explore? Think of this section as a time capsule that you are leaving for future researchers/ students, leave them with a good picture of what you see as needing additional study. 

Next time we finish our exploration of Chapter 5- Implications and Conclusions. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Chapter 5- Interpretation of Findings

The section of Chapter 5, Interpretation of Findings is one of the most important ones in the entire paper. You should take your time and carefully consider this section. It is here that you put your study in the context of the greater literature- what have you added to the literature? What do we know now that we didn't know before? 

Begin this section with a description of the ways in which your findings confirm, disconfirm, or extend knowledge in the discipline. You will need to do this by comparing your findings with what has been found in the peer-reviewed literature described in Chapter 2. Yes, you will have to go back to Chapter 2 and see what other studies reported- describe how yours are the same or different. This is not something that can be done in a paragraph or even a page. Discuss each of your themes/ findings and determine how they fit in the literature. 

Next, you turn to your theories, analyze, and interpret your study's findings in the context of the theoretical and/or conceptual framework, as appropriate. This section needs to be in-depth, what did your theory predict? How do your findings relate to the predictions? Do we need to rethink the theory? How? What needs to be added? Just be very sure that your interpretations do not exceed the data, findings, and scope. You can always mention areas that still need to be studied. 

What do you do if your study did not work as expected? For example, you got non-significant results or your interviewees did not say what you expected them to. Discuss what was expected based upon the literature, and then speculate as to why your results may not have come out as expected. Did you have a small sample? Were your subjects from a different area/population than previous studies? Think about theoretical implications of your findings- what does it mean to the theory that things didn’t work out? Should we consider changes in the theory? Any advice for future researchers in this topic area? 

Next time we will examine Chapter 5- Limitations and Recommendations. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Chapter 4 – Summary and Chapter 5- Introduction

As with the other chapters in your dissertation, Chapter 4 ends with a summary. This summary should be structured around your research questions. So list each question and summarize the answers you found in your study. You will then end with a transition to Chapter 5. 

Chapter 5 is the final chapter of your dissertation, while the end is in sight the work is not yet done! The chapter begins with a summary of the purpose of your study and why it was conducted. Resist the temptation to simply copy from earlier sections! You now have a very different view of the study then you did before you started, so take some time to rethink why you did it this specific study and summarize it. Next, you will summarize the findings from Chapter 4, again it should not simply be copied- reword it. 

Take a moment and think through what your results mean in the context of the literature. What have you added that we didn’t know before? Even if your study didn’t work, we know things that we didn’t know before you did it- whatever you tried doesn't apparently work. Keep these thoughts in mind and next time we will go on to Interpretation of Findings. 

Next time we will examine Chapter 5- Interpretation of Findings. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu