Week 11 - Research Questions - Developing a Focus for a Study

SOWK 486 Fall 2019 Planning: Class 11

Location: CBC Campus - Tuesday T-336 & SWL-220
Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30-8:15
Week 11: 10/28/19 — 11/03/19
Reading Assignment: DeCarlo (2018) chapter eight
Topic and Content Area: Research Questions
Assignments Due: Assignment 10: research question is due Friday 11/01/19 at 11:55 PM via My Heritage; Assignment 02: reading quiz for chapter eight is due at 5:30 PM prior to class via My Heritage
Other Important Information: N/A

Agenda

• We will identify the qualities of a good research question.
• We will write good research questions for our proposals.

Characteristics of a good (nomothetic) research question

• It is empirical, not ethical
• It is written in the form of a question
• It is clearly written
• It is not a yes/no
• It has more than one plausible
• It considers relationships among multiple variables
• It is specific and clear about the concepts it addresses
• It contains a target population

Good vs. Bad Research Questions

• What percentage of youth use alcohol in Toppenish, Washington?
• What are the effects of youth alcohol use in the United States?
• How many drinks does the average Toppenish youth drink in a typical week?
• How does parents’ educational level affect the use of alcohol among youth in Toppenish, Washington?
• What is the relationship between youth alcohol use and suicide ideation in Toppenish, Washington?

Good vs. Bad Research Questions

• How does the number of drinks a youth has in a typical week relate to early initiation of sexual behavior?
• How are schools addressing youth alcohol use?
• What are the effects of alcohol prevention programs on the rate of alcohol use among Toppenish high school students?
• What are the causes of domestic violence?

Try it

Write a high-quality research question for your proposal. Check it with a peer to get feedback.

Group Activity

Share your research questions in your group Do they meet the criteria for a good research question Do they have… An independent variable A dependent variable A target population Do they contain any “watch words”… IV watch words: factors, causes DV watch words: effects, outcomes, effective, useful, efficient Etc., so forth,

Qualitative Researech Questions

Nomothetic Questions

What is true for everyone Theory-testing Deductive reasoning Generalizability Prediction Quantitative Independent and dependent variables. Clear causality Doesn’t change during a study

Idiographic questions What is true for a group of people, in one time and place Theory-building Inductive reasoning Understanding Qualitative Many variables, complicated connections. Open to change during a study

Brene Brown - Power of Vulnerability

Watch video

Nomothetic vs. Idiographic

After watching the video…

What do you notice about this kind of research?

• Control & predict vs. listen & understand
• Clean & clear vs. unpredictable & complicated
• Objectivity & math vs. subjectivity & researcher-as-instrument

APA Journal Articles

Discussion and follow up from annotated bibliography