Summary
Highlights
The Importance of Research Questions00:00:02
The session begins by defining the research question as the heart of any study. It is emphasized that researchers must start with a problem observed in their community or workplace, which then drives the need for investigation and creates the necessity for a research question.
Guidelines for Formulating Research Questions00:03:46
Drawing from Babby (2014), the speaker outlines key guidelines: maintain a clear relationship between the topic and problem, conduct a thorough review of related literature, and ensure the research interests the researcher. It is crucial to include relevant independent and dependent variables in the questions.
Structuring Questions and SMART Criteria00:08:14
The speaker advises breaking a general question into specific, sub-problems (pieces of a puzzle). Importantly, questions should not be answerable with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. Additionally, questions must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Practical Example: Coping Mechanisms00:14:30
Using the example of 'children with broken families,' the speaker demonstrates the flow from identifying a research problem to creating a title and finally breaking it down into a general research question followed by several specific, exploratory sub-questions.
Conclusion and Best Practices00:21:29
The session concludes by summarizing the workflow: define the problem, craft a title, and then derive specific questions. The importance of literature review to support the research framework is reiterated before moving into a Q&A and workshop session.