Research Questions & Hypotheses

AD-856
Marcus Goncalves
Spring 2018
 Overview

 What is a research
question?
 How does one
develop one?
 How does one
evaluate one?
Objectives: After today you
should be able to ...

 Understand the importance of

a well-developed research
question.
 Be aware of numerous
methods for generating a
research question.
 Develop a concise research
question.
 Be able to evaluate the
quality of a research
question.
 Understand the role and
nature of publishable
replication research.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
RESEARCH QUESTION

 The research question is the

starting point of the study.
Everything flows from the
research question. It will
determine the population to be
studied, the setting for the
study, the data to be collected,
and the time period for the
study. A clear and concisely
stated research question is
the most important
requirement for a successful
study.
Research Cycle
 PREREQUISITES

The most important

prerequisite for this
research is a
well-cultivated curiosity.
This seems to be a common
characteristic possessed by
notable researchers.
Beyond being curious, these
individuals also had the
patience and tenacity to
follow a question until
satisfied with the answer.
Origins of a Research Question

 Careful Observation of
People
 Application of New
Technology
 The Annoyance Principle
 Build on Experience
 Scientific Communications
– Skeptical Attitude
(questioning peers and
status quo)
Other Ideas and Inspirations

 Question validity of commonly held

beliefs
 Question relationships
– Direction of causality
– Third variables unaccounted for?
– Levels of analysis (can increase)
 Boundaries (generalizability) -
external validity
– Question validity of existing studies
– Change settings (e.g., situational
specificity hypothesis)
– Change types of individuals/units
(children/adults; e.g., Zollo study)
Characteristics of a good research
question
FINER
Feasible
Adequate numbers of subjects?
Adequate technical expertise?
Affordable in time and money?
Is it possible to measure or manipulate the
variables?
Interesting
To the investigator?
Novel
To the field?
Ethical
Potential harm to subjects?
Potential breech of subject confidentiality?
Relevant
To scientific knowledge/theory?
To organizational, health or social
management and policy?
To individual welfare?
 Hypotheses

Examples

– RQ: Is a happy worker a

productive worker?
– H1: Happier workers are
more productive than unhappy
workers.

– RQ: Does increasing the

happiness of workers make
them more productive?
– H1: Increasing the happiness
of workers does not increase
productivity.
Hypotheses should be developed
before data are collected.
Good hypotheses

 Constructs are clear

 Relationship (sign,
direction if experimental,
type of moderation) is
clear
 Population often
included
 Design/statistical
method often clear
– Mean differences
– Compared to who?
(can’t have a “more”
without a “than”
– Related (correlation)
 The word “significant” is
unnecessary
Good hypotheses construction

Statistical test is clear (usually one

per hypothesis)
– With mediator hypothesis
may be
• X will positively relate to Y
• M will positively relate to Y
• X will positively relate to M
• X will not relate to Y when
controlling for M
– OR
• M will mediate the positive
relationship between X
and Y