PSYC104 Lecture 3: PSYC104 Research Design Lecture 3 (Week 4) [Research Questions & Literature Review]
8 May 2018
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PSYC104 Research Design Lecture
Week 4 – Research Questions & Literature Review
Aspects of research design
Depends on the state of knowledge in the area – more developed areas have more refined design
• Must be rigorous
• Provides the structure for the research
• Good design requires that it be
• Based in theory
o Situationally appropriate
o Feasible (you can implement it)
o Redundant (allows for data point losses)
o Efficient (least demand on resources)
Factors the influence the research question
• The research question arises from the consideration of the focus of the research; primacy must be given
to the phenomenon in terms of specifying the research question
• The stage of theory development will impact what sort of research question can be posed
• The population or sample for data generation to be explored will in most cases be specified by the
theory or clearly specified in the research question
In positivist/empiricist approaches to research, research questions generation hypotheses that are:
• Measureable
• Quantitative
• Specific
• Testable
Understanding research questions
• Constructed in such a way as to focus information and knowledge acquisition to prove an answer
• Research questions about psychological issues focus on their:
o Characteristics
o Causes
o Consequences
o Processes
o Meanings
• Research questions often appear in research publications as statements which can be evidence of a
premature judgment of the phenomenon or simply a way of focusing the research activity to be
undertaken
• Good research questions are critical to quality research because they help prevent confusion and
overload in the project
Sources of research questions
• Personal experience
• Curiosity about something reported in the media
• An issue arising from the researcher’s scholarly pursuits
• Professional experience
Role of research questions
• Organise the project
• Provide direction and coherence
• Delimit the project thus setting its boundaries
• Keep the research focused
• Provide a framework for writing up the project
• Point clearly to the data that will need to be collected
Ethical appropriateness of research questions
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