How to phrase your research problem?

Dr. Wilfred Bidad

Let’s start by dispelling myths

A Ph.D research problem is not earth shaking

Circa 1928

Her dissertation into the Question of Cultural Stability in Polynesia

brought anthropology to the public's interest and pioneered areas of study dealing with culture versus biology in the formation of societies and the "complexities of being human."

Margaret Mead made a simple study about aborigines in Polynesia

Transformational AnalysisLinguistics: Chomsky introduced transformational grammar, a theory which changed conceptions about how children acquire language and the construction of language and grammars, with significant implications for the field of cognitive psychology. He "contributed substantially to a major methodological shift in the human sciences, turning away from the prevailing empiricism of the middle of the twentieth century: behaviorism in psychology, structuralism in linguistics and positivism in philosophy."

Circa 1955

Noah Chomsky made a simple inquiry into why children easily learn a new language.

Smart research problems are those questions that give you the gut feeling that you are doing something new…

After your PH.D dissertation, you know you have something new to say…

What is the easiest way to write a research question?

Trust

Trust that you can find answers and And that the answers are worthLooking for

Consider this simple problem…

Does humor increase class participation?

Class ParticipationHumor

Conceptual Framework

The study is bivariate causal .

The Cause is…

HUMOR… .AND THE EFFECT IS…

But suppose in your literature review you learned that men and women tend to respond to humor in different ways?

Class ParticipationHumor

Sex

Conceptual Framework

A simple question like thisIs in fact a groundbreakingResearch because this isA relatively new field..

What is the research problem here? Can you state it in one sentence?

Can you draw on the board the conceptual framework here?

Write a simple bivariate research problem…Discuss with a partner and then present in the class.