Minding Your Ps and Qs:Research Problems and Questions

John Diamond, MDRC

Community College Research GrantFaculty Development Workshop

January 13, 2016

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Agenda

• What makes a good research problem?• What makes a good research question?

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What are some pedagogical problems?

• Students aren’t learning the material.• Classrooms need additional equipment.• Course curricula aren’t aligned with exams.• Students are late to class.• Test scores don’t fully reflect student learning.• Instructors need additional training.• State funding was cut.

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Not all problems are well-suited for research!

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What problems are poorly-suited?

• A classroom window is broken.• Final exams are scheduled on a holiday.• Students are unhappy with their grades.• There aren’t enough desks for all the students.• A department is understaffed.• Some students are bored in class.• A student’s father passed away.

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What problems are well-suited?

• Students are failing a final exam.• Students don’t grasp a particular concept.• The curricula for two courses are not aligned.• A course does not build career-relevant skills.• Students aren’t signing up for a required class.• A skills test is placing students incorrectly.

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What makes a problem a good fit?

• The problem is systemic.• The problem is measurable.• The problem is potentially fixable.• The solution isn’t already known.

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A research proposal is a sales pitch.

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What makes a problem compelling?

• The problem is common/widespread.• The problem is significant.• The problem seems to be solvable because:– The cause of the problem is understood.– There’s academic literature on the problem.– The problem has been solved in other contexts.

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Reframing a research problem can make it more compelling.

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Which version is stronger?

1. Many English 101 students have trouble handing in assignments on time.

2. Every semester, a few English 101 students fail to hand in their midterm essays.

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Which version is stronger?

1. In their end-of-semester course evaluations, many students request more group assignments.

2. A large part of students’ final grade involves a group project, which many students perform poorly on.

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Which version is stronger?

1. The second-year practicum is not aligned with other second-year coursework.

2. Many students do not complete their second-year practicum.

3. Students struggle to see the real-world relevance of their second-year practicum.

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Which version is stronger?

1. Changes to placement test scores are placing large numbers of unprepared students in college-level math courses.

2. Many students fail gatekeeper college-level math courses.

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How can we reframe these problems?

1. Students suffer from anxiety prior to taking exams for professional certification.

2. Students have difficulty finding time to complete homework assignments.

3. The new curriculum leaves out certain key concepts that students should know.

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Avoid solutions in search of a problem!

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Avoid Solution-Centric Proposals

• “We should play soft music during tests, it will help students focus on test questions.”

• “We should assign more group projects to build community among our students.”

• “We should incorporate smartphones into our curriculum – students are comfortable with them.”

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Research Questions

• A research question poses a question that your research will attempt to answer.

• Types of research questions include:– Does this intervention help students?– Was this intervention implemented as intended?– How many students received the intervention?– How cost-effective is this intervention?

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What makes a good research question?

• Includes relevant details.• Simple and narrowly-focused.• Connects to measureable outcome(s).• Ties together problem and solution.

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Research Question Scenario 1

• Problem: students are failing College English.• Cause: the standards for passing

developmental English have been lowered, resulting in more unprepared students in College English.

• Solution: offer students an optional English review bootcamp during the first four weeks of the semester.

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Research Question Scenario 1

• v1.0: Does this help students?

• v1.5: Does this help students pass College English?

• v2.0: Are students who participate in the optional bootcamp more likely to pass College English than those who don’t?

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Research Question Scenario 2

• Problem: students have trouble sticking to intermediate deadlines for assignments.

• Cause: students lack time management skills.• Solution: spend one class teaching students

about the basics of time management: setting a schedule, keeping a to-do list, juggling multiple priorities, etc.

• Research Question: ???

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Research Question Scenario 3

• Problem: some students do poorly on their end-of-term research papers because they neglect to include any citations.

• Cause: some students do not understand the role of citations in a research paper.

• Solution: refer selected students to on-campus writing center for help.

• Research Question: ???

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Research Question Scenario 4

• Problem: some students are not scoring well on a new set of learning outcomes.

• Cause: some students have a learning style that is at odds with the way the curriculum is traditionally structured and delivered.

• Solution: ???• Research Question: ???

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Research Question Scenario 5

• Problem: some students fall progressively farther behind throughout the semester.

• Cause: students do not make use of on-campus tutoring, office hours, and other resources.

• Solution: ???• Research Question: ???

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Other Proposal Tips

• Simple is good.• Cite relevant literature or prior data.• Make it easy for proposal reviewers.– Minimize jargon when possible.– Use consistent terminology.– Provide academic or institutional context.

• Prior years’ MDRC CCRG presentations are available on the CCRG website.

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Questions?

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Contact Info

John Diamond, Research AssociateJohn.Diamond@mdrc.org 212-340-8620