







Strength of Evidence Transferability Editor's Comments |
Developing your central research focusIn order to identify a relevant and useful research question it is first necessary to define an initial research focus. It is essential to select an area of research that interests you as this will help to maintain your motivation, in what is a long and rigorous process. In addition the relevance of the research focus needs to be considered in relation to how it links to current policies, research and developments in education (Menter, Elliot, Hulme, Lewoin, and Lowden, 2011). The feasibility of the project relates to the timeline for the research and researcher expertise in developing and using the chosen methods. In addition it is necessary to consider the study population, i.e. where or from whom you plan to obtain your data to enable you to select the most appropriate groups or contexts for answering your research questions and to ensure that there is sufficient accessibility for you to carry out your research (Kumar 2011). Key things to consider:
Some features which characterise the early stages of a successful research project are listed below (Campbell 1982, cited in Robson, 2000):
A framework devised by Cresswell (2011) as a template for structuring the development of a research problem has been adapted below to help you identify areas that you need to consider when developing your central research focus:
You may find it helpful to use the questions below which are based on Cresswell’s framework to help you evaluate your ideas for possible central research questions:
Often it is necessary to have some form of stimulus to help you develop your initial ideas about what you want to research. Different starting points for research from which it is possible to develop your research focus include:
Identifying issues to research Identify some issues within education and write three questions in relation to this that could be a starting point for research. You can get ideas from this from your educational setting or from current issues, for example see resources below:
Economic and Social Research Council The Nuffield Foundation http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/ The Leverhulme Trust
Evaluate the questions you have identified and choose a question to develop further and carry out some reading on related research. Rework your question based on the ideas from your readings. How has your initial question changed? |