Research Methods: Developing your research design

Eira Patterson | View as single page | Feedback/Impact
Developing your research design
Evidence
Key concepts for Research Design
Understanding research methodology
Developing your Research Design
Developing your Research tools
About this guide
Starting on your research journey: Way of thinking about research
Overview of methodologies
Stages in developing a research design
Questionnaires
References
An introduction to terminology used in qualitative and quantitative research
Surveys
Developing your central research focus
Interviews
Useful resources
Understanding factor and variables
Experimental design
Why develop research questions?
Observation
Partners
FORUM
Case studies
Reading to develop research questions
Document Analysis
What are validity and reliability?
Action research
Developing a central research question
Using visual images in research
How can validity and reliability be improved
Ethnography
Wording your research questions
Deciding on the type of data you will need to collect
Triangulation
Phenomenology
Developing sub-questions that can be researched: Operationalisation
Selecting your sample
Grounded theory
Application of ideas: Developing sub-questions in practice
Narrative research
Visual approaches to help develop research questions
An introduction to data analysis
Application of ideas: Developing useful research questions
Some practical points to consider when planning your research
Strength of Evidence
Transferability
Areas for further research
Editor's Comments
Online Communities

Application of ideas: Developing useful research questions

Use the checklist for developing useful research questions to help you

analyse question below to make it into a useful research question:

  • Identify a clear and specific focus

  • Be specific in your use of terminology

  • Develop operational definitions

  • Avoid bias and assumptions

  • Think out wording for questions carefully

Do children work better if they plan their own investigations?

Possible analysis points:

Criteria for a good research question

Analysis of the research question:

Clear and specific focus

To make the question less broad focus on a particular curriculum area e.g. science or mathematics

Specific use of terminology: operational definitions

Define ‘investigation’ to ensure that specific criteria are identified to classify an activity as an investigation

Avoiding bias and assumptions

‘work better’ implies that the researcher believes that enabling children to plan their own investigations will have a positive impact – develop more neutral wording

Carefully thought out wording

‘work better’ is ambiguous and needs to be clarified

Possible reworked questions:

What is the impact on levels of motivation of enabling children to plan their own investigations in science?

How does allowing children to plan their own investigations in science affect engagement in the learning process?

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