Objectives

After completing this module you will be able to:

• Analyze how theory, research question and working research hypotheses or propositions are related
• Analyze and explain how researchers move from constructs in a theory to variables in a study
• Decide whether a statistical or formal hypothesis is useful or desirable
• Assess the quality of research questions in the published literature from a realist perspective
• Formulate tentative research questions based on a problem, issue, or need that you want to address

Assigned Material for Everyone

Watch Developing a Research Question by Dr. Sam Fiala. Fiala's presentation is divided into distinct sections. The first section, for example, is entitled "My Approach." He makes five key points in this section of the presentation. Write down a summary of the points he makes in each section. This should be no more than a paragraph. These are summary statements, a few sentences that capture what you believe are his key ideas. Bring your work to class.

Fawcett, J. (1992) An Overview of Conceptual Models, Theories and Research. Pages 1-25 in The Relationship of Theory and Research. Third Edition. F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, PA.

Dixon, J. & Banwell, C. (2009). Theory driven research designs for explaining behavioral health risk transitions. The case of smoking. Social Science & Medicine 68(12), 2206-2214. Yes -- this is the same report we used last week. Bring it again.

Individual Reading Assignments about How to Develop a Research Question

You will read ONE of these articles. I will assign it. These are quick to read. They provide suggestions about how to go about creating a research question. Come to class prepared to explain the author's key ideas about how to develop a good research question in five minutes or less.

Donham, J., Heinrich, J.A., Bostwick, K.A. (2010) Mental models of research: Generating authentic questions. College Teaching 58(1), 8-14.

Fernando, D.M. & Hulse-Killacky, D. (2006) Getting to the point: Using research meetings and the inverted triangle visual to develop a dissertation research question. Counselor Education & Supervision 46(2), 103-115.

Hudson-Barr, D. (2005) From research idea to research question: The who, what, where, when and why. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing 10(2), 90-92.

Law, R. (2004). From research topic to research question: A challenging process. Nurse Researcher 11(4), 54-66.

Swift, J.A. & Tischler, V. (2010) Qualitative research in nutrition and dietetics: Getting started. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 23 (6), 559-566.

Individual Reading Assignments -- Research Reports

Read ONE of the following research reports-- the one assigned to you in class last week or by e-mail. As in the case of the Dixon rsearch report, read for familiarity with the content of the article. These are not articles for you to study and pour over. Rather, come to class prepared to use your understanding of overall content of your article in class activities.

Bernstein, J., Graczyk, A., Lawrence, D., Bernstein, E. & Strunin, L. (2011). Determinants of drinking trajectories among minority youth & young adults: The interaction of risk and resilience.Youth & Society DOI: 10.1177/0044118X10382033. Pre-print available from http://yas.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/07/31/0044118X10382033

Carrington, S. & Selva, G. (2010) Critical social theory and transformative learning: evidence in pre-service teachers' service-learning reflection logs. Highed Education Research & Development 29(1), 45-57. e-reserve

Cashman, R., Eng, E., Siman, F. & Rhodes, S.D. (2011) Exploring the sexual health priorities and needs of immigrant Latinas in the Southeastern United States: A community-based participatory research approach. AIDS Education & Prevention, 23(3), 236-248.

Christens, B.D., Speer, P.W. & Peterson, N.A. (2011). Social class as a moderator of the relationship between (dis)empowering processes and psychological empowerment. Journal of Community Psychology 39(2), 170-182.

Heady, B. & Muffels, R. (2008) Do generous welfare states generate efficiency gains which counterbalance short run losses? Testing downside risk theory with economic panel data for the U.S., Germany and The Netherlands. Social Indicators Research 86(2), 337-354. e-reserve

Hjerm, M. & Nagayoshi, K. (2011). The composition of the minority population as a threat: Can real economic and cultural threats explain xenophobia? International Sociology doi: 10.1177/0268580910394004. Pre-print available from: http://iss.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/05/26/0268580910394004

Hornung, S. (2010) Alienation matters: Validity and utility of Etzioni's theory of commitment in explaining prosocial organizational behavior. Social Behavior & Personality 38(8), 1081-1096.

Lusher, D. & Robins, G. (2010) A social network analysis of hegemonic and other masculinities. Journal of Men's Studies 18(1), 22-44.

Stuntz, C.P., Sayles, J.K. & McDermott, E.L. (2011) Same-sex and mixed-sex sport teams: How the social environment relates to sources of social support and perceived competence. Journal of Sport Behavior, 34(1), 98-120.

Timperley, H.S. & Parr, J.M. (2009) Chain of influence from policy to practice in the New Zealand literacy strategy. Research Papers in Education 24(2), 135-154.

Wheeler, S. (2011). The significance of family culture for sports participation. International Review for the Sociology of Sport DOI: 10.1177/1012690211403196 Pre-print available from: http://irs.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/04/07/1012690211403196

Recommended Readings

Shoemaker et al., Ch. 2, 3, & 8 These chapters will be very helpful if you are at a stage of work on your thesis or dissertation proposal beyond "searching for the right topic." This is an excellent reference to use in several assignments this semester, especially Assignments 1, 5 and 6.

Pidgeon, N. & Henwood, K. (2004) Grounded theory. In M. Hardy and A. Bryman (Eds.), Handbook of Data Analysis (pp. 625-648). London: Sage Publications. Grounded theory is NOT a theory, but rather an approach to theoretical development and to making theoretical contributions. E-reserve. NOTE: shows up under Hardy & Bryman on the e-reserve.

Silverman, D. (2005) "Selecting a topic" p. 77-94 in Doing Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks. E-reserve. May be helpful if you do not have an idea for your projects this semester. I think the lecture by Fiala is more helpful.

Advance Preparation

Bring a copy of Assignment 2 to class with you.

Systematized Definitions of Constructs in Social Theory Bring this to class with you.

The Research-Practice-Research Cycle Bring this to class with you.

Levels of Theory Bring this to class.

Three Models of Behavior Change. Bring this to class.

The Learning Cycle Bring this to class.

Other Learning Theory that Informs this Course Bring this to class.

Learning Guide for Research Question

Additional Resources

Bryman, A. & Cramer, D. (2004) Qualitative research and the postmodern turn. In M. Hardy and A. Bryman (Eds.), Handbook of Data Analysis (pp. 667-681). London: Sage Publications.

Kushner, K.E. & Morrow, R. (2003) Grounded theory, feminist theory, critical theory: Toward theoretical triangulation. Advances in Nursing Science 26 (1), 30-43.

Nelson, D.B. (2002) Family functioning measures: convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Theory Constructing & Testing 7(1), 18-26.

Van T Klooster, S.A., Van Asselt, M.B. & Koenis, S.P. (2002) Beyond the essential contestation: construction and deconstruction of regional identity. Ethics, Place & Environment 5(2), 109-121.

Walker, C.A. (2002) Making assumptions explicit. Journal of Theory Constructing & Testing 7(2), 37-38.