Week 3 – Assignment: Create a Purpose Statement Top of Form Hide Folder Information Instructions Your assignment is to create a purpose of the study by indi
Week 3 – Assignment: Create a Purpose Statement
Top of Form
Hide Folder Information
Instructions
Your assignment is to create a purpose of the study by indicating the intent, goal, and rationale for researching the problem addressed in last week’s assignment. The purpose statement should begin with “The purpose of this (quantitative, qualitative, mixed) study is to…” Use the following list to create the purpose statement:
- Study method
- Study design
- Constructs/variables
- Target population
- Research setting
- Sampling frame
- Sampling method
- Sample size (Justified by scholarly sources and a power analysis for quantitative studies)
- Data collection method (including instrumentation)
- Data analysis method
- Software to be used for analysis
- Closing statement as to how the study results may inform educational theory
Length: Approximately 1 page, not including title and reference pages
Your purpose be directly aligned with the problem statement. Your purpose statement should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University's Academic Integrity Policy.
Week 4 – Assignment: Develop Research Questions
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Instructions
Your assignment is to draft two or more research questions. These questions can be either qualitative or quantitative or a mixture of both.
Qualitative: Research questions must be aligned with the purpose statement. Qualitative research questions should be open-ended and reflect the nature of the qualitative design (avoid yes/no and closed-ended questions).
Quantitative: Research questions must be aligned with the purpose statement and should include proposed hypothesis(es). Ensure the research questions and hypothesis(es) are aligned with the purpose statement. The research questions and hypotheses must be directly answerable, specific, and testable based on the data collected.
Hypotheses
(Quantitative/Mixed Studies Only)
Both null hypotheses and alternative hypotheses should be stated. Each must directly correspond with a research question. Hypotheses must be stated in testable, potentially negatable, form with each variable operationalized. Note: Each hypothesis represents one distinct testable prediction. Upon testing, each hypothesis must be entirely supported or entirely negated.
Length: 1 page, not including title page (reference page not required)
Your research questions should be directly aligned with the purpose statement. Your research questions should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards where appropriate. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University's Academic Integrity Policy..
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Week 5 – Assignment: Integrate Feedback
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Turnitin™
This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin™.
Instructions
Your assignment is to combine the problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions into a single document and apply all requested changes and integrate improvements based on feedback from your professor.
Length: 2-3 pages, not including title and reference pages
Your work should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University's Academic Integrity Policy.
Upload your assignment using the Upload Assignment button below.
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Sage Research Methods
Encyclopedia of Research Design
Author: Michael A. Lewkowicz
Pub. Date: 2012
Product: Sage Research Methods
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412961288
Methods: Confidence intervals, Dependent variables, Sample size, Correlation, Independent variables, Null
hypothesis
Disciplines: Anthropology, Business and Management, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Communication
and Media Studies, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Economics, Education, Geography, Health, History,
Marketing, Nursing, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Social Policy and Public Policy,
Social Work, Sociology, Technology, Medicine
Access Date: March 15, 2023
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc.
City: Thousand Oaks
Online ISBN: 9781412961288
© 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A purpose statement is a declarative statement that summarizes a research project's main goal or goals. A
purpose statement provides some guidance in establishing a research question and serves as an introduction
to the resultant paper or dissertation chapter.
Developing the Purpose Statement
At the beginning of a research project, it is helpful for the researcher to use a declarative sentence to state
the main goal or goals of the project in specific terms. Statements that begin with the phrase “I wish to learn
…” or “I plan to examine …” can be helpful insofar as they can move the topic's abstract notions to a con-
crete research question, which is the springboard for the resultant research design. Furthermore, a purpose
statement can ground the researcher, providing a point of reference to which the researcher may return, par-
ticularly as the study increases in complexity. However, this does not imply that the purpose statement is final,
because the researcher may revise the statement as needed. If external factors such as unavailability of rel-
evant data force the researcher to make substantial changes to his or her research design, he or she may
want to update the purpose statement to reflect those changes.
Using the Purpose Statement
In addition to serving as a catalyst for the underlying research project, a purpose statement can be worked
into subsequent papers or dissertation chapters derived from the project. Always near the end of the introduc-
tion, a purpose statement states the paper's intent, scope, and direction. Specifically, it provides for an abbre-
viated preview of the paper's main topic, while avoiding a discussion of the author's specific conclusions.
In research papers, purpose statements often start with phrases such as “This paper examines …,” “The main
purpose of this study is to …” or “The aim of this article is to Purpose statements should be specific and pre-
cise, and should avoid vague, ambiguous, or confusing language. This ensures that there is no doubt in the
reader's mind as to the research project's intended direction.
Introductions: Purpose Statements versus Thesis Statements
A purpose statement also serves as the foundation for a thesis statement, which provides assertions about
the topic at hand and summarizes the author's conclusions. Unlike a purpose statement, a thesis statement
provides a cursory answer to the question and is developed after the researcher has gathered evidence,
which is presented in the body of the research paper.
SAGE
© 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sage Research Methods
Page 2 of 4 Encyclopedia of Research Design
The decision to use a thesis statement in the introduction is determined by the underlying norms of the spe-
cific discipline, as well as the author's preferences. In some cases, the author may simply state the paper's
intended purpose at the outset, delaying the discussion of any results until the end of the paper. At the very
least, a research paper introduction should provide a discussion of the research question and some informa-
tion about how the author intends to explore the question, even if the answers are not presented until the
conclusion.
Examples of Thesis and Purpose Statements
Ineffective purpose statement #1: “This paper examines the impact of elites upon elections.” It is unclear
about what types of elites, what types of elections, or even which potential electoral effects the researcher
intends to examine.
Effective purpose statement #1: This paper examines the extent to which public endorsements by political
elites shape electoral participation, particularly in proposition elections where the traditional information short-
cut of partisanship is absent.”
Thesis statement #1: Elite cues help increase electoral participation because they provide information short-
cuts to potential voters who may not be fully informed about the details of a given electoral contest.”
Ineffective purpose statement #2: “This paper examines changes to election laws.” In addition to being non-
specific as to what types of election laws are being examined, it is unclear as to whether the author is exam-
ining the sources of those changes, or the potential impact of those changes.
Effective purpose statement #2: This paper examines the potential impact of the straight-ticket voting option
upon electoral down-ballot outcomes.”
Thesis statement #2: Although Illinois Republicans appeared to eliminate the straight-ticket option in 1997
for partisan reasons, evidence suggests that Democrats might have actually benefitted from this ballot format
change.”
Michael A.Lewkowicz
See also
Dissertation
Research
SAGE
© 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sage Research Methods
Page 3 of 4 Encyclopedia of Research Design
Research Question
Further Readings
Popper, K.(1959).The logic of scientific discovery.New York: Basic Books.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412961288
SAGE
© 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sage Research Methods
Page 4 of 4 Encyclopedia of Research Design
- Sage Research Methods
- Encyclopedia of Research Design
- Developing the Purpose Statement
- Using the Purpose Statement
- Introductions: Purpose Statements versus Thesis Statements
- Examples of Thesis and Purpose Statements
- Further Readings
,
Sage Research Methods
Encyclopedia of Research Design
Author: Michael A. Lewkowicz
Pub. Date: 2012
Product: Sage Research Methods
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412961288
Methods: Confidence intervals, Dependent variables, Sample size, Correlation, Independent variables, Null
hypothesis
Disciplines: Anthropology, Business and Management, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Communication
and Media Studies, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Economics, Education, Geography, Health, History,
Marketing, Nursing, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Social Policy and Public Policy,
Social Work, Sociology, Technology, Medicine
Access Date: March 15, 2023
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc.
City: Thousand Oaks
Online ISBN: 9781412961288
© 2012 SAGE Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A purpose statement is a declarative statement that summarizes a research project's main goal or goals. A
purpose statement provides some guidance in establishing a research question and serves as an introduction
to the resultant paper or dissertation chapter.
Developing the Purpose Statement
At the beginning of a research project, it is helpful for the researcher to use a declarative sentence to state
the main goal or goals of the project in specific terms. Statements that begin with the phrase “I wish to learn
…” or “I plan to examine …” can be helpful insofar as they can move the topic's abstract notions to a con-
crete research question, which is the springboard for the resultant research design. Furthermore, a purpose
statement can ground the researcher, providing a point of reference to which the researcher may return, par-
ticularly as the study increases in complexity. However, this does not imply that the purpose statement is final,
because the researcher may revise the statement as needed. If external factors such as unavailability of rel-
evant data force the researcher to make substantial changes to his or her research design, he or she may
want to update the purpose statement to reflect those changes.
Using the Purpose Statement
In addition to serving as a catalyst for the underlying research project, a purpose statement can be worked
into subsequent papers or dissertation chapters derived from the project. Always near the end of the introduc-
tion, a purpose statement states the paper's intent, scope, and direction. Specifically, it provides for an abbre-
viated preview of the paper's main topic, while avoiding a discussion of the author's specific conclusions.
In research papers, purpose statements often start with phrases such as “This paper examines …,” “The main
purpose of this study is to …” or “The aim of this article is to Purpose statements should be specific and pre-
cise, and should avoid vague, ambiguous, or confusing language. This ensures that there is no doubt in the
reader's mind as to the research project's intended direction.
Introductions: Purpose Statements versus Thesis Statements
A purpose statement also serves as the foundation for a thesis statement, which provides assertions about
the topic at hand and summarizes the author's conclusions. Unlike a purpose statement, a thesis statement
provides a cursory answer to the question and is developed after the researcher has gathered evidence,
which is presented in the body of the research paper.
SAGE
© 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sage Research Methods
Page 2 of 4 Encyclopedia of Research Design
The decision to use a thesis statement in the introduction is determined by the underlying norms of the spe-
cific discipline, as well as the author's preferences. In some cases, the author may simply state the paper's
intended purpose at the outset, delaying the discussion of any results until the end of the paper. At the very
least, a research paper introduction should provide a discussion of the research question and some informa-
tion about how the author intends to explore the question, even if the answers are not presented until the
conclusion.
Examples of Thesis and Purpose Statements
Ineffective purpose statement #1: “This paper examines the impact of elites upon elections.” It is unclear
about what types of elites, what types of elections, or even which potential electoral effects the researcher
intends to examine.
Effective purpose statement #1: This paper examines the extent to which public endorsements by political
elites shape electoral participation, particularly in proposition elections where the traditional information short-
cut of partisanship is absent.”
Thesis statement #1: Elite cues help increase electoral participation because they provide information short-
cuts to potential voters who may not be fully informed about the details of a given electoral contest.”
Ineffective purpose statement #2: “This paper examines changes to election laws.” In addition to being non-
specific as to what types of election laws are being examined, it is unclear as to whether the author is exam-
ining the sources of those changes, or the potential impact of those changes.
Effective purpose statement #2: This paper examines the potential impact of the straight-ticket voting option
upon electoral down-ballot outcomes.”
Thesis statement #2: Although Illinois Republicans appeared to eliminate the straight-ticket option in 1997
for partisan reasons, evidence suggests that Democrats might have actually benefitted from this ballot format
change.”
Michael A.Lewkowicz
See also
Dissertation
Research
SAGE
© 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sage Research Methods
Page 3 of 4 Encyclopedia of Research Design
Research Question
Further Readings
Popper, K.(1959).The logic of scientific discovery.New York: Basic Books.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412961288
SAGE
© 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sage Research Methods
Page 4 of 4 Encyclopedia of Research Design
- Sage Research Methods
- Encyclopedia of Research Design
- Developing the Purpose Statement
- Using the Purpose Statement
- Introductions: Purpose Statements versus Thesis Statements
- Examples of Thesis and Purpose Statements
- Further Readings
,
Sage Research Methods Video
Why Is Coming Up With A Research Question So
Difficult?
Pub. Date: 2016
Product: Sage Research Methods Video
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526400116
Methods: Research questions, Planning research
Keywords: brainstorming, challenges, issues, and controversies, creativity and opportunities, gap problem,
idea generation, knowledge, maps, media coverage, prevalence, problem solving, reading (activity)
Disciplines: Anthropology, Business and Management, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Communication
and Media Studies, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Economics, Education, Geography, Health, History,
Marketing, Nursing, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Social Policy and Public Policy,
Social Work, Sociology, Science, Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine
Access Date: March 15, 2023
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications Ltd
Online ISBN: 9781526400116
© 2016 SAGE Publications Ltd All Rights Reserved.
DR. ZINA O'LEARY: You'd be surprised how many people really are challenged by coming up with a
research question. It's actually an extremely difficult thing to do. So a lot of people think that research
starts with answering a research question. So when they can't come up with a question, they think,
oh my god, I can't even come up with a question. How am I ever going to do this research? But what
you have to understand is
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: that coming up with a research question is one of the most funda-
mental practices of doing research to begin with. So you have to be able to really think about what
a good question is. A good question– a question that's researchable, a question that can be done in
your time frame, a question that is valuable. So it is a really big challenge to come up with a question.
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: So research starts with question development. So there's a lot of
things that you can do to help you in the development of a researchable question. Things to think
about are opportunities and issues. So what's the problem situation? Most students who come to me
kind of know the area they want to research.
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: They know the issue. They know the challenge. They know the thing
that they want to explore. It might be obesity. It might be something around health care. It might be
something around demographics. Whatever it might be, you have an idea. Now, there's two things
you can start to look at. One would be to look at the issues around this. What are the problems?
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: What are the things that come up for you that you want to fix? The
other thing you can do is start to look at opportunities. Where do you think research can help make
a situation better? So challenges and opportunities, issues and opportunities. Really start to explore
what it is around this space
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: that interests you, where you think research could help the situation.
So this means you can start thinking about what is already known about a situation. What is known
about the thing you want to study? Even more important, what needs to be known? Now, you're not
going to know what
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: needs to be known until you know what is known. And that means to
really understand where we are within a body of literature that explores a certain problem situation.
There's a couple things you can think about here. We can ask ourselves, do we need to know more
about the problem?
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: So let's say the problem is social-media bullying– bullying on Face-
book. How much do we know about the problem? How prevalent is the problem? What is the age
SAGE
(c) SAGE Publications Ltd., 2017
Sage Research Methods Video
Page 2 of 5 Why Is Coming Up With A Research Question So Difficult?
group that's affected by the problem? What is the consequences of that problem? Is it a problem
that's only in rural areas or urban areas
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: or developing countries? So what do we need to know about the
problem itself? And maybe there's a lot already known about the problem situation. Maybe there's a
lot of data on the scope of the issue and the problem itself. But that's the place you start. Do we need
to know more about the problem? And maybe the problem is known. If the problem is known, then
you
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: can start thinking about questions around the solution. Well, how
do we begin to address this problem? What are the types of solutions that we can offer? What have
other people have done? Has there been some good strategies? Do we have good initiatives? Has
someone looked at some sort of education campaign in schools? Has someone worked with fami-
lies?
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: What are different communities doing? Has anything been instituted
at a policy level around social media? Social media not allowed in particular schools? There's so
many things that you might want to look at in terms of, well, how can we begin to look at this issue?
So that's a good place to come up with a question. All right.
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: So we've got all the questions related to your problem. And then
we have all the questions related to a potential solution. So two ways to start thinking about your
issue and your question development. The third is if a lot of people have looked at your issue, a lot
is known about the problem, a lot of solutions
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: are already been explored, and in fact people have started to look
at initiating these solutions, well then, some of the research questions you might come up with are
about evaluating those particular initiatives. So maybe a school has tried a particular campaign. You
can ask a question is, did it work?
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: How well did it work? Could we do it different? Could it be initiated
it someplace else? How could we change it so that it's more effective? So lots of things you can do
in that space around evaluative research. So lots of different issues here. And one of the things that
you need to do when you're really having difficulty coming up
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: with a question is read. Reading is instrumental to the development
of a research question. And I don't just mean journal articles. We'll get to those in a minute, but
let's read. Let's think about what's in the media. And when I say read, I also mean watch TV, watch
YouTube. What's known about the situation? What is a hot topic?
SAGE
(c) SAGE Publications Ltd., 2017
Sage Research Methods Video
Page 3 of 5 Why Is Coming Up With A Research Question So Difficult?
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: What is interesting to you? So really read broadly. And then as you
begin to get your interest, read more specifically. Then you can begin to turn to academic literature.
You can start to read about what other researchers have done. You have to remember that research
is about adding to a body of knowledge. You're not going to create all the knowledge in the world.
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: You're just going to add to a body of knowledge. And to add to a
body of knowledge, you need to know what's in that body of knowledge. So you really do need to
read. What have researchers been working on? What have they been finding? Where are the gaps
and the holes in the literature? How can you fill in those spaces? What contribution might you be able
to make?
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: Now, as you begin to read, you'll get a sense. And you realize, oh,
I can become a player in this game. No one's really looked at this question in this context. They've
never looked at it with this demographic. They've never looked at it for this age group. They've never
looked at it in relation to sexual bullying, whatever it might be. As you identify those gaps in the liter-
ature,
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: as you begin to identify some of the– maybe, the assumptions that
you don't buy into– there's going to be a whole scope for you to begin to develop a research ques-
tion. So some of the things you need to be thinking about as you're going through all the possibilities
of research is, is the question I'm starting to play with researchable?
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: Can I actually gather the data that I'll need to answer that question,
because that's going to be critical. I guess it's an iterative process. You have a topic. You have a
research question that's starting to develop. And then you're going to read. And that's going to define
your ideas. And then you're going to come up with a more developed research
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: question. And then you're actually going to have some ideas for
how you're going to collect that data. And then you're going to think about your methods. And maybe
your methods will work or won't work or will be a challenge. And then you get to redefine the ques-
tion, which is going to make you read more. It's almost like this figure eight of going back and forth
between methods and reading and ideas
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: until you really form a question. And one of the best things you can
do is know that this is going to be a challenge, but know that you really can't progress too far without
this question. So talk to people. Get their ideas on what's going to be a good question for you.
DR. ZINA O'LEARY [continued]: And it's essential because the research question is going to do so
much work for you. If you get a good research question, it gives you this sense of ease because
intuitively you will feel that you have direction. You will know where you're going. You'll know exactly
SAGE
(c) SAGE Publications Ltd., 2017
Sage Research Methods Video
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