Research Problem

Question 1

What is the general research process? (8 steps)

Answer 1

1. Problem identification
2. Literature review
3. Formulation of research aims, objectives, questions and hypotheses
4. Methodology development
5. Data collection
6. Data analysis
7. Report generation
8. Findings dissemination

Question 2

What are the steps in problem identification?

Answer 2

1. Identify general and sub-areas of interest
2. Develop and refine research problem
3. Generate problem
   statement
4. Formulate aims and objectives, questions, and
   hypotheses

Question 3

What are the sources of research problems?

Answer 3

Clinical experience

Existing literature

Specific interest

Personal experience

Theories

Social issues

Folklore

Expert opinions

Question 4

What are the aspects of a research problem?

Answer 4

• People – Individuals, groups,
  communities, organizations
  (e.g. Patients with obesity)
• Problem – Unmet needs,
  contradictions, unclear
  relationships, troubling
  situation
  (e.g. Difficulties controlling
  dietary behaviours)
• Programme – content,
  structure, mode of delivery
  (e.g. Behaviour change programs)
• Phenomenon – causal effect,
  associations, perceptions
  (e.g. effectiveness of the behaviour change program on improving diet control)

Question 5

What are some considerations (of a research problem) according to literature review and other existing information?

Answer 5

Interest

Supported by literature
- Do others share similar prioritisation of the
problem?
- How much has this topic been explored? Any
gaps?

Significant
- What is so important about solving the problem?

Novel
- Original and unique, assesses a knowledge gap?

Timely
- Is it a hot topic now that is currently a need in the field?

Magnitude of the problem
- What is the prevalence or severity of the problem?

Feasibility
- Experience/available knowledge
- Data availability (e.g. access to population, size of accessibility)
- Ethical issues

Question 6

What is a problem statement?

Answer 6

A clear and concise explanation of issue/challenge that you are targeting (to allow readers to quickly understand your intent).

Question 7

Components of a problem statement

Answer 7

1. Background/context
   - identify problem and what is the ideal scenario without the problem?
   - What has been done to solve the problem and what are
   the shortcomings?
2. Significance
   - How does the problem hinder ideal scenario?
   - Problem’s negative impact(s)?
   - Who will be most affected by solving the problem?
   - What is the consequence of not solving the problem?
   - What is the knowledge gap
   that will be addressed?
3. Solution
   - Realistic aim and objectives, how will the study contribute to the solution of the problem?

Question 8

How to formulate aims

Answer 8

Aim: Should be broad, general, long-term

e.g. To develop and implement a novel behaviour change programme that improves weight loss among people with obesity

Question 9

How to set an objective

Answer 9

Objectives: Should be specific, focused, short-term, measurable

E.g. To test the effectiveness of a novel behaviour change program in improving
weight loss among people with obesity

Question 10

How to formulate research question

Answer 10

rephrase objectives to focus on variables (PICO/PICo)

E.g. Research question: What is the effectiveness of a novel behaviour change
program in improving weight loss among people with obesity?

Question 11

How to formulate research hypotheses (if applicable)

Answer 11

E.g. Hypothesis: Patients receiving the novel behaviour change program will have a
higher amount of weight loss as compared to those who do not

Question 12

Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “UNDERSTAND”

Answer 12

Review
Identify
Explore
Discover
Discuss
Summarize
Describe

Question 13

Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “APPLY”

Answer 13

Interpret
Apply
Demonstrate
Establish
Determine
Estimate
Calculate
Relate

Question 14

Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “ANALYSE”

Answer 14

Analyse
Compare
Inspect
Examine
Verify
Select
Arrange

Question 15

Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “SYNTHESISE”

Answer 15

Propose
Design
Formulate
Collect
Construct
Prepare
Undertake
Assemble

Question 16

Research verbs to use in aims and objective to “EVALUATE”

Answer 16

Appraise
Evaluate
Compare
Assess
Recommend
Conclude
Select
TesT

Question 17

Types of Qualitative study designs

Answer 17

1. Descriptive
2. Phenomenological
3. Ethnographical
4. Grounded theory
5. Participatory action research (PAR)

Question 18

Types of quantitative study designs

Answer 18

1. Experimental (hypothesis testing)
   - Randomised controlled trials
   - Quasi-experimental trials
2. Non-experimental (descriptive, correlational)
   - Cross-sectional
   - Cohort
   - Case-control

Question 19

Example of descriptive qualitative/quantitative study research aims

Answer 19

To explore the experience of
dealing with post-surgical
changes in patients after
bariatric surgery

To examine the level of
academic stress among
nursing year 3 undergraduate
students.

Question 20

Examples of Descriptive correlational studies aims

Answer 20

To examine the relationship
between self-efficacy and
self-care proficiency among
patients with heart failure.

To examine the association
between hospital length of
stay, disease severity, anxiety
and depression among
patients with chronic kidney
disease

Question 21

Examples of experimental studies aims

Answer 21

To examine the effectiveness
of a mindfulness-based stress
reduction (MBSR) program on
improving health-related
quality of life (HR-QOL)
among breast cancer
survivors.

To examine the effectiveness
of the Screen for Life program
on improving diabetes
screening rates in Singapore.

Question 22

Types of research questions

Answer 22

Effectiveness of intervention/therapy/program

Accuracy of diagnosis/ assessment/evaluation

Etiology/causation

Prognosis/long-term effects of condition

Meaning

Question 23

How to use PICO to craft quantitative RQ

Answer 23

P: Population/problem (characteristics of target group of people)
e.g. Nurses

I: Intervention/exposure
(what do you want to do to the people?)
e.g. Knowledge, attitude and practice of malnutrition care among inpatients

C: Comparison
(not applicable for qualitative studies)

O: Outcome
(what is being measured to indicate effect of intervention/exposure?)
e.g. Prevention of malnutrition among hospitalised patients

Research aim: To examine the knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses in malnutrition prevention among inpatients.

RQ: What is the knowledge, attitude, and practice of nurses towards malnutrition prevention for hospitalised patients?

Question 24

How to use PICo to craft qualitative RQ

Answer 24

P: Population/problem
e.g. Patients with Type 2 diabetes

I: Interest
(phenomenon of interest, such as experience, behaviour, event)
e.g. Experience with diet restriction

C: Context
(what is the setting?)
e.g. To improve blood glucose control

RQ: What is the experience of patients with Type2 diabetes on diet restriction to improve blood glucose control?

Question 25

What is a research hypothesis?

Answer 25

A statement that predicts relationship between two or more variables in a specific population. - Between independent variable(s) (influencing factor[s]) and dependent variable (outcome) - Provides a testable, measurable explanation/prediction of a research question - Written in present tense, concise and clear - Only for quantitative research designs

Question 26

What is a null hypothesis

Answer 26

Null hypothesis: no significant relationship between independent and dependent variables, no difference between groups

Question 27

What are the 3 types of research hypothesis?

Answer 27

1. Hypothesis of point-prevalence e.g. The behaviour change program significantly improve weight loss among patients with obesity by 5%. 2. Hypothesis of difference e.g. There is significant difference in weight loss among patients who receive the behaviour change program (intervention group) as compared to those who do not (control group) 3. Hypothesis of association e.g. There is significant relationship between self-efficacy and dietary control among patients with obesity.

Question 28

Steps for hypothesis testing

Answer 28

1. State null hypothesis * H0: μ = m0 (which means no effect, no relationship, no difference between true and observed mean) 2. State alternative hypothesis(es) * H1: μ ≠ m0 (two-tailed: there is difference between true and observed mean) * H2: μ > m0 (upper-tailed: true mean > observed mean) * H3: μ < m0 (lower-tailed: true mean < observed mean) 3. Set significance level (α) * Normally 0.05, which means that there is 5% chance that you will reject your H0 when H0 is true 4. Collect data 5. Calculate statistics including p-value (probability of observing a sample statistic by chance, given that H 0 is true) * E.g. if p-value=0.03, it means that 3 out of 100 times of your sample observation occurs by chance, given that H0 is true (meaning that it is unlikely that your observation occurred by chance) * If p-value=0.90, it means that 90 out of 100 times of your sample observation occurs by chance, given that H0 is true (meaning that it is very likely that your observation occurred by chance) 6. Interpret results

Question 29

Types of errors in hypothesis testing

Answer 29

Type 1 error: False positive - You reject the null hypothesis when it is actually true. - You think there is an effect or difference when there actually isn’t. Type 2 error: False negative - You fail to reject the null hypothesis (when it is actually false) - You think there is no effect or difference when there actually is.

Question 30

What are research paradigms?

Answer 30

“the set of common beliefs and agreements shared between scientists about how problems should be understood and addressed” (Kuhn, 1962) Guides how problems are solved – a key facet of any research project.