Transcript Thinking critically

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Research Questions represent the uncertainty
about something in the population that the
investigator wants to resolve.
Know what others have studied and concluded
Figure out what else needs to be known
Research Question Criteria
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Should be a “WH” question
Should ask about some parameter
Should be clearly stated in question form
Should imply possibility
Should ask a relation between two or more
measurable variables
 Should not involve immeasurable and indefinable
variables
• Does students love their country
 Should not ask something metaphysical
• How time is moving?
Examples of Research Questions
1. How many mothers wash their hands after
cleaning a child who has defecated?
2. Why poor people in this urban community do not
practice hand washing?
3. What kind and level of contamination is present on
mothers’ hands in a population that does not
practice hand washing?
Answering Research Questions
• We can explore the population to get the answer
(Descriptive Study)
Or
• The answer to the research question has been
guessed earlier and we can collect evidence in
favor of that guess
(Hypothesis Driven Study)
Hypothesis
Hypothesis: a tentative explanation that
accounts for problems that can be tested by
observation, investigation, or experimentation.
Formulating the hypothesis
 The hypothesis needs to be structured before data
gathering and interpretation
 The hypothesis gives direction to the collection
and interpretation of data
 A well-grounded hypothesis indicates that the
researcher has sufficient knowledge in the area
• Formulating the hypothesis after collecting and/or
analyzing the data set is like throwing the dice then
betting
Hypothesis Criteria
 It must have some explanatory power
 It must state the expected relationship between
variables: compare, relate or describe
 It must be testable
 It should be consistent with the existing body of
knowledge
 It should be stated as simply as possible
Examples of Hypotheses
 Both environmental constraints and attitudes
limit hand washing in low income communities in
Dhaka
 Mothers wash their hands with soap <15% of
the time after cleaning a child who has
defecated.
 Mothers’ hands will be routinely heavily
contaminated with fecal bacteria and
occasionally with rhinovirus.
Specific Aims/objectives
• An Aim is developed from the research question
and the hypothesis
• An Aim tells what kind of knowledge the study is
expected to obtain
Aims must be clear about:
 What is to be described
 What is to be determined
 What is to be identified
 What is to be compared
 What is to be confirmed
Examples of Specific Aims/Objectives
 To Understand community attitudes
towards hand hygiene and constraints that
limit improved hand hygiene
 To Assess baseline hand hygiene behavior
and hand contamination with rhinovirus
and fecal bacteria
Example # 1 of Research Question (RQ),
Hypothesis, Aims and Parameters
RQ: Why poor people in urban community do not
practice hand washing?
Hypothesis: Both environmental constraints and
attitudes limit hand washing in low income
communities in Dhaka
Specific Aim: Understand community attitudes
towards hand hygiene and constraints that limit
improved hand hygiene
Example # 2 of Research Question (RQ),
Hypothesis, Aims
RQ: How many mother wash their hands properly
after cleaning a child who has defecated?
Hypothesis: Mothers wash their hands with soap
<15% of the time after cleaning a child who has
defecated.
Specific Aim: Assess baseline hand hygiene
behavior and hand contamination with fecal
bacteria.
Now your turn….
Research Questions
Descriptive or Hypothesis driven?
Your Hypotheses
Specific Aims