3. Refine the Question

Introduction

Having initially a potential research question, and then reviewed what others have done and said about the question, you are in a position to refine the question.

Defining terms

In research it is vital to be explicit and specific. Thus you must define any terms you use in your research, and when you read quality articles theyn will define the terms they use.

Why? To avoid misinterpretation. this is particularly important when discussing variables. Defining variables is often described as operationalizing a term. That is, it is defining exaclty what it is, often by sdaying how you would actually go about meansuring it.

As mentioned, one of the aspects of defining a variable is to say how you will measure it.

Another way of helping define the terms used in a research project is to develop a model (or use an already developed model, with appropriate referencing). A model is a simplified representation of something more complex. Models are very useful for illustrating relationships.

3. Going from General to Specific

To understand the process of refining a question, it may be useful to consider a hierachy going from general to specific. This hierachy would start with Problem, Question and Aim at the more general leveles and become more specific ending with either Objectives or Hypotheses.

4. Problem

At the most general level is the Problem. It is simple statement of what is.

i) There is no information on how many physiotherapist work with sports clubs (Description)

ii) It is not known whether people's level of activity cahnges with age (Correlation)

iii) It is not known whether treatment A or B is more effective for reducing swelling (Experimental)

iv) Some patients respond better to treatment A than others and it is not known why (Experimental)

5. Questions

The Question follows from teh Problem, converting it into something that can be answered.

i) How many physiotherapists work with sporting clubs?
ii) Is level of activity related to age?
iii) Is treatment A or B more effective for reducing swelling?
iv) Why do some patients respond better to treatments A than other patients?

6. Aim

The Aim is to solve the problem and answer the question.

i) to determine how many physiotherapists work with sporting clubs
ii) to determine whether level of activity is related to age
iii) to detemine which treatment, A or B, is more effective in reducing swelling
iv) to determine why some patients respond better to treatment A than other patients

7. Objectives

The Objectives are more spefic that the Aim and say what the research is going to do. There will usually be a number of specifc objectives for each aim.

8. Hypothesis

Hypothesis operationalise objectives which are to be tested statistically. Thus, for some objectives there will be no hypothesis as there is nothing to test.