Quantitative research

A. Identifying a research problem Researchers begin a study by identifying a research problem that they need to address. Here are several questions that the researchers need to write down : A. What is the specific controversy or issue that I need to address? (Escalating violence in schools) B. Why is the problem important? ( schools need to reduce the violence; students will learn better if violences is less part of their lives, etc) C. How will my study add what we already know about this problem? D. Who will benefit from what I learn about this problem? What is research problem and why is it important? Research Problems are the educational issues, controversies, or concerns that guide the need for conducting a study. Good research problems can be found in our educational settings such as : 1. The disruptions caused by at-risk students in classrooms 2. The increase in violence on college campuses 3. The lack of parential involvement in schools for students with challenging behaviors To locate the research problem in a study, ask yourself : 1. 2. 3. 4. What was the issue problem, or controversy that the researcher wanted to address? What controversy leads to a need for this study? What was the concern being addressed behind this study? Is there a sentence like The problem addressed in this study is?

How does the research problem differ from other parts of research? A research topic is the broad subject matter addressed by the study. Maria, for example, seeks to study weapon possession by students in schools. A research problem is a general educational issue, concern, or controversy addressed in research that narrows the topic. The problem Maria addressed is the escalating violence in schhols due, in part, to students possessing weapons. A purpose is the major intent or objective of the study used to address the problem. Example, the purpose of the study is to identify factors that influence the extent to which students carry weapons in high schools.

 Research questions narrow the purpose into specific questions that the researcher would like answered or addressed in the study. Example, Do peers influence students to carry weapons? Can and should problems be researched? You can research a problem if you have access to participants and research sites as well as time, resources, and skills needed to study the issue. You should research a problem if the study of it potentially contributes to educational knowledge or adds to the effectiveness of practice.

After we identify research problem, we should also consider what kind of approaches that match with our problem. now, we are going to discuss about quantitative approaches. In quantitative, the researchers make a case that we know little about what factors lead parents to decide to (or to explain why they) become involved in their adolescents schooling. Why would such a lack of involvement be important? Explaining or predicting relations among variables is an important characteristic of quantitative research. Here some additional factors why we have to use quantitative approach in our research : 1. 2. 3. 4. Measure variables Asses the impact of these variables on an outcome Test theories or broad explanations Apply results to a large number of people

How do you write a statement of the problem section

1. The Topic 2. The Research problem 3. A justification of the importance of the problem as found in the past research and in practice. 4. The deficiences in our existing knowledge about the problem 5. The audiences that will benefit from a study of the problem B. Reviewing the literature In quantitative study, researchers discuss the literature extensively at the beginning of a study. This serve two major purpose : it justifies the importance of the research problem, and it provides a rationale for the purpose of the study and research questions or hypotheses. The authors also include the literature in a separate section titled Review of the literature to highlight the important role it plays. The authors also incorporate the literature into the end of

the study, comparing the results with prior predictions or expectations made at the beginning of the study.

Literature review analysis in a quantitative study

In a quantitative parent involvement study (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2005), the citations to the literature cluster around the beginning and the end of the article. In the opening, paragraph 01, the authors cite studies to document the importance of the problem : the need for parent involvement in their childrens educational processes at home and at school. Paragraph 02, the authors explain that a model exist in literature that might explain parent involvement; parents role construction, parents self-effiacy, perceptions of teacher invitation, and perceptions of adolescent invitations. Paragraph 03-10, the authors summarize the literature on each of these four factors. In summary, the literature in the parent involvement study : 1. 2. 3. 4. Documents the importance of the research problem at the beginning of the study. Provides evidence for important components of the modal to be tested Provides evidence for the research questions Provides an explanation for the results at the end of the study by citing other studies and by returning to the theoritical predictions.