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Research question.
A research question is the question that the research project sets out to answer.
In actual fact, a research study may set out to answer several questions.
The methodology used for that study, and the tools used to conduct the research, all depend upon the
research questions being asked.
For example, in the example of a qualitative research study, the following two research questions that
underpin the study, and also needed to be answered by the study, are shown in the box below.
There are two research questions that will need to be answered by this phase of the research.
These are:
'Are the perceived needs of the patients and users of South Bedfordshire's palliative care services
being met?'
'If not, what needs to be done if these needs are to be met in the future?'
The first question can be answered by a quantitative study, whereas the second one may require a qualitative
study to answer it.
Research questions can therefore be used in quantitative and qualitative research studies.
Hypothesis (plural = hypotheses)
A hypothesis is not a question, but rather it is a statement about the relationship between two or more
variables.
So, for example, the first question above could become a hypothesis by making this a statement rather than a
question, namely:
The perceived needs of the patient and users of South Bedfordshire's palliative care services are being met.
To be complete a hypothesis must include three components:
The variables
The population
As you can see, the hypothesis translates the research question into a prediction of expected outcomes.
A hypothesis is the tool of quantitative studies, and is only found in such studies.
In fact, a hypothesis is usually only found in experimental quantitative research studies.
You will be able to find out more about hypothesese when we look at them in more detail later in the
session.
Objectives
Sometimes, a research proposal will detail objectives.
They are set by the researcher to explain in detail what the study is expected to achieve
For example, Dealey (1991), cited by Parahoo (1997:125), carried out a survey to find out the size of the
pressure sore problem in a teaching hospital and set the following objectives for the study:
To discover when the sores had occurred, i.e. prior to admission or on the ward
To identify the degree of risk of pressure sore development of all patients in the hospital
RESEARCH QUESTION/HYPOTHESIS
If you are unsure as to what these terms mean, then make sure that you read chapter 3 (Developing the
question) in the book that accompanies this web program.
Research Question or Hypothesis?
Does your proposed research need a research question or a hypothesis?
Let us start with a hypothesis.
A hypothesis is a tentative statement predicting a particular relationship between two or more variables.
If you want to know whether or not your study requires a hypothesis, ask yourself these questions:
If your answer to these questions is 'yes', then you will need a hypothesis, but if it is 'no' then you will need a
research question.
This is because a hypothesis is a statement that is tested by experiment(s) to confirm or deny the
phenomenon.
However, as you found out in chapter 3, the statement needs to be stated explicitly and must be written so
that it does not read as a conclusion - for example, 'The levels of pain experienced by infants aged 1-3
years undergoing an intravenous injection is reduced when parents are present.'
Turning now to a research question, if you are incorporating a research question rather than a hypothesis,
then remember that some of the important features of a good question are that the question or problem
should be:
adequately resourced.
These features above are also important for a hypothesis, and many hypotheses initially start as a question
which is then 'turned on its head' to become a statement - for example, the hypothesis above may have
originally been written as a question, i.e. 'Are the levels of pain experienced by infants aged 1-3
years undergoing an intravenous injection reduced when parents are present?'
For further information on whether you need to use a research question or a hypothesis, click on the hyper
link below:
questions/hypothesis?
TO DO
Think about the research that you are proposing to undertake. Does it require a research question or a
hypothesis? To help you, click on the icons below to look at the research question and hypothesis in the two
examples we are using as guides.
Y
9
RESEARCH QUESTION/HYPOTHESIS
If you are unsure as to what these terms mean, then make sure that you read chapter 3 (Developing the
research question) in the book that accompanies this web program as well as clicking on the hyperlink
below:
question or hypothesis
Reflection
Why is it important to work out your research question - at least in draft form - as early as possible?
It will certainly decide for you the methodology that you will be using to underpin your research.
It will save you a lot of time because you can become more focused on what exactly it is that you
want to look at.
To do
In your own words, try to write down what you feel are the advantages of defining and focusing your
literature search (you may want to look again at Chapter 4 - searching and reviewing the literature)
Suggestions
You can narrow your search to journals that are specific to your research question.
You will have less journals and research papers to access, so you can easily concentrate on the more
relevant and important ones
VARIABLES
Variables are:
'qualities, properties, and or characteristics of persons, things, or situations that change or vary, and that can
be manipulated, measured, or controlled in a research study.' (Burns & Groves 2005:755)
There are different types of variables, namely:
dependent variables;
independent variables.
A dependent variable is the response, the behaviour, or the outcome that is predicted and measured in
research.
Changes in the dependent variable are presumed to be caused by the independent variables.
An independent variable is the treatment, the intervention, or the experimental activity that is manipulated or
varied by the researcher during the research study in order to create an effect (i.e. change) on the dependent
variable.
POPULATIONS
A population is what we call the entire group of individuals or elements who meet the sampling
criteria.
So if we were interested in looking at the number of childhood cancers in 2006 in the United
Kingdom (i.e. population), we obviously could not survey the entire population of children with
cancer in that year who live in the United Kingdom, and so consequently we would look at a smaller
sample taken from all the children with cancer in 2006 who live in the United Kingdom.
Now an element can be anything that we are studying, for example it could be a person, an event,
their behaviour, or indeed any other single unit of a study.
However, when elements are actually human beings, then rather than calling them elements, we call
them subjects.
So, in most nursing research, the population will be made up of human subjects.
This means the relationship between one variable and another, for example, smoking and lung cancer.
SOURCE/S OF DATA
Primary and Secondary Sources and Triangulation
Researchers need to consider the sources on which to base and confirm their research and findings. They have a choice between primary
data and secondary sources and the use of both, which is termed triangulation, or dual methodology.
Primary data is the data collected by the researcher themselves, i.e.
1.
interview
2.
observation
3.
action research
4.
case studies
5.
life histories
6.
questionnaires
7.
ethnographic research
8.
longitudinal studies
Previous research
2.
Official statistics
3.
4.
Diaries
5.
Letters
6.
Government reports
7.
Web information
8.
Experiments/clinical trials.
Observing and recording well-defined events (e.g., counting the number of patients waiting in
emergency at specified times of the day).
Administering surveys with closed-ended questions (e.g., face-to face and telephone interviews,
questionnaires etc).(http://www.achrn.org/quantitative_methods.htm)
Interviews
In Quantitative research(survey research),interviews are more structured than in
Qualitative research
In a structured interview,the researcher asks a standard set of questions and nothing more.(Leedy and
Ormrod, 2001)
Face -to -face interviews have a distinct advantage of enabling the researcher to establish rapport with
potential partiocipants and therefor gain their cooperation.These interviews yield highest response rates in
survey research.They also allow the researcher to clarify ambiguous answers and when appropriate, seek
follow-up information. Disadvantages include impractical when large samples are involved time consuming
and expensive.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001)
Telephone interviews are less time consuming and less expensive and the researcher has ready access to
anyone on the planet who hasa telephone.Disadvantages are that the response rate is not as high as the faceto- face interview but cosiderably higher than the mailed questionnaire.The sample may be biased to the
extent that people without phones are part of the population about whom the researcher wants to draw
inferences.
Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI): is a form of personal interviewing, but instead of
completing a questionnaire, the interviewer brings along a laptop or hand-held computer to enter the
information directly into the database. This method saves time involved in processing the data, as well as
saving the interviewer from carrying around hundreds of questionnaires. However, this type of data
collection method can be expensive to set up and requires that interviewers have computer and typing skills.
Questionnaires
Paper-pencil-questionnaires can be sent to a large number of people and saves the researcher time and
money.People are more truthful while responding to the questionnaires regarding controversial issues in
particular due to the fact that their responses are anonymous. But they also have drawbacks.Majority of the
people who receive questionnaires don't return them and those who do might not be representative of the
originally selected sample.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001)
Web based questionnaires : A new and inevitably growing methodology is the use of Internet based
research. This would mean receiving an e-mail on which you would click on an address that would take you
to a secure web-site to fill in a questionnaire. This type of research is often quicker and less detailed.Some
disadvantages of this method include the exclusion of people who do not have a computer or are unable to
access a computer.Also the validity of such surveys are in question as people might be in a hurry to complete
they tend to be open-ended and have less structured protocols (i.e., researchers may change the data
collection strategy by adding, refining, or dropping techniques or informants)
they rely more heavily on iteractive interviews; respondents may be interviewed several times to
follow up on a particular issue, clarify concepts or check the reliability of data
they use triangulation to increase the credibility of their findings (i.e., researchers rely on multiple
data collection methods to check the authenticity of their results)
generally their findings are not generalizable to any specific population, rather each case study
produces a single piece of evidence that can be used to seek general patterns among different studies
of the same issue
Regardless of the kinds of data involved,data collection in a qualitative study takes a great deal of time.The
researcher needs to record any potentially useful data thououghly,accurately, and systematically,using field
notes,sketches,audiotapes,photographs and other suitable means.The data collection methods must observe
the ethical principles of research.
The qualitative methods most commonly used in evaluation can be classified in three broad categories:
indepth interview
observation methods
document review
Populations
Definition - a complete set of elements (persons or objects) that possess some
common characteristic defined by the sampling criteria established by the
researcher
Examples
Accessible population
Examples
Samples
Terminology used to describe samples and sampling methods
Sampling frame = a list of all the elements in the population from which
the sample is drawn
Examples
a subject
Simple random
Proportional
15% seniors
25% juniors
25% sophomores
35% freshmen
Disproportional
Example
Class
Population
Sample
Seniors
15%
25%
Juniors
25%
25%
Sophomores
25%
25%
Freshmen
35%
25%
Procedure
Systematic
Example
Longitudinal
Cross-sectional
Sample Size
Descriptive studies need large samples; e.g. 10 subjects for each item on the
questionnaire or interview guide
As the number of variables studied increases, the sample size also needs to
increase in order to detect significant relationships or differences
A minimum of 30 subjects is needed for use of the central limit theorem (statistics
based on the mean)
Sampling error = The difference between the sample statistic (e.g. sample mean)
and the population parameter (e.g. population mean) that is due to the random
fluctuations in data that occur when the sample is selected
Sampling bias
The difference between sample data and population data that can be
attributed to faulty sampling of the population
Random selection = from all people who meet the inclusion criteria, a sample is
randomly chosen
Random assignment
See Polit & Hungler, pg. 160-162 for random assignment to groups and
group random assignment to tx. using a random numbers table
3. Confidence Level How confident do you want to be that the actual mean falls within your
confidence interval? The most common confidence intervals are 90% confident, 95% confident, and
99% confident.
4. Standard of Deviation How much variance do you expect in your responses? Since we havent
actually administered our survey yet, the safe decision is to use .5 this is the most forgiving number
and ensures that your sample will be large enough.
Okay, now that we have these values defined, we can calculate our needed sample size.
Your confidence level corresponds to a Z-score. This is a constant value needed for this equation. Here are
the z-scores for the most common confidence levels:
If you choose a different confidence level, use this Z-score table* to find your score.
Next, plug in your Z-score, Standard of Deviation, and confidence interval into this equation:**
Necessary Sample Size = (Z-score) * StdDev*(1-StdDev) / (margin of error)
Here is how the math works assuming you chose a 95% confidence level, .5 standard deviation, and a
margin of error (confidence interval) of +/- 5%.
((1.96) x .5(.5)) / (.05)
(3.8416 x .25) / .0025
.9604 / .0025
384.16
385 respondents are needed
Bank of India
800,000 machines worldwide, ATMs have made hard cash just seconds away all throughout
the day at every corner of the globe. Bank in India has even got one joint venture and three
subsidiaries abroad.
The bank has 65 branches in Coimbatore Zone and all these branches were fully
computerized. Of these 35 were connected to the 750 branches located in different parts of
the country.
Bank of India opened an ATM at its Kurichi Industrial Estate branch premises. This is the third
ATM of the bank in the city.
The bank has started introducing Biometric Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) as it seems to
be an effective way of preventing PIN theft and is also a channel to expand a banks reach to
the rural & illiterate masses, according to Banknet Indias Report on Indian ATMs.
Its international footprints located in London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore and Hong
Kong accounts for approximately 17.82 % of B. O. I.s total business. This was the first bank
from India to establish a foreign branch in 1946 in London and in 1974 at Paris in Europe. This
Indian bank is associated with B. S. E. (Bombay Stock Exchange) since the year 1921.
Products and Services of Bank of India
In spite of being a public sector bank, this bank has got all kinds of products and services,
which one can get in a modern bank. With their firm adherence to the policy of caution and
prudence, they have been one of the leaders in introducing different kinds of innovative
banking services and solutions. Following are the different services offered by B. O. I. in India:
Ancillary Services
Some of the popular supplementary services offered by the bank are as follows:
Depository Services
Mutual Fund
Remittance
Safe Custody
Cards
Apart from the normal credit or debit cards, this bank even offers valued visa or master cards
to its worldwide customers. The names of some of the cards offered by this Indian bank are
given below:
Gift Card
VISA Electron
Deposit Schemes
This bank offers varied types of deposit schemes like savings accounts, current accounts,
salary accounts, fixed deposits, term deposits, recurring deposits, double benefit deposits,
income certificates (Both quarterly and monthly) and many more. To name a few of these
products are:
Star I. P. O.
To subscribe to Initial Public Offerings ( IPO ) including through book-building.
Star Mortgage Loan
This scheme provides loan/overdraft facility against mortgage of property at low rate of
interest. The scheme is for people engaged in trade, commerce & business and also
professionals & self employed, Prop. Firm, partnership firm, companies, NRIs and individuals
with high net worth including salaried people, agriculturists and staff members. The product
provides an opportunity to customers to borrow against a fixed asset (mortgage of property)
at a short notice without much paper work/attendant hassles.
Star Mitra Personal Loan
The objective of this type of Bank of India Loans is to help Physically Challenged persons to
function independently and the purpose is to purchase durable and sophisticated aids /
appliances that promote their physical and social rehabilitation.
Star Pensioner Loan Scheme
The target Customers of this type of Bank of India Loans are the Regular Pensioners or Family
Pensioners drawing regular monthly pension through the branch and the eligibility is retired
employees (other than dismissed/compulsorily retired).
Bank Of India Personal Loans
Under the Bank of India Personal Loan system the Star Personal Loan Scheme provides loans
to meet various Personal requirements of customers and their family.
Bank offers loans for marriage expenses, medical expenses, educational expenses, purchase
of consumer durables etc. Maximum quantum of advance is Rs.10.00 lakhs, depending upon
the income, with very attractive interest rate and easy repayment plan.
Purpose :To purchase durable and sophisticated aids / appliances that promote their
physical and social rehabilitation.
Eligible Amount : 10 times of net salary for salaried persons and 50% of net annual
income as per latest Income Tax Return for Self-employed/Professionals.Net take home
income should not be less than 40% after availing this loan. (In case of Minors, the
income of the Parents/Legal Guardians would be the deciding criteria for eligibility).
Margin :10%
Insurance : Waived. However, borrower is advised to obtain insurance at his own cost.
1. Doctor's Certificate to be obtained regarding the extent of handicap and the need for the
equipment.
2. Quotation/Invoice in respect of the equipment to be purchased.
3. Stamped receipt to be submitted after purchase of the equipment.
Bank Of India Home Loans
Bank Of India Home Loans system is quite varied. There are various types of Loans that are
provided by the Bank of India.
Star Home Loans
Under the Bank Of India Home Loans services the maximum loan amount is ` 300 lacs
and repayment ranges up to 20 years, with a very reasonable margin and nominal
processing charges. No commitment /administrative charges.
The Home Loans are provided at very Competitive Rates Of Interest, currently available
in the industry.
In the Bank Of India Home Loans system there are options for different EMI amounts for
different periods during tenure of loan to suit the customers' repayment capacities.
Prepayment of Loan permitted
The Bank's corporate personality and philosophy are fully reflected in the emblem, which is a
five-pronged Star a harmonious blend of traditional and the functional. The elongated prong
pointing upwards, conveys the Bank's drive to achieve ascending goals. The Star is a beacon
and guide to those in need of direction.
N.R.I. Banking of BOI
Besides the different deposit schemes for N. R. I.s, this bank in India offers varied other types
of international banking services, some of which are mentioned below:
Forex Card
Integrated Treasury
Star e-Remit
Eligible Depositors: All individual Indian Residents will be allowed to open such
account. However, the facility will not be available to corporate/partnership firm/trusts,
HUF etc. registered / based in India.
Currency of the account: Account will be maintained in GBP, USD and EURO
Currencies.
Minimum amount of Deposit:Minimum amount of deposit will be as follows : USD 5000/- GBP - 5000/- Euro 5000/-.
Online Services
The different kinds of online services offered by B. O. I. are as follows:
Bill Payment
Internet Banking
Mobile Banking
Share Trading
Tax Payment
Ticket Booking
Trade Finance
Commercial Loans
Lines of Credit
Participation/Syndication of Loans