Chapter 1

The Research Topic

 Identifying a research topic is one of the first and vital steps in the
research process. The research topic sets the direction of a research
project. It becomes the basis for formulating the research questions,
identifying literature that should be reviewed, narrowing down
appropriate theories and frameworks, and planning for data collection
and analysis.
 A research topic may stem from an idea, problem, or issue that evokes
your personal curiosity or interest.
 Research topic may be defined as the issue or problem leading to the
need for the research. The topic may be a real problem or issue that you
are assigned to investigate in order to come up with potential solution.
 Research Topic & Research Question

 Research topic is a general idea, issue, or problem being

considered for investigation.
 Research question is a specific question intended to be
answered through research. It is usually developed from the
research topic.
 The topic is refined until you can articulate the question and
fully capture what you intend to investigate.
 Sources of Potential Research Topics
1. Personal Sources
 Personal sources are your personal experiences.
These topics are influenced by the individuals’
perspectives, inclinations, and values.
2. Non-scholarly Sources
 Non-scholarly sources include newspapers,
magazines, radio, television and internet sources.
These sources provide the researchers information
on current affairs and political, social, economics, or
cultural issues.
3. Scholarly Sources
 Scholarly literature includes journal articles, books, research papers,
and documents written by academics, professionals, and research
organization. In coming up with a research topic from scholarly
literature, look into the following:
 Find an assertion or statement in the popular press or conclusion in a
research article that you believe to be correct. Look for empirical
evidence so that you can assess the statement or examine the
evidence used by the author to see if any mistakes were made that
could have affected the conclusion.
 Find two studies that reach conflicting conclusions. Try to explain or
reconcile the conflict. Test conflicting explanations by applying them to
different cases or data.
 Take a theory or general explanation for certain behavior and apply it to
a new situation.
 Choosing Relevant Research Topic

Research topics should satisfy two important criteria:

1. It should pose a question that is relevant to the real world
2. It should make a specific contribution to the scholarly
literature by adding to our collective understanding of the
world through scientific explanation.
 Choosing a Research Topic

a) Look into your own personal experience

b) Read Literature in your field of study
c) Reflect on existing issues in society
  You may consider looking into your own
A. Looking personal experiences, history, and
Into Your background and come up with a few
ideas for a possible topic.
Own
 You may also explore an area of interest
Personal which is unique to your situation.
Experience  You may consider a possible research
topic based on challenges you encounter
in daily life.
 You may choose a topic could be
something that genuinely curious about.
  Reading scholarly work, existing
B. Read research, and studies may also help
Literature you come up with ideas on a research
topic.
in your field
 Reading literature can help you refine
of study your research topic. Literature usually
pertain to existing researches, studies,
and other scholarly works. These
include published articles in journals,
thesis or dissertations, and reputable
reference materials.
 In exploring possible research topics, take note of the following
roles that your literature review might yield:
Literature can be. . .
O Source of criticism – when reading an article, you may find
yourself disagreeing with the author’s position. In such case,
you may be inspired to do your own research and provide
evidences to refute the stance and offer a counter-argument.
O Sources of new ideas – reading literature can also lead you to
new insights and ideas.
O Sources of interdisciplinary insight – reading existing studies on
a particular topic may also lead you to consider how the same
topic will look like if approached from a different field of study.
  Tackling Political and Social Issues
You may also get inspiration on a research
C. Reflect topic from existing political and social issues
affecting our society. You may read the
on existing newspaper or watch the news on current
issues in events to find possible research topics. You
society may want to study policy debates in the
government. On the other hand, you may
also feel a strong social obligation to
address a social issue and may want to do
something about it through your own
research.
 Narrowing Down a Research Topic
A. Narrowing down a research topic is very crucial as you may
encounter several difficulties in the course of your study such as the
following:
1. Generally, it will be hard to conduct research on topic and find the
answer you need within the allotted space and time.
2. You retrieve too many information making it hard to choose which
ones are most relevant and which one you can simply discard.
3. The information gathered are too general and it is hard to build a
clear conceptual framework around them. It is also difficult to
determine research methods that can analyze the topic.
4. The concepts and ideas are so varied that it is hard to integrate
them together and you can get easily off-track.
B. To address a broad research topic, you may consider the following
strategies to narrow it down:
1. Aspect – consider just looking at one facet of the research topic.
2. Components – see if the different aspects of your research can be made
more specific.
3. Methodology – the way you collect data will determine how you will
conduct data analysis
4. Place – consider identifying the particular geographic unit of analysis you
want to look into in your study.
5. Relationship – determining the kind of relationship you would like to
investigate can help you narrow down your topic.
6. Time – identify the time period of your study
7. Type – consider focusing your research on a particular type of people,
places or phenomenon.
8. Combination – use one or a combination of the strategies mentioned
above to narrow down your topic.
What to Do When Your Research Topic is Too
Narrow?
1. If your research topic is too narrow, you may encounter
the following difficulties:
 You cannot find that much information. If information is
available on the topic, you realize that these barely
relate to your topic or are irrelevant.
 Information you gather are “so specific that (they) can’t
lead to any significant conclusions.”
 Your research covers so few key ideas that it is hard to
make a significant write-up about it.
 The problem is “so case specific that it limits
opportunities to generalize or apply the results to other
contexts.
2. If you discovered that you have identified a research topic which is too narrow,
you may try several strategies to help broaden it. Here, you can use the six
basic questions:
 Who? – who is behind this article? What interest do they have in making
these articles known? Which group of people are they targeting? Who are
reacting on these articles? What is their interest in engaging in these
articles?
 What?– what messages do these online article contain? What are people’s
reactions to them?
 Where?– which geographic location produced more reaction in these social
media posts? Are there other examples in elections in other countries that
garnered a similar significant reaction from people?
 When? – over what period of time did these online articles have started
coming out? How frequent were the online articles published?
 How? – How are these articles used to promote the candidate? How are
they used otherwise?
 Why? – what possible lessons can we gain from using social media
platforms in promoting a candidate?
 Developing the Research Title
• The research title is like “a major road sigh” in research. The
research title is “an orienting device” which aids the
researcher in focusing one’s investigation.

• It helps convey to others the central idea behind the

research.
 Drafting A Research Title
Drafting a research title is a key task in research as this will capture the essence
of what you wish to do in your inquiry. There are various ways that can help you
develop one:
a. Consider the main ideas behind the research topic. Identify these main ideas
and how they are related to one another. Try to form a possible title using
these ideas.
b. Completing the following sentence: “The study is about . . .” can also aid the
researcher in drafting research title as it captures the essence of the research
topic in one sentence.
c. You may also consider mentioning several features of the research such as
its purpose, approach, and methods used
d. You may create the research title as brief as possible and to avoid
“unnecessary words”. . .Evade using these phrases “An approach to. . .or A
Study of . . .”
e. You may consider also developing a single title or a two part title.. .Ex.
“Reading Castaneda: A Prologue to the Social Sciences”
INTRODUCTION
OF THE
RESEARCH
 The Introduction
• The primary purpose of the introduction chapter or section
is to give the readers an overview of what the entire study
is all about.
• It aims to introduce the readers to the research topic and
the research problem that the study is trying to address.
• This part should persuade the reader that the study is
important and interesting.
 Background of the Study
1. The primary purpose of the background is to provide the reader with the
context and explain the circumstances that led to the study.
2. It can discuss briefly the specific problem or situation, conflict of ideas,
gaps in knowledge, literature, or theories that caught your attention as a
researcher and compelled you to select your particular research topic. It
answer the question, “why are you studying this particular topic?”
3. The Background of the Study provide insights to the motivations and
perspectives of the researcher. It can tell the reader why you are
personally or academically interested in studying your chosen topic and
what you intend to accomplish.
4. The Background of the study often begins with a description or
overview of a situation or idea of interest to the researcher.
 Background of the Study
5. This section sets the tone of the research.
6. It concisely introduces the research topic, the history behind it, and
current understanding about the topic.
7. This introduction also offers a brief description of researches done on
this particular topic, what other authors say about it, and what was
discovered about it.
8. Highlight that, in spite of these existing researchers, there is still an
aspect about the issue which has not been investigated.
9. The researcher may cite and present some reasons why this
particular research topics should be looked into.
 Background of the Study
10. An approach in writing this section called as “deficiencies model” as
it tries to build on gaps existing in the literature. Its part include:
11. Research topic – the first sentence of the study has two purposes (1)
get the interest of the reader and (2) state the research topic. It is
suggested the first sentence to have a “narrative hook” to entice the
reader to keep on. Frame the research topic at the onset and you
may do this by answering the following questions: “Why is this study
needed?” and “What brought about the need to undertake this study?
 Background of the Study
12. Studies that have tackled the problem – after stating the problem, the
researcher may discuss existing researchers that have dealt with this
topic. In the background of the study, the researcher can just
summarize and introduce a few relevant studies and present their
key ideas and findings. The researcher may discuss briefly what the
common understanding about the topic is. Try to see similar findings
about the topic, unique perspectives, and show the key findings of
the work done on the topic. Presenting these existing literatures in
the beginning situates your proposed study in the broader literature
on the topic and shows how your research contributes it.
 Background of the Study
13. Deficiencies in the previous studies – after presenting a summary of
the existing literature about the research topic, it would be crucial to
identify their deficiencies. These deficiencies could be areas
overlooked by other researchers, perspective of underrepresented
groups, methodological shortcomings, and potential implications of
the studies. The researcher must show that what you are proposing
is either new or an innovation over the previous studies. The
researcher may bind these deficiencies and get ideas for potential
research topics in the section on “suggestions for future research
which is usually found at the latter parts of the research.
14. In writing this section, you may notice that many authors would often
use the following phrase “little has been known about,” “limited
research,” and “what remains to be explored.”
 Background of the Study
15. Deficiencies in the previous studies – after presenting a summary of
the existing literature about the research topic, it would be crucial to
identify their deficiencies. These deficiencies could be areas
overlooked by other researchers, perspective of underrepresented
groups, methodological shortcomings, and potential implications of
the studies. The researcher must show that what you are proposing
is either new or an innovation over the previous studies. The
researcher may bind these deficiencies and get ideas for potential
research topics in the section on “suggestions for future research
which is usually found at the latter parts of the research.
16. In writing this section, you may notice that many authors would often
use the following phrase “little has been known about,” “limited
research,” and “what remains to be explored.”
 Characteristics of a Good Background of the Study
The background of the study should be concise, clearly written, and persuasive.
 Concise – that the background should not be written too long. It should
only be long enough to cover the basic points but not too long or too
detailed that it bores the reader.
 Clearly written – the background of the study should be written using
simple, easy to understand words with a minimum of complicated
technical terminologies or jargon.
 Persuasive – that the background should be written in a way that will
convince readers that the study is interesting, important, and worth
reading.
 Writing the Purpose of the Study
1. The purpose of the study is built upon its previous
paragraph or section. It adds another piece of the puzzle in
your background of the study and completes it.
2. The purpose statement encapsulates the central
phenomenon being investigated in your study, the target
research participants and the research site.
 Writing the Purpose of the Study

3. Some aspects which can help you write the purpose statement:
- Utilize cues or key words such as “purpose,” “intent” or “objective”
to direct the attention of your reader to the purpose statement.
Write the statement as a separate paragraph to highlight it. In
addition, take note of the verb you are using. If you are at a
proposal writing stage, use the present tense or the future tense.
However, after conducting your research, you then have to
change the verb to past tense.
- Try to focus on a single idea or concept. Capture what you to look
into in your research in a sentence.
- Use action words.
- Briefly mention the qualitative/quantitative approach which you
intend to use in the study.
- State the participants of the study.
- Describe concisely the scope of your study.
 Statement of the Problem
• Once you have identified your research problem, you need to
write it down and communicate it. This is called the statement of
the problem. The statement of the problem is also known as the
research puzzle or the problematique. It is a formal articulation
of the specific topic which you intend to address through
research. In writing this section, you need to problematize your
topic and explicitly identify the specific situation, problem, or
issue.
• The statement of the problem is usually found in the introduction
chapter of a research paper or article. This is an initial
discussion of the particular situation, problem, or issue that will
be studied. At this stage, the appropriate method of research
may or may not yet be apparent.
 Research Question
• After stating the research problem, the next step is formulating your research
question. Unlike the general nature of a research topic, the research question is
a specific inquiry . A food research question gives your reader a good idea of
what your research is about. A well-articulated research question provides clear
direction, while a poorly constructed one lacks direction and confuses you and
the reader.
• Your research question is the core of your study. First, research questions guide
the literature search. They help in narrowing down the scope and focus of the
literature review. Second, research questions guide you on what research
design to us,( e.g., qualitative vs. quantitative). Third, research questions guides
the researcher about what data to collect and from whom. Fourth, research
questions are important in analyzing and presenting the data. Fifth, research
questions limit the scope of the study and prevent the research from going off in
different directions. And lastly, research questions provide a clear sense of what
the research is about and what it wishes to achieve.
Common Types of Research Questions in Quantitative
Research
There are at least three types of questions in
quantitative research, each serving a particular
purpose and characteristics. These are:
(a) descriptive research questions
(b) comparative research questions
(c) relational research questions.
A. Descriptive research questions seek to objectively describe particular
characteristics or attributes of a person , groups, institution or
phenomenon.
B. Comparative research questions compare two or more characteristics
or attributes of two or more persons, groups, institutions, or
phenomenon. This may involve comparing the similarities or differences
between variables, or determining which has a greater or lesser value.
C. Relational research questions seek to understand the relationship
between two or more aspects or characteristics of one or more persons,
groups institution, or phenomenon. In quantitative research, these
aspects must be measurable or quantifiable and are often expressed as
variables. The relationship being investigated can be simple
association, interaction, or causation.
 See the process summary in figure 2.2
Identify a broad topic area that you are
interested in studying

Select a specific research problem you

want to investigate under the topic area.

Narrow down the research problem and

capture it in a single main research
question.

Break down the main research question

into sub question .
What makes a good
research question?
A. The research question is the heart of the study. All the other sections-from
the review of the literature, the methodology, and the analysis are aimed at
answering it. Although what constitutes as a good research question has
been debated, there are a few characteristics that researchers agree on.
Particularly in quantitative research.

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B. The research questions will be
the focus of your inquiry. They will
be the basis for your data gathering
instruments and the queries which
you would need to address all
throughout of your research.
 Roles of Research Question
▫ They organize the project and give it direction and coherence- your
question will serve as your guide, from the start of your research project
until the end. In the beginning, you plan how to get answers to these
questions by coming up with research design, with your data gathering
procedure and tools. In qualitative research, it s normal that you will
encounter a lot of data. You might fell intimidated in dealing with these.
However, let the research questions be the basis of your data analysis.
Keep them in mind as you work through your study.
▫ They delimit the project, showing its boundaries-though your research
topic might be broad.
 Roles of Research Question
▫ They keep the researcher focused-since the research questions
clearly limits the scope of the topic you wish to address, you can
focus your attention to answering these.
▫ They provide a framework when you write up your research- your
paper can be organized according to your research questions.
Depending on what emerged from your data gathering phase, you
may address each question with one chapter.
▫ They point to the methods and data that will be needed-as
mentioned in chapters one and two, there are certain inquiries
which either requires a qualitative or quantitative research
methodology.
 Guide in Developing Research Question
A. Now, to guide you in developing your research questions, take note that there
are two forms of questions: (Creswell, 2014, p.139).

(1) The central question is a general question which deals with the key
phenomenon or issue being studied. In qualitative research, oftentimes, the
researcher wishes to understand the phenomenon in its entirely, including its
complexities, and intricacies. You wish to paint a complete picture of the
phenomenon . Try to develop the central question that deals with these
broader issues, perspectives, or meanings, in order to open up your
investigation. Limit this to just one or two.

(2) The sub questions, on the other hand, might be several. They are related to
the central question and would your main question into manageable parts.
Sometimes these can be asked to research participants themselves.
 Guide in Developing Research Question

B. It is recommended that both central and succeeding questions

remain open-ended questions are those that allow your
participants to give information. Compared to close-ended
questions which are quick to answer, usually with a yes or no true
or false, open-ended questions prompt your research participants
to reveal more and share about the phenomenon or topic, such as
their feelings, thoughts, opinions, and reflections about an issue.
Consider starting your questions with what, why, how, describe,
give an example, share an experience, among others.
 Creswell (2014, p. 140-141) also provide additional
guidelines in developing the research questions:

Focus on a single phenomenon or concept- start your

investigation with one concept in mind. Although you may
encounter other phenomena in the latter stages of your research,
try to address one key issue you wish to explore.
Consider utilizing “ Use exploratory verbs as nondirectional rather
than directional words that suggest quantitative research, such as
effect, influence, impact, determine, cause, and relate. “You may
also use terms such as “ report, “describe,” “discover,”
“understand,” and explore,”
Specify the participants of the study and the research site in
phrasing your questions.
 Elements of the Significance of the Study Section
There are several questions that you may reflect on in writing this portion.
These include the following:
→ Who may possibly profit from your research ?
→ What information can you bring which will be crucial for them?
→ What knowledge might they be interested in that they could get from your
research ?
→ What possible impact can your research have on the existing body of
knowledge about the topic ?
→ What practical implications does your research have?
→ Will your research bring forth recommendations to policy and decision-
making?
→ Will your research have impact on practice?
It is recommended for you to think of the audience for your research and
clearly state how they will benefit or make use of your research.
 Aspects for Scope and Delimitation
1. In writing this section, you may describe the parameters of your
research. These pertain to the following:
Topical focus of the study
Research participants
Research population traits:
sex, race, socioeconomic status, profession, etc.
Sample size of your research
Research site
Time frame of the research
Methodological limitations
2. Draft this section at the onset of your study to guide you in planning
your research. However, after conducting your research, go back to
this section and review it. Determine which portions are still relevant.
You may also consider revising it to include unforeseen limitations
which you encounter in the course of your study.
3. Aside from these, you may use key phrases in writing this section
such as the following (_, 2009, para.2):
→ “The coverage of this study…”
→ “The researcher limited this research to…”
→ “The study covers the…”
→ “The study does not cover the…”
→ “The study is focus on…”
→ “The study is limited to…”
4. To establish the significance of your study, there are three basic questions we
need to consider:
a. Why is the study important?
b. What are its contributions to the discipline?
c. To whom will it be important?

These basic questions can be broken down to several specific inquiries such as:
 What are the implications of conducting this research?
 How does the study connect to other knowledge?
 Why is the study important to our understanding of the world?
 What are the uses of my findings to existing literature, my audience and
the public?
5. In writing the section for the significance of the study, Creswell (2014) suggests
ways how to effectively convey the importance of the study foe select audiences.
First, enumerate three or four reasons why your particular study adds to the
scholarly literature in your field. Second, provide three to four reasons about how
your study will help improve practice. Lastly, another three to four reasons detailing
why it will improve your field.
 Scope
▫ The scope is where you clearly set what your study covers,
its time period, location, subjects, context, and its specific
objectives, without any pretense that your study covers
anything beyond what is indicted. It answers the phrase,”
The coverage of this study is…”or” This study addresses..”
and other similar phrases.
 Limitations
▫ Despite our best efforts, research outputs often have a set
of limitations. This could be due to methodological
challenges, a lack of available literature (for especially novel
studies), and others. In the limitations section of your paper,
your clearly sate the limitations your encountered during
your research process and how much you think these
aspects detract from your research paper and your overall
purpose. Think of the limitations as a humble
acknowledgment of your current capabilities, rather than
have your adviser, clients, and fellow researchers criticize
you for not acknowledging critical gaps.
 ▫ While writing the limitations of your study, be aware of the following factors:
→ Research design- By far, this is the most common limitation of many quantitative
studies. These can range from the limitations of your key terms, definitions, sample
group, your methodology, and your research design. Some of the strengths and
weaknesses of quantitative research are enumerated in chapter 1, while other
methodological limitations are discussed in the subsequent chapters. Keep these in
mind when formulating you study.
→ Ontological position- As much as we try to achieve objectivity in the field of
quantitative study, it is possible that you are constrained by your inherent
worldviews.
→ Resources- Lack of money, time, or resources may significantly hinder how
generalizable your study is beyond what is covered by your scope. As a new
researcher, you are likely constrained by access to data, monetary resources, and
the deadline that your adviser sets for your research paper. In quantitative studies,
you may get around this by using authoritative literature and premade, extensive,
and cross-temporal datasets that are accessible to you through previous research,
research organizations, and government databases.
 Purpose of the Research Title
▫ The research title conveys the central idea behind your research. A
good research title reflects the critical points of your research: the
variables (what you are trying to look at), your chosen research design
(how you look at your variables), and the scope of your study (what is
covered by your study). Using the example of Filipino youth voting
preference, you may want to consider this alternative: “A Quasi-
experimental Analysis of the Factors that Influence the Filipino Youth’s
Voting Preference.”
 Characteristics of effective research titles
To aid you in writing your research title, remember the following
characteristics of effective titles, adapted from USC Libraries(2016)
1. Provide the necessary information. Indicate the subject of the study.
Identify the key variables and suggest the relationship of the key
variables while reflecting the major hypothesis of your study. Remember
to include the scope of your study by mentioning the setting.
2. Choose the appropriate wording. To stimulate the reader’s interest, it is
recommended that you play with words when crafting a research title.
However, be cautions. Refrain from using abbreviations and/or jargon,
unless these terms are commonly known.
3. Cite properly. When including a quote as part of the title, the source of
the quote is cited, indicated by an asterisk or a footnote beside the
word/s or phase.
4. Be mindful of the length. Limit your research title to 10 to 15
substantive words. If possible, avoid using redundant phrasing such
as “A study of…,” An analysis of…”or similar constructions, unless
citing the research design or methodology adopted.
5. Observe proper grammar and capitalization. Capitalize the first
words in your title, including the first word of your title. All nouns,
pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that appear between the
first and last words of the title are also capitalized. Do not end your
title with punctuation if not necessary.
 Purpose of the Hypotheses in Quantitative Research

▫ In the previous section, we learned that theories are “rainbows” that

scientifically bridge one variable to others. Theories and models
systematically provide explanations for how and why one set of variable
(A) predicts another variable (B) (Creswell 2014).Specific relationships
between variables are laid down through proportions or
hypotheses. To further understand theory testing in quantitative
research, we shift the discussion to hypothesis.
 Purpose of the Hypotheses in Quantitative Research
▫ In order to test a theory or a model, a researcher lays down testable
hypothesis. The hypothesis is often defined as an educated guess. It is a
“specified testable expectation about an empirical reality “grounded from a
more general prediction (Babbie 2010,46). It is a proposed explanation of a
phenomenon that indicates how variable A influences or possibly leads to
variable B. hypothesis written in this manner can be subjected to testing.
▫ The hypothesis narrows and focuses the goal of the study. It does not set
the direction of the relationship of the variables, it also sets the direction of
the study by becoming the “foundation of the subsequent decisions and
steps in the research process. (Johnson and Reynolds 2012, 109). A
poorly formulated hypotheses may cause confusion and may derail the
research from its intended purpose. In quantitative research, hypothesis
testing is typically used in comparative and correlational research but
rarely in descriptive research.
 Purpose of the Hypotheses in Quantitative Research
▫ The hypothesis must be carefully thought about. Only with a thorough review of
the literature and understanding of the topic will you be able to ask the right
research questions and thus formulate the appropriate hypothesis (King,
Keohane, and Verba 1994). In this regard, the hypothesis also serves the
purpose of answering the research question, as the guide in the data collection
and in interpreting results. With a narrowed an focused hypothesis, you are
guided t your specific aims. Nevertheless, a hypothesis, although scientific, is
still a prediction –thus it may be incorrect. Empirical evaluation of the hypothesis
is a necessary part prior knowledge production . (King,Keohane and Verba
1995)
 Null Alternative Hypothesis
▫ A necessary step prior to hypothesis testing, is framing your research hypothesis
as null and alternative hypothesis. These are typically a pair of statements that
spells the difference in the possible outcome of the study. You need to make us of
your data or sample to test the evidence against the hypothesis (Laerd Statistics
n.d.). The null and the alternative hypothesis are necessary elements of
inferential statistics.
▫ The null hypothesis is often tested using statistics. Basically, the null hypothesis is
the “devil’s advocate” position (Leard Statistics, n.d.). It usually predicts that there
is no relationship between the variables. Since hypothesis testing is significance
testing, the null hypothesis technically states that there is no significant
relationship between the variables. It assumes that “something,” usually a
measure of relationship, “equals zero.” Hence, the null hypothesis even if you
have a good reason to believe that there is relationship between the variables of
your study. Generally, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative
hypothesis is accepted when tests show statistically significant results.
 Null Alternative Hypothesis

O On the other hand, the alternative hypothesis predicts the opposite of the
null hypothesis. It usually states that there is a relationship between the
variables . The specific nature and direction of the expected relationship is
determined by you based on your theory, model, or prior observation. The
alternative hypothesis usually assumes that there will be an observed real
effect in the relationship you are trying to prove, however with some amount
of chance variation. The alternative hypothesis is denoted . Hence, it is
usually the actual hypothesis you test see if the expected relationship is
supported by the data.
 Basic Elements of a Hypothesis

▫ In quantitative research projects that use testing as a tool for

analysis, the hypothesis is composed of at least two basic
elements: (a) the phenomena or variables under study, and (b)
the presumed or expected relationships between these
phenomena or variables.
 Use of variables in a Hypothesis
▫ As discussed in Chapter 1, the variable presumed to have caused or
determined the other variable is referred to as the explanatory or
independent variable/s. the independent variables are the measurements of
the attributes or characteristics that are thought to influence, explain, or
cause the outcomes. The variables, usually identified in the beginning of the
study, are drawn from the literature or theory or are taken as a given,
independent variables are also referred to as, treatment, antecedent,
manipulated, or predictor variables.
▫ On the other end, the variable that is assumed to depend on or is affected by
the independent variable/s is the outcome or dependent variable. These
variables are thought to be the outcome, result, or a function of the
independent variable. In a causal relationship, these variables might be
thought or as the effect. The other names for the independent variable are :
criterion, outcome, effect or response variable (Creswell 2014,52).
  In quantitative research, a well-formulated
hypothesis must have the following
Characteristics characteristics:
of well- (1) It must be an empirical statement.
formulated (2) it must be plausible.
Hypothesis
(3) it must be specific.
(4) it must be formulated in the manner it
will be tested.
(5) it must be testable.
  First, the hypothesis should be empirical or
limited to those that may be observed or
Characteristics investigated using the five senses. A
of well- hypotheses that cannot be investigated using
formulated the senses will be difficult to study using
Hypothesis quantitative approaches.
 Second, hypothesis should be plausible,
meaning that it must be based on sound logic
and should be reasonable or probable. It is
difficult to justify spending time and effort
doing research and testing hypothesis that
are illogical or highly improbable to begin
with. These are doomed to fail.
  Third, hypothesis should avoid ambiguity and
clearly specific the concepts or variables it covers
as well as their expected relationship. This
Characteristics facilitates investigation and testing and avoids
of well- unnecessary confusion both by the readers and
formulated the researcher.
Hypothesis  Fourth, a hypothesis should be formulated in such
a manner that is consistent with how it will be
tested. For example, hypotheses written this way:
“Variables X and Y are positively correlated. An
increase in X leads to a corresponding increase in
Y” are easily determined to be for a correlational
research. As well, it is easy to predict that some
form of correlation or linear regression analysis
will be used.
  Fifth, a good hypothesis is testable. There should
Characteristics
be a way to investigate whether the hypothesized
of well- relationship is true or false. Data needed to test
formulated the hypothesis must exist and should be
Hypothesis obtainable and the means by which the data can
be analyzed should be accessible. Hypotheses
that cannot be tested are of not much use to
quantitative research.
 Conceptual and Operational Definitions
▫ One might think that researchers use conceptual and operational definitions of
terms for compliance’s sake. Actually there are benefits to having a clearly
written definition of terms. First, the definition of terms is necessary to avoid
misunderstandings. For example, the construct of “poverty.” conceptually, we
may liberally define poverty as “ not having enough resources.” However the
term “not enough” may be interpreted differently by different people, relating
their specific needs and wants into their own context and situation. Thus, what
may be “not enough” for one person may be enough for another.
▫ Neuman (2011,201) defines conceptualization as “ the process of thinking
through the various possible meanings of a construct.” One concept can be
interpreted in different ways. Hence, in research, be “accurate, precise, and
informative” (Johnson and Reynolds 2012,119). Clear definitions are necessary
in developing specific hypotheses and in avoiding tautologies. Research that
does not clearly specify the concepts and terms risk coming up with circular or
tautological no sense.
 Conceptual Definition
▫ Some examples of the key terms mentioned are human capital, investments,
and productivity. These are all board concepts. Take for example the term
“productivity.” Put simply, productivity is considered an economic measure. It is
often connected to the term labor and often treated as a measure of economic
performance. In quantitative research, you need to provide a more concrete
and measurable definition of productivity. There are two measure processes in
research –conceptualization and operationalization. The one applied to
productivity in the example earlier is conceptualization.
▫ Conceptualization refers to process of taking an abstract construct into a
conceptual or theoretical definition (Neuman 2011) . When making a conceptual
definition, you can make sure of your own interpretation or observation, consult
with others or refer to what you have read in the work of other researchers so
far. A conceptual definition may be grounded on theories. Labor productivity,
based on Theodore Schultz’s (1961) and Gary Backer’s (1993) Human Capital
Theory is treated as a measure of return an education.
 Conceptual Definition
▫ Conceptual definitions must neither be vague nor ambiguous. People may
always disagree over definitions. Hence, we need to explicitly date which
definition of a construct we are utilizing. When dealing with a highly abstracted
construct, it is critical to clearly and specifically define a concept to reach a
shared agreement (Johnson and Reynolds 2012). A clearly stated conceptual
definition helps the readers evaluate whether the definition used by the
researcher meets their own interpretation or understanding of the particular
concept. Also, a good conceptual definition hastens data gathering and
organizing. Schultz and Becker used productivity and workforce. By knowing
this, the researcher is given the idea on how to measure productivity when
applied to his/her own study.
 Operational Definition
▫ To complete the conceptualization process, boundaries and specifications must
be laid down. This is achieved through operationalization –a process wherein the
concept’s precise meaning is specified. The operationalization of concept is
particularly necessary to empirically test hypotheses, especially those that
measurable degree of association between the actual indicators used.
▫ Operationalization refers to the process of moving from the abstract conceptual
definition to specific language or measures that allow you to empirically observe
the desired concept. Hence, it links the conceptual definition to a set of
measurable procedures (Neuman 2011). It can also be viewed as the “ concrete
and specific definition of something in terms of operations by which observations
are to be categorized” (Babbie 2010, 47). For example, the operational definition
of being an “honor student” might be “ obtaining a weighted average of 09.” A
more elaborate interpretation of conceptual definition is provided by Nueman
(2011, 2013).
 Operational Definition

▫ From what has been discussed, we can conclude that there appears to be three
levels in the definition process. First, we transform an abstract idea into a
concrete concept by giving it a conceptual definition, either through our own
imperative or by operation definition to allow empirical observation. Lastly, we
select and utilize available indicators to collect data and empirically test our
hypothesis (Johnson and Reynolds 2012). As a guide, we have provided a few
examples.