DQ Week three one & Two
Purpose statement is in a research is the statement that provides the overall focus or direction of the study. It is useful in both quantitative and qualitative research, and it is usually typically appears as the last statement in a research’ introduction. It is normally a single statement.
Research questions aim at narrowing down the purpose statement to the specific questions which a researcher intends to answer. Research questions are useful in both qualitative and quantitative research; however, their elements vary according on the form of research the researcher is conducting. In quantitative research, the research questions relate characteristics or attributes of individuals that are of interest to the researcher. In quantitative research, the research questions normally include the central concept that the researcher is exploring. A good research question must be based on the research topic. It should be clearly written and should not be ambiguous. It should be objective. Lastly, the number of research questions must be adequate enough to full explore the research topic.
Hypothesis is a statement that provides the researcher’s prediction about the nature of the relationship between two or more variables. The researcher proposes a set of assumptions that are yet to be proven. The propositions are tentatively accepted as the basis of the study. The objective of the research, therefore, will be to accept or reject the hypothesis. Whereas research questions provide unanswered questions that the research intends to answer, research hypotheses are propositions which are assumed to offer possible reasonable solution to the questions, even though tentative. Hypotheses are only relevant in quantitative research because they are only used in experimental research design. There are two types of hypothesis; null l and alternate hypothesis. Null hypothesis is the proposition predicted by the researcher denoted by H0 while the alternate hypothesis negates what the researcher’s proposition and is normally denoted by Ha.
A good hypothesis should be capable of being addressed as a question. Secondly, the research hypothesis must be testable. That is the hypothesis must be able to generate observational tests capable of being measured. The hypothesis should also be capable of being stated in a negative way. This is relevant because the researcher seeks to accept the null hypothesis while rejecting the alternate hypothesis or reject the null hypothesis while accepting the null hypothesis. Lastly, it should be capable of being interrogated and either accepted or rejected.
Does the wage rate affect the productivity of employees?
Probable hypothesis basing on this research question will be;
H0; Wage rate is a significant determinant of productivity of employees
Ha; Wage rate is not a significant determinant of productivity of employees.
There are several steps that a researcher may use to develop a research hypothesis. The researcher must first of all develop the research questions for the research. This is because hypotheses provide tentative answers to the research questions of the study. The number of hypothesis must be equivalent to the number of research questions and provide a one on one match with the research questions.
A hypothesis is an educated guess suggesting a possible relationship, inference or course between two or more variables that can be tested and investigated. The researcher must, therefore, base it on past research’ results or review literate on the subject of interest. The researcher then formulates the null hypothesis basing on the analysis of the information gathered.
In experimental design the researcher needs to formulate both a null and alternate hypothesis. The aim of the researcher is to accept the null hypothesis while rejecting the alternate hypothesis or reject the null hypothesis while accepting the null hypothesis. Lastly, therefore, the researcher must then negate the null hypothesis to form the alternate hypothesis.
References
Christensen, L. B., Johnson, R. B., & Turner, L. (2011). Research Methods, Design, and Analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall .
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3, illustrated ed.). New York: Sage Publications.
Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L.-A. B. (2011). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences (4 ed.). London: Cengage Learning.
Jackson, S. L. (2011). Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach (4 ed.). London: Cengage Learning.
