Conducting Educational Research

WRITING A RESEARCH QUESTION
listing is not a glossary or a dictionary. It should only include salient terms that
may cause confusion because of their use. “As has been demonstrated in the literature
many times, sometimes seemingly familiar terms develop a life of their own as
a diversity of definitions, understandings, and interpretations emerge over time”
(Loughran, 2006, p. 1). Some examples of these are reflection, looping, blended,
inclusion, cooperative learning. The purpose of including the definitions is so the
readers will understand the meaning of the terms as you intend them to be understood.
Examples of introductory chapters for several of students are located in
Appendix 2-A, located at the end of this chapter. Reading through them may
help give you a more solid understanding of what goes into Chapter One.
NEXT STEPS
You are taking the hardest step. You are examining your professional life and
determining what problem you would like to solve. After you decide on a purpose
for your study, you have what you need to craft your question into a researchable
problem statement. Chapter One of your research paper will lay the groundwork
for what you want to do and why. It’s now time to examine what others have to say
and have done in the same area. On to the Literature Review!
CHAPTER SELF-CHECK
Having completed this chapter, you should be comfortable discussing the
following:
− considerations in deciding on a problem statement
− requirements of a researchable question
− characteristics of qualitative and quantitative questions
− guidelines for writing your problem statement
− ethical considerations when designing a study
− regulations affecting studies with human subjects
− organization and writing Chapter One
CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What makes a question researchable?
2. Frame a question for the following problems:
a. You are interested in discovering how the teachers in your building feel
about the new reading curriculum.
b. You are interested in determining whether the implementation of the
new reading problem will affect student scores on the annual statewide
reading test.
c. You want to know both how teachers feel about the new reading
program and if the reading program will affect student achievement
scores.
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