This week’s lessons have enabled me gain an extensive insight on the purpose and differences between a purpose statement and research questions. The most essential aspect of a purpose statement that should be known by researchers is that the purpose statement does not indicate the problems that led to the need for the study. Instead, it establishes the intention of the entire study. By reading a purpose statement, one can establish why the researcher is interested in doing the study, what the study intends to accomplish, as well as the central controlling idea in the study ( Creswell & Creswell, 2018 ). In summary, a statement sets out the objectives, intention, as well as the major idea of the proposal or study.
Research questions, on the other hand are used to narrow down the purpose statement. The type of study determines the type of research questions that will be used. For instance, if the study utilizes a qualitative study design, qualitative research questions will be utilized. In the same way, quantitative research questions and hypothesis as well as mixed methods research questions will be used when the study design is quantitative and mixed methods (Leavy, 2017). Qualitative and quantitative research designs are different in the sense that qualitative designs only poses research questions while quantitative research designs can utilize both research questions and hypothesis. The knowledge thus helps me to differentiate study in the two research designs.
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As noted above, purpose statements and research questions are different things in research but are related. I have learnt that while the purpose statement provides a statement of intent for the whole study, the research questions narrows down the purpose statement to identify aspects of the study that the researcher will be interested in answering. Therefore, a purpose statement and research questions are important because they set out both general and specific intentions of the researcher ( Creswell & Creswell, 2018 ). By reading the purpose statement and research questions, the audience can predict what to expect in the rest of the paper. At the end of the study, the audience will also be able to provide a review on whether the researcher achieved his/her intentions or not.
I also learnt that, just as in research questions, purpose statements also differ based on the type of research. In qualitative studies, a purpose statement contains the central phenomenon, participants, as well as the research site. A purpose statement in a qualitative study provides a general working definition that is used to explain the central idea ( Peersman, 2014 ). On the other hand, a quantitative purpose statement varies from a qualitative purpose statement due to the language used as well as focus. A purpose statement in a quantitative research design will include variables and their relationship, the participants, as well as the research site. Knowledge of the differences in purpose statements in qualitative and quantitative designs is essential in proper structuring and researching of the central ideas.
There are instances when a study will utilize a mixed research design. In such cases, a purpose statement also has to be provided by the researcher. The statement will contain the the general intention of the researcher in the study, information on both the qualitative and the quantitative strands of the design, as well as the rationale for combining the two research designs in one study. The knowledge gained about purpose statements and research questions will be essential in my future research work.
References
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Chapter 5: Introduction Lecture Notes; From: Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches . Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Leavy, P. (2017). Research design: Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and community-based participatory research approaches . New York: Guilford Press
Peersman, G. (2014). Overview: Data Collection and Analysis Methods in Impact Evaluation . UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti.
