Analyzing and Evaluating Research Questions and Hypotheses

Analyzing and Evaluating Research Questions and Hypotheses
Creswell points out that “[I] Investigators place signposts to carry the reader through a
plan for a study” (p. 129). If the introduction and purpose statement tell where you want to
go, the research question or questions are the routes for getting there. In this Discussion,
you will work with research questions and hypotheses and examine how they relate to the
purpose statement.
A 3-paragraph evaluation of your assigned article according to the criteria below:
-For the qualitative article, the research questions.
-For the quantitative article, the research questions and testable hypotheses. Also identify
the variables and the type of hypothesis that is present.
Please use this Article:
Mendenhall, T., & Doherty, W. (2007). Partners in diabetes: Action research in a primary
care setting. Action Research, 5(4), 378-406.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the reading(s)
and/or media segment(s) and use APA format.

Analyzing and Evaluating Research Questions and Hypotheses

Qualitative article

In qualitative articles, the research questions are the routes used to lead the readers
through the article. These research questions are related to the purpose statement that is stated at
the beginning of the article in that they act as a guide towards provision of different findings in a
study that is carried out in different situations or settings (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007). These
research questions are also linked to the research statement because they are created from a
particular set of assumptions or theories that determine how the research should be carried out.
The research questions are said to focus mainly on one concept or idea and they pertain to the
responses of the participants in the research (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007).
The research questions are very important in a research since it helps the researchers to
have an organized way in which they can collect and analyze data. For example in the article,
“Partners in diabetes”, qualitative research was carried out through the use of detailed meeting

ANALYZING AND EVALUATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS 2
processes and interviews that involved providers, patients, and family members (Mendenhall, &
Doherty, 2007). The research questions played a very critical role in this study because they
provided a guide on the kind of questions to be drafted for the interviews and the kind of data
that was collected (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007).
For the quantitative article, research questions and testable hypotheses relate to the
purpose statement in that they guide the reader towards where they want to go because they
direct the study from general theories to specific instances (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007). This
brings out objectivity of the study which links the whole study with the purpose statement. In the
article, “Partners in diabetes”, the kinds of variables that were used include dependent and
independent variables. The kind of hypothesis that was used in this research was null hypothesis
(Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007).

ANALYZING AND EVALUATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS 3

References

Mendenhall, T. J., & Doherty, W. J. (2007). Partners in Diabetes Action research in a primary
care setting. Action Research, 5(4), 378-406.