Stating Qualitative Research Questions

ALISON A. GUTIERREZ, LPT, PTRP, MPH

Objectives
At the end of the session, the learners must be able to:
 State research questions
 Present written statement of the problem
Purpose of Conducting Qualitative Research (A
Recap)
 to help people, groups or organizations understand
better phenomena, human behavior, human interactions
and other complex events
Purposes of Statement of the Problem (Marshall
and Rossman, 1995)
 to describe the substantive focus of the research study
 to frame it as
 a larger theoretical policy
 a practical problem and thereby, develop its significance
 to pose initial research questions
 to forecast the literature to be discussed in the succeeding sections,
and
 to discuss the limitations of the study

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE
QUESTIONS
 Qualitative—more open ended
 Descriptive (What happened?)
 Interpretive (What was the meaning to people of
what happened?)
 Process-oriented (What happened over time?)
Types or Levels of Qualitative Research
Questions
 Central question/central phenomenon (general problem) is the
overarching question being explored in the qualitative research study.
 •Subquestions (specific problems) divide the central question into smaller,
specific questions. These are the questions stated in the statement of the problem
section of a research paper.
 Issue subquestions: Narrow the focus of the central question into specific issues.
 Procedural subquestions: Indicate the steps to be used in analyzing the data in a qualitative study.
 •Interview questions are asked during your interview and are based on your
subquestions and central question.

Typical Research Questions

(Neuman, 2007)
 1. How did the social situation originate?
 2. How was the condition/situation maintained over
time?
 3. What are the processes by which a
condition/situation changes, develops, or operates?
Techniques for Narrowing Down a Topic into a
Research Question
 1. Examine the literature – published articles are an excellent source of ideas for
research questions, achieved by:
 a. replicating a previous research project exactly or with slight variations
 b. exploring unexpected findings discovered in previous research
 c. following suggestions an author gives for future research at the end of the article
 d. Extending an existing explanation or theory to a new topic or setting
 e. challenging the findings or attempting to refute a relationship
 f. Specifying the intervening process and consider linking relations
Techniques for Narrowing down a topic into a
Research Question
 2. Talk over ideas with others - achieved by:
 a. asking people who are knowledgeable about the topic for
questions about it that they have thought of
 b. seeking out those who hold opinions that differ from
those of the researchers on the topic and by discussing possible
research questions within them.
Techniques for Narrowing down a topic into a
Research Question
 3. Relate the topic to a specific context – attained
through:
 a. focusing the topic on a historical period or time period
 b. narrowing the topic to a specific society or geographic
unit
 c. considering which subgroups or categories of
people/units are involved and whether there are differences
among them
Techniques for Narrowing down a topic into a
Research Question
 4. Define the aim or desired outcome of the study
 a. will the research question be for an exploratory,
explanatory, or descriptive study?
 b. will the study involve applied or basic research?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
 1. ‘Hiya’: Exploring The Psyche of Filipino Adolescents who Lack Self-
confidence
 A. What are the root causes of lack of self confidence in adolescents?
 B. What kind of behavior do adolescents who lack self confidence manifest?
 C What can the following groups of people do so as to boost up the self
confidence of adolescents?
 Parents
 Relatives
 Friends
 Significant others

Examples of Qualitative Research Questions

 2. Puff till you Huff: Reconnoitering the Hazards and
Risks of Cigarette Smoking
 A. What dangers to one’s health can smoking bring about?
 B. How is a non-smoker’s health affected when in the
presence of people smoking?
 C. What medical interventions can address the problem of
smoking?
 D. What psychological interventions can address the
problem of smoking?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
 3. The Smell of Success: Discovering the Innovative Science Behind the
Market Success of Afficionado® Perfumes
 (or, Cents of Scents: Learnings on How To Succeed in the Perfume
Business the Joel Cruz Way)
 A. What are the items in a market plan?
 B. What factors contribute to the successful marketability of Afficionado®
perfumes?
 C. Why is the buying behavior of consumers an important factor to consider
in a market plan for Afficionado®?
 What are the success indicators of the market plan of Afficionado
perfumes®?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
 4. The Calm After The Storm: Parental Reactions and
Coping Following a Catastrophic Typhoon
 A. In what reactions do Filipino fathers and mothers differ
in terms of coping and reaction?
 B. How do they cope with the experience of a natural
disaster?
 C. How do the experiences of Filipino fathers and mothers
differ in terms of coping and reaction?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
 5. Learning challenges of pre-school children
 Research questions
 A. What is the learning process of pre-school children?
 B. What are the challenges faced by pre-school children in learning?
 C. What interventions do these children’s teachers and parents do so their
wards can hurdle their learning challenges?

Examples of Qualitative Research Questions

 6. A Study on How Women Became Pre-Education
Entrepreneurs
 Objectives/Research questions
• What are the learning activities that shaped women to
become pre-education entrepreneurs?
• What is the learning process experienced by women who
became pre-education entrepreneurs?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
 6. Narcissism in Teenagers: Root Causes, Manifestations and
Interventions
Introduction
Taking selfies or taking video of oneself has become a social
phenomenon that has been brought about by the use of modern gadgets,
particularly the mobile phone-adolescents take pictures or videos of
themselves, their possessions, their latest happenings or gigs, their
friends, their food – anything, anyone they take a fancy on, anywhere,
anytime. A good number of people say that this social phenomenon has
evolved into narcissism. There is, to date, a dearth of research on this
topic.
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
 6. Narcissism in Teenagers: Root Causes, Manifestations and
Interventions
Statement of the Problem
 This study aims to investigate the root causes of narcissism, as well
as its manifestations and possible forms of intervention.
Specifically, it seeks answers to the following questions:
 What are the underlying causes of narcissism?
 How has technology contributed to narcissistic behavior?
 What are the manifestations of narcissistic behavior in
adolescents?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
4. What forms of interventions can be done to address this behavior in adolescents?
5. How can the following help in developing healthy self-esteem, positive outlook
and attitudes in adolescents?
a. Parents
b. Curriculum planners
c. Administrators
d. Teachers
e. Guidance Counselors
f. Peers
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions
 7. Journey at Twilight: Exploring Death
Preparation among the Elderly
 A. How do the participants view senility (old age) and
death?
 B. what concrete steps do the participants take in their
preparation for the inevitable (death)?
 C. What support systems are available for the
participants?
 D. What is the significance of their death preparations?
 8. Living
the Nightingale Dream for Free: Exploring the
Nurse Volunteerism in Pangasinan
 The study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of volunteer
nurses in Pangasinan.
 Specific questions:
 1. What were the motivations of the participants in applying for volunteer
nurse work?
 2. How did the participants view the job title of being a volunteer before
applying for volunteer work?
 3. Looking back at their volunteer nurse work, what were the difficulties
and the benefits they have experienced?
 9. The
Road Not Taken: Being Doctors in the Barrios in
war-torn Basilan
 Specific questions:
 1. What were the reasons for accepting the job as doctors to the barrios?
 2. What were the doctors’ expectations from the job offering?
 3. What were the realities of being doctors to the barrios in war-torn
Basilan?
 4. What made them give up the job?
 10. Live
to Work, or Work to Live? The Plight of College
Graduates Working as Call Center Workers
 Specific questions:
 1. What compelled the participants to work as call center agents?
 2. How did they find the work of being a call center agent?
 3. How did they adopt to the nature of the job of a call center agent?
 4. What keeps them working in the job?
 5. What does being a call center agent mean to them?
 6. What would make them give up the job?

 11. Able Disabled: PWDs in Lamoiyan Corporation

 Specific questions:
 1. What are the working conditions in the factory suited for PWDs?
 2. How does the company prepare the newly-hired PWDs for work?
 3. What does it mean for the PWDs to work in general, and to work in
Lamoiyan Corporation specifically?
 11. Able Disabled: PWDs in Lamoiyan Corporation
 Specific questions:
 1. What are the working conditions in the factory suited for PWDs?
 2. How does the company prepare the newly-hired PWDs for work?
 3. What does it mean for the PWDs to work in general, and to work in
Lamoiyan Corporation specifically?
 13. Looking Though their Eyes: How Mobile Street Food Vendors
Perceive the Way Others Perceive Them
 Specific Questions:
 1. What are the reasons for opening a mobile street food business?
 2. How do the mobile street food vendors look at their job?
 3. What are their thoughts as to how other people view them as a person and
as a mobile street food vendor?

 14. Coming Out Late: Stories of Self- Acceptance

among LGBTQ Members
 Questions:
 1. What are the reasons for having been closet members of
the LGBTQ?
 2. what compelled the participants from coming out in the
open as LGTBQ members?
 3. What is the process by which the LGBTQ participants
accepted their gender and finally come out in the open?
 4. What are the consequences of their decision of self-
acceptance and coming out?
 15. Behavioral Adaptations of Bees (Apis millefera) from
Natural to Artificial Environment
 Questions:
 1. What are the behaviors of bees born in natural environments in terms of basic survival and
defense mechanisms in a natural environment?
 2. What are the behaviors of bees born in a controlled (laboratory) environment in terms of basic
survival and defense mechanisms in a natural environment?
 3. What are the behaviors of the bees born in a natural environment when transferred to an
artificial environment?
 4. What are the behaviors of the bees born in a natural environment when transferred to an
artificial environment?
 5. What are the indicators of adaptations in bees grown in natural and artificial environments?
 16. Impact of Oil Spill on the Diversity of Sea weed flora off the coast of
Anda, Pangasinan: Basis for intervention
 1. What species of sea weeds can be found off the coast of Anda Pangasinan
before the oil spill?
 2. What observable physical differences can be seen in the sea weed flora in
the areas affected by the oil spill and in the areas not affected at quarterly intervals
for two years after the incident?
 3. What interventions have been put into place since the incident?
 4. What other interventions can be proposed based on the observable impact
of the oil spill on the sea weed diversity off the coast of Anda, Pangasinan?

TEMPLATE FOR CENTRAL

PHENOMENOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
 1. What Is the human experience of…?
 2. Among the __________ (participants), what
is the meaning (of having to……../ being a …..) …?
TEMPLATE FOR CENTRAL
GROUNDED THEORY QUESTIONS
 1. How does this (group) express its pattern
of…… ?
TEMPLATE FOR CENTRAL
ETHNOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONS
 1. How does this group express its pattern of
…?
TEMPLATE FOR CENTRAL CONTENT
ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
 1. What are the details and complexities of
the story of …..?
TEMPLATE FOR CENTRAL
HISTORICAL QUESTIONS
 1. What is the origin of…..
 2. How did the ….. start?
TEMPLATE FOR CENTRAL
NARRATOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
 1. How does the story of (moving/ transition/
transformation) proceed?