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(Variable, Objectives)

Research notes papers

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ahtasham ali
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31 views

(Variable, Objectives)

Research notes papers

Uploaded by

ahtasham ali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Research Topic,

Objectives, Variable & Its


Types
Muhammad Nasar Iqbal
Lahore School of Behavioural Sciences
The University of Lahore
Formulating a Research Problem
• If you do not know what specific research topic, idea, questions
or issue you want to research then what will you do?

?
Steps in Formulating a Research Problem

• Step 1: Identify a broad field or area of interest to you.

• Step 2: Divide the broad area into subareas.

• Step 3: Select what is of most interest to you.

• Step 4: Raise research questions/hypotheses.

• Step 5: Formulate objectives:

• Step 6: Assess your objectives.


Considerations for Identifying
Broad Field
• Interest
• Magnitude
• Level of expertise
• Relevance
• Availability of data
• Ethical issues
Interest
Interest should be the most important consideration in selecting a
research problem.

• A research is usually time consuming, and involves hard work and


possibly unexpected problems.

• If you select a topic which does not greatly interest you, it could
become extremely difficult to sustain the required motivation and put
in enough time and energy to complete it.
Magnitude
• You should have sufficient knowledge about the research process to be
able to visualize the work involved in completing the proposed study.

• Narrow the topic down to something manageable, specific and clear.

• It is extremely important to select a topic that you can manage within the
time and with the resources at your disposal.
Level of Expertise
• Make sure you have a satisfactory level of expertise for the task you are
proposing. Allow for the fact that you will learn during the study and
may receive help from your research supervisor and others, but
remember that you need to do most of the work yourself.

Relevance: Select a topic that is of relevance to you as a professional.

• Ensure that your study adds to the existing body of knowledge, bridges
current gaps or is useful in policy formulation.
Availability of Data
• Make sure that this data is available and in the format you want before
finalizing your topic.

Ethical Issues:
• Another important consideration in formulating a research problem is the
ethical issues involved.

• In the course of conducting a research study, the study population may be


adversely affected by some of the questions (directly or indirectly).
Research Objective

• Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in your study.

• These objectives inform a reader of what you want to achieve through


the study.

• Objectives should be listed under two headings:


• Main objectives.

• Sub-objectives.
• Main objectives: The main objective is an overall statement of the
thrust of your study.

• It is also a statement of the main associations and relationships that


you seek to discover or establish

• Sub-objectives: The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of the topic


that you want to investigate within the main framework of your study.

• The objectives should start with words such as ‘to determine’, ‘to find
out’, ‘to measure’ ‘to identify’ ‘to investigate’, and ‘to explore’.
Operational Definition
• Define concepts that you plan to use either in your research problem in a
measurable form, they are called working definitions or operational
definitions.

• An operational definition is like a recipe that tells you exactly how to


measure or observe something in a way that's clear, consistent, and can be
replicated by other researchers.
What is Variable?

• An image, perception or concept that is capable of measurement – hence


capable of taking on different values.

• In other words, a concept that can be measured is called a variable.


Types of Variable
Independent variable: The cause supposed to be responsible for
bringing about change(s) in a phenomenon or situation.
Dependent variable: The outcome or change(s) brought about by
introduction of an independent variable.
Intervening variable:
• In certain situations the relationship between an independent and a
dependent variable cannot be established without the intervention of
another variable i.e., Mediator or Moderator variables.
Mediator
• Mediator is a variable that is lied
between independent and dependent
variable.

• The Mediator is considered as


intervening variable which explain the
relationship.
For Example

Higher
Self-esteem

High Higher
Grade Happiness
For Example

Shyness

Stuttering Self-esteem
Example

Higher
Confidence

Family Higher Life


Support Satisfaction
Moderator
• Moderator is a variable that is lied between
independent and dependent variable.

• The Moderator is considered as buffering


variable which can weak or strong the
relationship between independent and
dependent variable.
For Example

Age

Exercise Wellbeing
For Example
Students
Interest

Library Academic
Hours Performance
Extraneous / Confounding variable:

❖Several other factors operating in a real-life situation may affect changes in


the dependent variable. These factors, not measured in the study, may
increase or decrease the strength of the relationship between IV and DV.

Demographic Variable:

❖Identity related information (age, gender, family system, education, etc.)

Continuous variable: Unlimited---- (income, birth order)

Dichotomous variable: Categories variables (gender, family system)


Demographics vs Psychographics
Activity
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