Developing an Interest or Topic

Planning an Applied Research Project Chapter 2 – Developing an Interest or Topic© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Learning ObjectivesDescribe several ways of identifying topics of interestCreate a purpose statement for your topic of interestPrepare several research questions for your research project or designIdentify the criteria for a good purpose statementAssess your purpose statement in terms of the criteria for a good purpose statement© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Key TermsAction researchApplied researchBasic researchBrainstormingCodingCognitive mappingFocusFeasibilityProblem statementPurpose statementResearch objectivesResearch questionsSignificanceUsefulnessValidity© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Ways of Finding TopicsYour manager or your professorReview of past readingNew readingInterviewingBrainstormingConversingFaculty suggestionsCognitive mapping© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose StatementsDrive the research process and help you to focus on which research methods to pursue.They are not: Restatements of the obviousSimple calculationsSimple comparison of two sets of dataSomething some one gave you without any rationaleYes/ no situationsTopics that interest only youQuestions already investigatedSomething simple to determine© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose Statements (cont’d)Try the following sentence structure:“My purpose is to (what you want to learn – the questions)“The reasons it is important include ... (why it is significant? what is the context for it? why should people care? what gap does it fill?)Therefore, I will (what you will do to answer your questions and accomplish your goal? what will be your research design?)© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Types of ResearchBasic researchApplied researchAction research© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Developing Research QuestionsResearch questions are not:Yes/no questionsEasy to answer Of restricted interestLimited in their time frame© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Developing Research Questions (cont’d)Consider the following:What do I know about this topic?Why is it important to me, to the industry?What made the policy or practice develop the way it did?What factors influence customers, consumers, and fans who make these decisions?What leads managers to make these decisions?What factors explain this behavior?© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose Statements and Problem StatementsPurpose StatementsProblem StatementsRefers to a specific business or industry problem that a manager or team of managers wants to solve.Refers to a concern or area of interest appropriate to the industry and not something that an individual company is necessarily trying to address immediately.© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Criteria for Effective Purpose StatementsUsefulnessValidityFocusFeasibilitySignificance© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Classroom ActivityForm into groups of three.Working independently, think of a significant problem or development in your field. Place it in the center of a piece of paperNow draw lines and diagrams that are aspects of the issue or problem.Play with the ideas.Let your mind roam.Flow with the process.Share with your team members and help each other add other aspects and select important ones.© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Classroom Activity (cont’d)Find the part or parts that really interest you.Write a few sentences about that area of interest.Develop that interest in your own mind.Now use each other to help develop those ideas.Take five minutes a person to ask questions about their interest and help them develop it more fully.© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Classroom Activity (cont’d)Convert your interest to a purpose statement.What do you want to solve, discover, explain, understand, predict, contribute, investigate, examine, analyze, Use each other to help develop those ideas more fully.Now use each other to help develop those ideas.Take five minutes a person to ask questions about their interest and help them develop it more fully.© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Classroom Activity (cont’d)Work on refining your interest.Write a draft purpose statement and bring four copies to class next week.Find some scholarly articles on the topic and on related topics.© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Review of the Class SessionAnything unclear?One thing that I learned from this class is © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.