Reviewing and Revising your Purpose Statement

Planning an Applied Research Project Chapter 4 – Reviewing and Revising your Purpose Statement© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Learning ObjectivesCompare your purpose statement with several criteriaWrite a clear purpose statement and appropriate research questionsMake a case for your purpose statement and research questions© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Key TermsImportantInterestingIntriguingInvestigableImpactfulLiterature reviewPartner testPublic speaking testPurpose statementResearch questionsThanksgiving test© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Reasons for Revising Purpose StatementsNew information about what has been studiesNew insight about research methods usedNew ideas about the topicShit in focus and interestChallenge of developing a coherent designChance to test something importantLack of approval for current purpose © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Reasons for Revising Purpose StatementsPurpose Statement Format“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 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose Statement and Supporting DimensionsFocus on the following four central elements:What is the goal?What parts are most important to this research? Why is it important?How will I pursue?© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Process of Reviewing and RevisingTest of Purpose StatementsSpousal or partner or friend testThanksgiving testPublic speaking testThen reflect on what you have learned and what changes you might want to make © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Process of Reviewing and Revising (cont’d)Research Questions Accompany purpose statementsClarify and specify purpose statementsTrigger and expand your thinkingImprove you thinking about research design optionsPromote others to help youHelp you throughout the reading and planningGuide the research proposal© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Process of Reviewing and Revising (cont’d)When Writing Research QuestionsThink generallyWrite them so they beg to be answeredFocus them broadly in the beginningMake them real questions you want to answer or investigateFocus them at an intermediate levelDevelop more questions now – you can refine them and consolidate them later© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Criteria for a Good Purpose StatementsI Important I InterestingI IntriguingI InvestigableI Impactful© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose Statement and Research Question Example 1Purpose – to examine the relationship between the amount of money spent by a school's athletic department on academic support and the graduation rates of college football athletesResearch Questions –How does an increase in money spent effect graduation rates? How exactly is the money being spent?  Tutors?  Computer labs? Incentive programs? How does the treatment differ for scholarship players and non-scholarship players?  What is the difference in their graduation rates? What is the correlation between winning/losing and graduation rates? How do outside factors influence the results?  School's academic reputation? Priorities of players? Academic background of players?© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose Statement and Research Question Example 2 Purpose – to analyze the factors that influence traveler’s preference to independently plan their trips as an alternative to utilizing packaged group toursResearch Questions –What are the most influential reasons for independently planning trips (i.e. cost, convenience, lack of available options that meet customer needs)?What are the demographics and psychographics of travelers who prefer to plan their own trips? What are the demographics and psychographics of travelers who prefer packaged tours?What are the most common sources of information that travelers utilize in making their independent travel plans (i.e. internet, travel books, word of mouth, media)?© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose Statement and Research Question Example 3 Purpose – to examine the process by which co-branding occurs between hotels and restaurants and evaluate the overall value of brand alliances with respect to each operation as separate entitiesResearch Questions –To what extent is co-branding among hotels and restaurants a mutually beneficial relationship?What factors need to be considered when entering into a brand alliance?What factors affect customer’s choice of one hotel over another? How does restaurant brand influence that decision?When is it more profitable for hotels to outsource restaurant services rather than handle the details of these operations directly?How does that situation differ for other co-branded operations?© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purpose Statement and Research Question Example 4Purpose – to analyze the effect that a mission statement has on employee’s performance in a hotel, in what ways does it change their behaviorResearch Questions –To what extent do hotel employees consider the hotel’s mission statement an important or not so important part of their work life?What percentage of employees follow the ideas described in a mission statement?To what extent does employees’ work behavior change as a result of their agreement and acceptance of a hotel’s mission statement?© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.The Research HourglassTopicPurpose statementResearch questionsLiterature reviewResearch designResearch methodData analysis planFindingsApplicationsLimitationsOpportunitiesConclusions© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Review of the Class SessionAnything unclear?One thing that I discovered in this class session is © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.