By Prof. Dr. Salahuddin Khan Research question By Prof. Dr. Salahuddin Khan

Research Questions Research question identify what the research study hopes to learn It serves as the focus of the researcher’s investigation. Is a clear, focused, complex, and arguable question at the center of your research? It will guide your research, and writing, and keep you focused.

. A researcher should choose A general topic for his research. Select a topic in which the researcher has an interest. Do some pre research on the topic? Start with asking ‘how’ ‘when’ ‘why’ and ‘what’ about your topic. Identify a research study importance. Research questions can be presented in a form of question. And the research methodology.

“Numbers of women in sports”. Why do I need a question Most of the students find a topic, and start working on the topic. For Example; “Numbers of women in sports”.

“Why do some countries have more women in sports than others?” Continue---- Now make a question of the topic, “Why do some countries have more women in sports than others?”

How do I create one Pick a Topic: Women in Sports Narrow the Topic: (Different Aspects of Topic) i. No of women in sports ii. Governmental Policies iii. Facilities of Sports vi. Traditions v. Domestic Problem etc.

. List Some Questions: Why, how, questions are the best one i. Why do some countries have more women in sports than others? ii. Why does Pakistan have fewer high profile women in sports than India?

Why do some countries have more women in sports than others? . Pick one Question: Why do some countries have more women in sports than others?

why do some countries have more women in sports than others? . Focus the Question: Who, what, where, and when question are reasonable Original Question; why do some countries have more women in sports than others?

. More Specific; Why does India have more women in sports at the national level than Pakistan

How do I know if it is Good A Good question always focus on Only on one Issue Requires analysis, thinking (how, why) Specific, focused (who, what, where, when) Clear, no ambiguous words

What do I do with it For Example; “Why does India have more women in sports at the national level than Pakistan?” What information do you need to answer this question? Once you select the question of your choice than you will be able to formulate a thesis hypothesis from that question.

. Thus the hypothesis would be “India has more women in sports than Pakistan, because India’s political system encourage the participation of women in sports better than Pakistan”

Good and Bad Research Questions Bad question may be “Why are social networking sites harmful?” The above question of the study is bad, because it does not identify which social network. There are variety of social networking sites, thus the question is unclear and ambiguous in nature.

. A Good question of the above may be “How are online users experiencing or addressing privacy issues on such social networking sites as Facebook”

“How are Doctors addressing the sports injuries in Pakistan?” . The Bad question may be “How are Doctors addressing the sports injuries in Pakistan?” The above research question is bad because; No room for analysis, in this type of research question the researcher is not able to analyzed the data and drawn certain findings and conclusions from the study. Furthermore, answers can be provided easily and in decisive manner without practical research.

. The Good question of the above may be “What are the common traits of those suffering from sports injuries in Pakistan, and how these commonalities are used to aid the medical community in prevention of sports injuries?”

“What is the effect on the environment from global warming?” . The Bad one “What is the effect on the environment from global warming?” The Good one is “How are glacial melting affecting penguins in the Arctic Circle?” The topic is so broad in nature, that even a Book would not be sufficient to answer the question. So, narrowing by location (Arctic Circle) and those affected (Penguins) helps bring focus of the study.

Avoid the following Questions Avoid ‘policy’ questions, like, “Should the Government or School or Community do --------------- something These are not research questions, and cannot be answered. Should questions “what should we do” are not a research questions. Avoid ‘Religious’ questions like, “why God allows suffering” or something like that.

. Avoid ‘pie in the sky’ questions like, “why cannot we just all get along”. The use of word ‘why’ is not a good idea in research question. Do not ask “Yes, No” questions. These are not research questions. Ask a question that yield results to be analyzed and computed.

Ask the question that results in measurement, qualifications, analysis, and result oriented. For Example; ask the question that is measurable, “What is the nature of the relationship between Athletic Training and Performance?” What we see here are VARIABLES. Here is a first Variable “Athletic Training”. .

. Athletic Training can vary, and Performance can also fluctuate. So, we are asking that how does Performance changes as Athletic Training changes. Thus, we will say that why we need training if we show good performance. That is a research question, Does it make really a difference?. The answer to the above is, that May be a person is so strong and do not need to do training, or Maybe he is so lucky that without much training he performed well, or Has a great potential to show good performance. .

. Things that can vary; athletic training can vary, how did you get training, where did you do training, how much (hours) you spend on training, how is your technique of training, and from whom (coach) you are training. All these are responsible and are correlated with performance achievement. So, all these should be kept in mind. .

Thus in the example, “What is the nature of the relationship between Athletic Training (as measured by self-reported hours per week of training) and Performance (as measured by trials or result of the competitions)”. May be there are a lot of things which favor the athlete, but it does not happen to everyone and every time. So, if an athlete spends more hours of training as compared to spending less hours of training, definitely spending more training hours athlete will show good performance. Thus, research questions always ask the relationship between Variables. Therefore, we can observe and measure the change in performance of athlete as the hours of training changes. .

Some Suitable Example of Research Questions Does Client-Centered Physical Therapy Produce More Satisfaction in Clients than Traditional Therapy (Traditional Experimental Research) Does Behavior Modification Improve the Athletic Performance in Children with Special Needs (Single-subject Experimental Research) Are the Descriptions of People in Physical Education Discussions Biased (Grounded Theory Research)

Continue ------ What Goes on in High School Physical Education Class during an Average Week (Ethnographic Research) Do Physical Education Teachers Behave Differently Towards Students of Different Genders (Casual-comparative Research) How can we predict which Student might have Trouble Learning in Certain Kinds of Athletic Techniques (Correlational Research)

Continue------- How do Parents Feel about the School Physical Education Program (Survey Research) How can a Principal Improve Physical Education Teacher Moral (Interview Research)

. Thanks