Where Do Research

Questions Come from

and How Are They
Developed?
Chapter 4, A PA-299B Report | Bernraf C Orpiano | May 27, 2021
4.1 - Where Do Research Questions Come
from and How Are They Developed?

- Most research projects start with a question.

- Identifying the research problem or defining the study question is the first
and most important of eight steps in the research process described by
McNabb(2002, p. 54)
- Similarly, Gail Johnson describes planning as the key to successful research
and the first step in planning a research project is determining the question
(2002, p.27)
- Furthermore, Johnson (2002, p.27) believes that this step is crucial to the
success of a research project that if mistakes are made then “the research
cannot be saved”
4.1 - Where Do Research Questions Come
from and How Are They Developed?

 Research question is a focal question that a research project is intended to

answer.
 It is not a question developed for a survey or an interview protocol.
 Most research methods, survey research, and interviewing texts cover writing
that type of question very well.
 Such questions are tools designed to help develop an answer to the research
question.
4.1 - Where Do Research Questions Come
from and How Are They Developed?

 The research question helps define what is to be included in the project, and
just as important what is to be excluded.
 This guidance a research question provide includes direction for the literature
review, research design, method or methods of collecting data, selection of a
sampling frame and sample, forms of analysis, and also influences how the
results are written, and may affect decisions about where and how they are
presented.
 Multiple authors of methods make these points provided (Johnson, 1997;
McNabb, 2002, p. 73; Andrews, 2003, p. 14; and Trochim, 2005).
4.1 - Where Do Research Questions Come
from and How Are They Developed?

 In addressing the question of where research questions come from this essay
examines the following topics:
 Motivation to do research and decide on a research question
 Where do research questions come from?
 Types of research questions
 How are research questions framed?
 Creating, clarifying, and framing research questions
 How questions are framed determines their usefulness
 Every research question may contain subquestions
 Review by colleagues, practitioners, and clients
 Conclusion
4.2 – Motivation to do Research and
Decide on a Research Question
 According to Gordon Tullock, curiousity is a motive for inquiry., The subject of
inquiry is quite simply anything which anyone might be curious about or which
might be practically useful (Tullock, 1966, p. 40)
 Similarly, Jean Johnson believes that “searching seems to be a result of our
natural curiousity, our desire to find answers to problems, our urge to
question what others have told us, or perhaps just our need to know more
about the unknown” (Johnson, 1992, p. 3)
4.2 – Motivation to do Research and
Decide on a Research Question
 Tullock identifies two types of curiosity: induced and pure. Induced curiosity
describes the motivation of university faculty ‘‘who do research and produce
articles simply because that is the way they earn their living.
 Tullock believes that ‘‘the particular curiosity which leads a scientist to
undertake a given bit of research is always the outcome of [their] general
curiosity’’ which leads a researcher to keep informed of developments in the
whole field about which [they] are curious, ‘‘but . . . undertake specific
investigations only when [they] see an opportunity for particularly fruitful
discoveries’’ (Tullock, 1966, pp. 30–31).
4.3 – Where do Research Questions
Come From?
 Social scientists are in the business of describing and understanding the world
around them of defining what it is, how things work, and ultimately, perhaps,
how to improve them.
 And as for finding research questions they only need to interact with that
world.
 The public administration literature talks of pracademics (Ospina and Dodge,
2005) and connectedness (Newland, 2000).
 Questions come from practice and practitioners can supply an endless variety
of them either as individuals whom a researcher interacts with directly or
though the formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
4.3 – Where do Research Questions
Come From?
 Questions also come from reading the literature on a regular basis and from
doing a literature review. ‘‘Research topics can come from questions
discovered in texts, in the professional literature, from classroom discussions,
from hobbies and other outside interests, and, of course, from the life
experience of the researcher’’ (McNabb, 2002, p. 63)
 Andrews (2003) indicates that there are two common ways to develop
research questions. ‘‘One is to work hard and fast, early in the project, to
generate and refine your research question. The other is to let the research
question emerge from the literature’’ (Andrews, 2003, p. 9). Developing a
question early starts with a literature review and a decision about what
aspect of the topic you want to focus on.
4.3 – Where do Research Questions
Come From?
 Strong motivations drive the researcher to do a literature review. This is
described as one of the standard steps in the research process or good science
in virtually every research methods text and course.
 To not do a literature review risks discovering that someone else has already
done your study.
 For that matter the author believes that most researchers do not want to
simply repeat exactly what a predecessor has done.
 A primary purpose of research is learning and doing new and different things.
Besides, going where none have gone before is exciting for an academic, and
perhaps more likely to result in a publishable manuscript.
 4.3 – Where do Research Questions
Come From?
 In its simplest form, building on the work of another may start with a single study.
Almost any study can be extended. This can be done in an endless variety of ways.
 Almost any study can be carried out in a different or larger setting, looking at additional
things (variables) that may affect the result, and using different measures.
 Neuman (1997) suggests that the individual seeking a research problem might do any or
some combination of the following:
 Replicate a research project in a different setting or with a different population .
 Consider how various subpopulations might behave differently in the same situation .
 Apply an existing perspective or explanation to a new situation .
 Explore unexpected or contradictory findings in previous studies .
 Challenge research findings that fly in the face of what you know or believe to be true
 4.3 – Where do Research Questions
Come From?
 Another source of ideas for new research questions is found in the suggestions for
further research that is an expected part of any research presentation.
 Today, virtually every article contains suggestions for further research.
 These statements come in the direct form of suggestions of what needs to be done in
future studies.
 Also, suggestions occur indirectly through statements recognizing limitations of the
current study.
 4.3 – Where do Research Questions
Come From?
 Another way to find research questions is to reexamine a classic work in the field. Such
is the case, for example, in recent reexaminations of Herbert Kaufman’s The Forest
Ranger (Carroll, Freemath, and Alm, 1996; Koontz, 2007; Luton, 2007; Martin and Toddi,
2004).
 New theories are developed or old ones extended because old theory, despite some
degree of longevity, proves to be either invalid or inadequate. Someone may introduce
a new idea. In an effort to develop theory this type of endeavor can be based on
drawing different works together in new and particular ways
 4.4 – Types of Research Questions

 There are three general types of research questions and they focus on description,
normative issues, and relationships.
 Descriptive questions do exactly that—they describe something. The researcher answers
questions involving issues of who, what, how many, and how much.
 Normative questions focus on ‘‘what is’’ and compare it with ‘‘what should be.’’
 Relationship questions address relationships between variables and may be phrased in
terms of association or covariance, or if the researcher is ambitious, cause and effect,
or impacts or outcomes, and may predict future impacts.
 A single study might involve one single type of question or it could involve multiple,
that is, all three types of questions (derived from Johnson, 2002 and Trochim, 2005)
 4.5 – Explicit and Implicit Questions

 Authors of articles in the public administration literature sometimes state research

questions explicitly.
 A few authors even go a step further and develop explicit formal hypotheses to test.
Other researchers address specific questions without stating them. They may tell the
reader exactly what they are investigating but their questions are implicit in their text.
 Supporters of explicit questions and hypotheses might say that it is easier to conduct
research by starting with clearly stated questions. They might say that it is easier to
present the results and easier for the reader to understand what the investigator is
trying to communicate.
 Critics of this approach might claim that it can become just a matter of filling in an
outline and can lead to a writing and presentation style that is too pedantic, stiff, and
formal. A reviewer might look at a manuscript and state ‘‘It reads just like a
government report.’’
 4.5 – Explicit and Implicit Questions

 Whether a researcher prepares a manuscript using explicit questions or not or whether

a researcher uses statements indicating what they are doing seems to this writer to be a
matter of personal preference and writing style. Given that substantive content is what
matters most, these practices do not necessarily either add to or detract from the value
of any researcher’s work. Nevertheless, the author prefers starting with a question
because it makes the research process easier for him and makes working with
coinvestigators easier as well.
 From a reader’s perspective—when explicit questions are lacking, but appropriate
informative content is present in the text—the reader can develop statements of the
research questions investigated on their own. Examples of these practices are described
in the following paragraphs.
 4.6 – Creating, Clarifying, and Framing
Research Questions
 An initial draft of a research question may be too general and vague to be useful.
Revision is necessary to focus it more sharply or clarify it. As more is learned about the
topic, the process of question revision may require multiple iterations.
 Basic types of questions that researchers start with include who, what, where, when,
how, and why? Each type of question suggests a specific type of research focus such as
those indicated in the following table (in the next slide).
4.6 – Creating, Clarifying, and Framing
Research Questions
 4.7 – Review by Colleagues,
Practitioners, and Clients
 A specific technique suggested by many authors of methods texts is to consult other
persons about your research question.
 To at least run the question by a colleague seems to be a minimum.
 It never ceases to amaze the author how different people perceive disparate and
sometimes contradictory things in the same words, and in a single situation.
 Feedback that begins with the words ‘‘have you thought about . . .’’ may prove
invaluable.
 4.8 - Conclusion

 Why should anyone care about where research questions come from and how they are
developed?
 We should all care for two reasons. As consumers of research have clearly stated, focused
research questions make the reader’s task easier. As researchers, we should care because it
makes the tasks of executing a research project and presenting it easier.
Thank you for listening! 
PA-299 B Report | May 27, 2021 | Bernraf C. Orpiano

Coming Next – Project Proposal for BUCOR-SRPPF RDC Dormitory Renovation

Project Proposal
May 27, 2021 | Bernraf C Orpiano
Renovation of RDC Dormitory
inside San Ramon Prison and Penal
Farm
Project Proposal | PA-299B Report | Bernraf C. Orpiano
Overview

 The Bureau of Corrections is an  RDC stands for Reception and

agency of the Department of Diagnostics Center, which
Justice which is charged with the accepts newly-committed Persons
custody and rehabilitation of Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) coming
national offenders, who have from different city and municipal
been sentenced to three years of jails across the region, with
imprisonment or more. sentences of about three years or
more.
 Currently, it implements a number
of projects that improve its  It is one of the sub-units under the
capability of carrying out its San Ramon Penal Colony’s
mandate as the one that Security and Operations Umbrella.
manages national prisoners or
PDLs.
Statement of the Problem

 As the trend of committals increases, and the aging condition of

the dormitory, arises the need of renovating which includes the
repair of its ceiling and repainting of the walls that will improve of
the condition of the PDLs confined before classifying into
respective status depending on their sentences (maximum and
medium security)
 Budget is limited and is being allocated in more important
matters (different units having projects that wanted to be
implemented)
Research Question:

 How will the RDC-SRPPF materialize the

project of renovating its dormitory for newly-
committed PDLs, in funding and planning, in
anticipation that the number of committals
normalize upon the end of the pandemic?
Objectives/Goals:

 To check and inspect the portions of the concerned facility

needed for project implementation.
 To determine the resources required and the timeline set for the
project;
 To provide and obtain projected results on the operations of the
Reception and Diagnostics Center under BUCOR-SRPPF in terms
of containing newly-committed PDLs for quarantine and
eventually, for orientation prior to their reassignment to other
dormitorites inside the facility.
 To give reasons on the priority for the project to be
implemented with allotted budget, citing security and
operational advantages.
Hypotheses of the project:

 The dormitory’s structure is still sturdy especially with its walls,

although the concern points more to its ceiling as wood rots
away through time, and the paint of the walls slowly fading
away, exposing the concrete inside to the elements and
removing the ambiance of the space that increases risk on
health and safety, especially during wet seasons.
 Security standards require an improved facility to keep PDLs
inside during their quarantine and orientation periods as they
are to observe and practice prison rules and regulations.
Research Methodology

 Qualitative Methods – diagrams, figures, units, and amount

 Gathering of relevant data from concerned offices
 Compilation of committed PDL records
 Inspection of concerned facility (the dormitory itself)
Data:

 Number of PDLs committed: Number of PDLs

 2018 – 569 PDLs 800
 2019 – 727 PDLs 700
 2020 – 94 PDLs 600
 2021* - 86 PDLs 500
400
Number of
300
PDLs
* 1st Quarter 200
100
0
Data:
Data:
Data:
Cost estimation for the renovation
Solution:
 A push for priority in the materialization of the project while the
committals are at the minimum due to the pandemic.
 Set allocation of project in future project proposals
 With this project, it will be ensured that normal numbers will be
managed even better without the worry and the risk to the health
and safety of the newly-committed PDLs.
Alternative Plan:
 Providing fail-safe methods like procuring essential materials
through the number of phases and lots, at a small amount, at a
manageable budget under repair and maintenance.
 Providing piece-meal resource allocation until it is sufficient enough
for the full implementation to push through, accomplishing the
project at the shorter time.
 Keeping the usual operation on security of newly-committed PDLs
and guide them on the orientation phase at manageable numbers
since transfer from municipal and city jails are still prohibitive due to
the ongoing pandemic concerns.
The Advantages:

 Long term use of the dormitory is ensured, with sturdiness of the structure further assures
safety
 Continuous maintenance exhibited alongside the constant security requirements of the
whole facility
 Increasing the efficiency in monitoring PDL activities during the quarantine and
orientation periods
Action Plan

 Recognition of urgency of the project as to be discussed in the staff meeting.

 Canvassing materials, subject to BAC regulations
 Manpower will be pooled from contractors
 Coordination between the General Services Unit, Finance Unit, Property Unit, and the
BAC for the paper processing.
 Implementation upon awarding of contract, with the time of work set into 150
Calendar Days.
Thank you for Listening!
PA-299B | May 27, 2021 | Bernraf C Orpiano