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Student Worksheet - The funnel Stratergy

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28 views4 pages

Student Worksheet - The funnel Stratergy

Uploaded by

shehryar.techexpert
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Student Worksheet: Developing Research

Questions Using the Funnel Strategy


Objective:
This worksheet will guide you in applying the Funnel Strategy to narrow a broad research
topic into specific, actionable research questions. You will explore different types of research
questions (descriptive, comparative, causal, exploratory, predictive, interpretive, and
relationship-based) and how to apply them to your research in Computer Science (CS),
Data Analytics (DA), or Cybersecurity (CY).

Step 1: Identifying Your Broad Research Area


Goal:
Choose a broad area of interest in CS, DA, or CY.
Instructions:
1. Select one broad area of research that you are interested in.
o Example in CS: "Machine learning for image recognition."

o Example in DA: "Big data analytics for predictive modelling."

o Example in CY: "Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in healthcare systems."

2. Write down your chosen area below:


Broad Research Area: ________________________________

Step 2: Reviewing the Literature to Identify Gaps


Goal:
Identify the knowledge gaps in your chosen research area by reviewing relevant literature.
Instructions:
1. Conduct a brief literature review on your topic. Use journals, books, conference
papers, and industry reports to find relevant studies.
2. Identify at least one gap or underexplored area in the literature. This can be an area
that hasn’t been researched in depth or where conflicting results exist.
Knowledge Gap(s) Identified:

3. Based on the identified gaps, write a preliminary research problem that addresses
this gap.
Preliminary Research Problem:

Step 3: Narrowing Down the Research Problem


Goal:
Use the Funnel Strategy to narrow down your broad research topic into a more specific
research problem.
Instructions:
1. Start by breaking down your broad topic into subtopics that focus on more specific
areas of the problem. Use the following prompts to help:
o What specific issue in your broad topic intrigues you the most?

o What are the variables involved?

o Who or what is affected?

o What is the context or environment (e.g., industry, technology, region)?

2. Fill out the funnel below:

Broad Research Area Specific Subtopics Narrowed Research


Problem

Step 4: Formulating Different Types of Research Questions


Goal:
Develop research questions based on your narrowed research problem using different
question types (descriptive, comparative, causal, exploratory, predictive, interpretive, and
relationship-based).
Instructions:
1. Based on your narrowed research problem, formulate one research question for
each of the following types:
 Descriptive Question:
o What are you trying to describe?

o Example: CS – "What are the key challenges in developing quantum computing


algorithms?"
Your Descriptive Question:

 Comparative Question:
o What are you comparing (e.g., methods, variables, techniques)?

o Example: DA – "How do different clustering algorithms compare in terms of


processing speed?"
Your Comparative Question:

 Causal Question:
o What cause-effect relationship are you investigating?

o Example: CY – "What is the impact of encryption protocols on the speed of


secure transactions?"
Your Causal Question:

 Exploratory Question:
o What unknown area are you exploring?

o Example: CS – "What are the emerging ethical challenges in the development of


autonomous systems?"
Your Exploratory Question:

 Predictive Question:
o What future outcomes are you trying to predict?

o Example: DA – "How accurately can customer purchasing behavior be predicted


using social media data?"
Your Predictive Question:

 Interpretive Question:
o What meanings or interpretations are you seeking to understand?

o Example: CY – "How do employees interpret cybersecurity training and its


relevance to their daily tasks?"
Your Interpretive Question:

 Relationship-Based Question:
o What relationship between variables are you investigating?

o Example: DA – "What is the relationship between data quality and the accuracy
of machine learning models?"
Your Relationship-Based Question:
Step 5: Peer Review and Reflection
Goal:
Review your research questions to ensure they are clear, focused, and aligned with your
research problem.
Instructions:
1. Swap your questions with a peer and ask them to evaluate:
o Are the questions clear and focused?

o Do the questions align with the research problem?

o Are the questions answerable given available resources and time?

2. Based on peer feedback, revise any questions that may need clarification or
refinement.

Reflection:
1. What challenges did you face when narrowing down your research topic using
the Funnel Strategy?

2. How did the literature review help you identify a specific research problem?

3. Which type of research question was most challenging for you to formulate?
Why?

Conclusion
OK well done, this is quite a task and completing this worksheet you should now have a set of
clear(er), more focused research questions that are aligned with your chosen topic and
knowledge gaps in the literature. Keep refining your questions to ensure they are specific and
feasible and as your literature review moves forward be prepared to CHANGE THE
QUESTIONS.

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