Research Methods for the Health Sciences – Module 1: Case

The Research Question, Literature Review, and Research

In any research plan devising the research question is a critical step in the research process. It helps in determining what, where, when and how data will be collected. A properly developed question can help focus ideas and ensure the collection of appropriate data. In this case study I will discuss how descriptive research questions differ from questions of relationship and questions of comparison. Then I will discuss how a researcher should determine if prior research exists on the intended topic. I will also discuss what factors should be used to gauge the quality of previous research as well as the importance of the assessment. Finally I will discuss if the formulation of a research question should precede or follow consultation with scholarly literature
Descriptive, Relationship, and Comparison Research Questions.
There is a distinct difference between descriptive and relationship research questions. According to Newton, Bower, and William (2004), the descriptive research describes data and characteristics of information being studied by answering question of who, what, when, where, and why. It contains factual information but does not determine the cause or create a relationship between the information. In contrast the relationship question uses the information or data given and describes how one set of information may affect another thus determining the relationship (Newton, Bower, & Williams, 2004). The comparison research question is used to describe cause and effect, asking why one thing may have caused another thing. As an example, “Has autism cases in children increased over the last ten years?” would be a descriptive question which would use