Research Methods Essay

Research Methods Essay Research Methods Essay Research Question, Due 2-11 @ 5:00 pm Your assignment is a one paragraph description of a research question. The intent of the assignment is to get you thinking about an idea for your research proposal, and to allow me to provide some feedback on your research question. However, you are not required to use the research question from this assignment for your proposal, i.e., you are allowed to change your idea. The research question must address a causal relationship, i.e, at a minimum, the causal relationship between two variables. Helpful Hints: 1. DO NOT READ JOURNAL ARTICLES TO CREATE YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION- LET YOUR CURIOSITY GUIDE YOU. 2. Do not make the research question too ‘grand’. There are many ways to make the research question too grand, for example: a. Asking research questions about a dependent variable for which there are many potential independent variables. Asking if the implementation of a mandatory attendance policy at Virginia Tech would improve grade point averages is a reasonable research question. However, there are so many causal determinants of GPA that it is very difficult to design a study that isolates the causal effect of a class attendance policy on GPA. b. Asking research questions where the answer unfolds over a long period of time. Asking if an intervention to prevent binge drinking is effective over the course of a year is a reasonable question. However, such a question requires a strategy for repeatedly sampling the subjects at different points in time, which raises a ho st of