In Week 4, you analyzed a topic related to work motivation and developed an “Introduction” and “Background” for your Final Project. This week, you continue to analyze your work motivation topic by developing a problem statement, purpose statement, research questions, and hypotheses.
A problem statement defines, drives, and guides your research. In a problem statement, you clearly identify the problem you propose to solve or the gap in the current literature your research addresses. A problem statement convinces others that the problem you propose to solve is relevant, significant, and important.
In a purpose statement, you answer the question: What is the purpose of your research? To craft a clear and concise purpose statement, it is often recommended you start with the following unfinished sentence: The purpose of this study is to. . . .
In addition to preparing a problem statement and purpose statement, you must formulate a set of research questions, generate hypotheses, and identify independent and dependent variables. Please refer to the Final Project Template for additional information.
The assignment (2–3 pages):
Develop a “Problem Statement” (1–2 paragraphs) for your Final Project that includes:
- The research problem
- Evidence of consensus that the problem is current, relevant, and significant to the discipline
- An explanation of how the problem statement addresses a meaningful gap in the current research literature
Develop a “Purpose Statement” (1–2 sentences) for your Final Project that includes:
- The research paradigm (quantitative/qualitative/mixed) and specific design/tradition within paradigm
- The study intent (such as describe, compare, correlate, explore, develop, etc)
- The independent, dependent, and covariate variables (quantitative studies) or concept/phenomenon (qualitative studies)
Develop research questions (1 page) and hypotheses (1 page):
- State the research questions.
- Describe what constructs you might measure and explain how you might measure them.
- State the hypotheses by using appropriate population parameters and statistical notation. (Use of an equation editor makes typing hypotheses easy.)
- For quantitative studies, state the null and alternative hypotheses that identify the independent and dependent variables being studied and the association being tested