Effective Examples of Qualitative Research Question

for an Outstanding Research Report

What reasons contribute directly to the rising rate of high school student drop outs?
Why do people still smoke even after knowing its disadvantages to health?
How do social media tools affect a student’s grades in his academic years?
These are questions that need to be studied so that a better understanding of the
human mind can be gained but since these questions are not quantifiable or cannot
result in specific numbers and statistics, we cannot conduct quantitative research here.
In this case, we need to conduct qualitative research based on 

quantitative research question examples.

 Qualitative research has become increasingly important in the field of investigative studies
as they give a more descriptive and detailed analysis of the problem. The information
produced through qualitative research is in-depth and comprehensive whereas quantitative
research is concerned with measuring and counting things. It shows better understanding to
the complexity of different views.

Qualitative Research Questions:

Qualitative research questions are the central elements of study as they develop a
theoretical framework for the research study. They are more advantageous than
quantitative studies because they provide a richer view of the subject.

So how can you formulate a qualitative research question?

Some qualitative research question examples are as follows to give you a better
understanding
Example No. 1:
Research topic: Physical exercise and heart diseases. Research objective: To
determine the relationship between physical exercise and heart diseases. Research
question: How does increase in physical exercise result in decrease of potential heart
diseases?
Example No. 2:
Research topic: college students and substance abuse. Research objective: To
determine the relationship between substance abuse in college students. Research
question: How does peer-pressure in college students’ result in increased levels of
substance abuse?
Example No. 3:
Research topic: Nurse’s attitude and recovery speed of a patient. Research
objective: To determine the relationship between a nurse’s attitude and the speed of
recovery of a patient. Research question: How does a nurse’s attitude towards her
patient affect the speed of his recovery?
Example No. 4:
Research topic: Relation between different Smoking patterns and lung
diseases. Research objective: To determine the relationship between an individual’s
smoking patterns and lung diseases. Research question: What is the relationship
between smoking patterns of as individual and lung diseases?
Example No. 5:
Research topic: Social media tools and students grades. Research objective: To
explore the relationship between social media tools and a student’s grades. Research
question: what is the relationship between social media usage patterns of students and
his grades?
Example No. 6:
Research topic: Employee rewards and organizational performance. Research
objective: To understand the relationship between employee rewards and
organizational performance. Research question: what are the effects of employee
rewards on the overall performance of the organization?
Hence, through this example of qualitative research question you will be able to
understand how they are developed through the study topic and how they should be
composed. This paper will help you find the answers to the hidden questions that will
act as the key to the un locked doors in the field of research and hence resulting in
building a good research dissertation paper.

SAMPLE QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Interview Protocol: Perspectives on Deafness

1.
Can you describe how you first became aware of your deafness

2.
How do you see yourself today, in terms of your deafness?
3.
What does your deafness mean to you?

4.
Can you describe any particularly difficult or traumatic experiences in your life related to
your deafness?

5.
Can you describe how you fit into deaf culture?

6.
To what extent do you consider yourself active in both the deaf world and the hearing
world?

7.
What, if anything, would you change about yourself if you could?

8.
How does your family view your deafness?

From Janesick, V. (1998). "Stretching" exercises for qualitative researchers. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage, p. 75.
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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTION EXAMPLESHomeResearchQualitative Research Question Examples

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Dec 0 Qualitative Research Question Examples

Qualitative Research Question Examples

Qualitative research, sometimes also referred to as naturalistic inquiry, is a distinct field of research with
its own research philosophy, theory and methodology. If your desire is to perform a qualitative study, it
will probably be a lot easier to develop your research question if you first become familiar with some of
qualitative research’s basic principles.

The qualitative paradigm suggests that there are multiple realities, and what we are researching are
constructs. In qualitative research, generally the phenomenon is studied in its natural setting and the
focus is on the participants’ (and also the researcher’s) view of the world. In other words, qualitative
research usually does not happen in a lab, or while sitting at a desk. It generally requires going out,
talking to people, observing what they do, as well as how they perceive and interpret things. Also, it
does not aim to generalize findings to entire populations. Therefore, the research question that you
ultimately choose guides your inquiry and reflects this stance. The vocabulary of your questions will
usually suggest to the reader your intent to explore a certain phenomenon in its natural context.

To learn more about the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, you can read the
post: Choosing Between Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches.
The process of developing qualitative research questions

It is very unlikely that your first attempt to develop a good research question will be without hurdles.
Every question usually undergoes a process of reflection and refinement before you get your question to
its final version. It is usually helpful to share your draft question with others (mentor, advisor,
colleagues, other students) so they can comment on it and help you improve and reach better clarity.

For instance, a question ‘What challenges are encountered by people who switch careers later in life?’
could guide a qualitative inquiry, but this question would most likely require some further clarification.
As it stands, it refers to a broad group of people who might be difficult to capture in one single study.
People can change careers for different reasons (e.g. illness, difficulty finding a job in their primary
profession, new life stage, joining a family business) so even a big sample of people could have
experiences that vary significantly. We might want to consider narrowing this question down and
focusing only on one group, for example: What special challenges are encountered by people who
switch careers later in life due to not being able to perform their primary profession anymore because of
age-related health issues? This group of participants could then be narrowed down even further to
distinguish between different sub-groups of health issues (mental health, physical illness, accidents,
etc.). The first question could serve as the overarching question, followed by sub-questions referring to
different examples of health problems.

The process of crafting a good research question can begin with writing down a qualitative purpose
statement regarding your research. When accomplishing this try using words such as explore,
understand, discover. Your purpose statement can also mention the participants and the research site.
An example of a purpose statement would be: The purpose of this study is to explore how online tools
can help with dieting.

The purpose statement can then be used to develop your research question, which narrows down your
purpose statement and makes it more specific. For the previous statement, the research question could
be:

What are the experiences of women aged 30 to 40 using smartphone applications for dieting?

Examples of research questions for different qualitative methodologies

Different types of studies go under the umbrella of qualitative research; each with its own philosophy
and ways of looking at the world as well as various methods of interpreting data. Here are some
qualitative research question examples that could be used through different qualitative approaches:
Grounded theory:

What are the attitudes of elderly people with stroke towards the daily use of assistive devices and
technologies?

Phenomenology:

What role does the therapist’s spirituality play in the treatment of his or her patients?

How do female high school teachers who have been physically assaulted by students overcome their
fears so they can effectively teach?

Ethnography:

How do adolescent Latinas/Latinos conceptualize classroom participation processes shape active oral
participation?

Narrative inquiry:

How does a good everyday life come about when living with chronic rheumatic conditions?

Case study:

What strategies are being used by small businesses that have effective and viable workplace wellness
programs?

Check out this post for a brief overview of qualitative versus quantitative research questions, and some
more example of questions.

Further reading

Agee, J. (2009). Developing qualitative research questions: a reflective process. International Journal of
Qualitative Studies in Education. 22(4), 431-447.

Worthington, M. (n.d.) Differences between phenomenological research and a basic qualitative research
design. Retrieved from
http://a1149861.sites.myregisteredsite.com/DifferencesBetweenPhenomenologicalResearchAndBasicQ
ualitativeResearchDesign.pdf

Mike Rucker Research

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