Formulation of Research

Objectives, Research Questions,

and Research Hypothesis

Ewnetu firdawek

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 Learning Objectives
At the end of this session the student will
be able to:
• Develop research objectives,quistions and
hypothesis of different forms

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 Objectives
• A research objective summarize what is to
be achieved by the study.

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 Objectives
• Research objectives are usually classified into general objectives
and specific objectives.

• General objective:
– summarizes what is to be achieved by the study
– should be clearly related to the statement of the
problem

• Specific objectives:
– are logically connected parts of the general objective
-Use action verbs such as:
-determine -verify -identify
-describe - assess - compare
– calculate - establish -explore

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 Importance of developing
objectives
• Focus the study
• Avoid the collection of data which are not
strictly necessary
• Properly formulated specific objectives
facilitate the development of research
methodology and help to orient the
collection, analysis, interpretation and
utilization of data.
• Helps for evaluating the project
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What formats can be used for
stating research objectives?
Research objectives can be stated as:
A)Questions: “The objectives of this study
are to answer the following questions …”

B) Positive sentence: “The objectives of this

study are to determine …”

C) Hypothesis: “The objective of this study is

to verify the following hypothesis...” 6
 What formats cont…
• The format chosen depends on the type of study
that will be undertaken.

• If the study is descriptive or exploratory in

nature, then objectives are stated in the form of
questions or positive sentences.

• If the researcher knows enough to make

predictions concerning what s/he is studying,
then hypotheses may be proposed.
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research questions Vs hypotheses
In order to develop the research design,
the research topic often has to be changed
to a research question or hypothesis

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 Research questions
Research questions: formulated when insight into the problem being
studied is not sufficient.

• A research question is the general question that guides the direction

of the research. It defines the relationship between what you want to
know and how you intend to obtain this knowledge through research
• Eg of research question. 1.Does post-menopausal hormone
replacement therapy predispose women to develop endometrial
cancer?

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 Research questions…
• A good question includes the following elements:-
– The patient or client in question (the Problem)
– The Intervention (or exposure) being considered
– A Comparison - an alternative intervention or
group
– The Outcome of interest

• This format (PICO) does not fit with all questions

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 Research questions…
Example 2: Imagine you are a member of National
Cigarette Smoking Cessation Group.
• One issue that the group considers is nicotine
replacement therapy for people who want to stop
smoking.
• The other group says advising people to stop
smoking will suffice.
• The debate continued but they couldn’t agree.
• Formulate a research question for the above
problem

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 Research questions…
Answer

Problem Intervention Comparison Outcome

For smokers does nicotine when increase their
who want to replacement compared chance of
give up therapy, with giving up
smoking, individuals smoking?
relying on
advice only,

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 Research questions…
• Example 3:are the children born to
women whose husbands smoke more
than 20 cigarettes a day, of lower birth
weight than children born to women
whose husbands do not smoke?

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 Research hypothesis

• Explicit hypothesis: requires sufficient

knowledge of the problem to be able to
predict relationships among factors which
then can be explicitly tested.
• A hypothesis is an inference or
speculation that is indicative of the
researcher's best estimation of the
projected results of the research
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 Research hypothesis …
• The hypothesis is based on an
understanding of the subject under
consideration and requires the researcher
to apply reasoning skills in order to make a
best guess about the topic to be studied
• It is not necessary for hypotheses to
always be correct; the results of research
are intended to support or refute the
hypothesis generated by the researcher
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 Research hypothesis …
• The whole point of the research is to test
against the hypothesis in order to generate
new knowledge

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 Research hypothesis …
• E.g.1 Post-menopausal women who
received hormone replacement therapy
are more likely to develop endometrial
cancer than post-menopausal women who
did not receive such therapy

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 Research hypothesis …
• E.g.2 children born to women whose
husbands smoke more than 20 cigarettes
a day are of lower birth weight than
children born to a women whose
husbands do not smoke.

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