Developing Research Questions

Objectives

• The purpose of this activity is to have students create their own research questions based on this research goal: “This research project aims to find effective strategies for schools to promote academic success for all students and address educational disparities for underprivileged students.”

Resources

• Developing Research Questions Discussion Video

Activity Steps

• Play the video titled, “Developing Research Questions”. Here is the script.

Part I: Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) Review Facilitator Instructions(5 minutes):

1. Ask the students what they remember about CPAR. Remind the students that CPAR seeks to address issues of power and inequality by empowering marginalized groups to actively participate in the research process.
2. Introduce the concept of a research question as the question that we want to answer with our research
3. Explain the difference between research goals, broader statements about what researchers hope to accomplish in their studies, and research questions, more specific inquiries that guide the research process
4. Remind the students that because we are using the CPAR framework, we want our research questions to be justice-oriented

Part II: The difference between equality, equity, and justice (5 minutes): Equity, equality, and justice are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings.

• Equity refers to fairness in the distribution of resources or opportunities. It recognizes that people have different needs and may require different levels of support to achieve equality. In other words, equity is about providing the necessary resources or support to ensure everyone has an equal chance of success. For example, providing extra resources to students from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they have an equal opportunity to succeed in school.
• Equality refers to treating everyone the same, regardless of their individual needs or circumstances. It assumes that everyone has the same starting point and therefore requires the same treatment. However, this approach can overlook differences in individual needs, which can lead to unequal outcomes. For example, giving the same amount of money to every student to buy school supplies, regardless of their family’s financial situation.
• Justice refers to fairness in the distribution of benefits and burdens in society. It involves recognizing and addressing the systemic and structural barriers that contribute to inequality. Justice requires dismantling the root causes of discrimination and ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in society. For example, ensuring that marginalized communities have equal access to healthcare and education to address historical injustices.

In summary, equity, equality, and justice are all important concepts that aim to promote fairness and equality. However, they each take a different approach to achieving this goal and can have different implications for policy and practice.

Part III: Understanding Critical Research Questions (20 minutes) Facilitator Instructions:

1. Remind the students that the core commitments of the CPAR process are (1) the collective investigation of a problem (2) the reliance on indigenous knowledge to better understand the problem and (3) the desire to take individual and/or collective action to deal with the stated problem as well as (1) naming systems of power that influence the lived experience of the folks in our research (2) including factors that help us to understand how these systems of power influence lived experience and (3) using our research as a means of addressing systemic inequality in our communities

2. Provide the following research goal aimed at making schools more justice oriented: “this research project aims to find effective strategies for schools to promote academic success for all students and address educational disparities for underprivileged students”

3. Introduce the concept of critical research questions as questions that challenge existing power structures and seek to create new knowledge that promotes social justice
   • Introduce the critical research question checklist, which seeks to ensure that questions challenge oppression, are clear about the population of interest, give us a hint about the type of data that will be collected, is feasible to answer, is relevant and meaningful, and does not have a single solution
   • Challenges oppression: the question should challenge different forms of oppression and seek to create new knowledge that promotes social justice
   • Population: the question is clear about the population of interest and is reasonably narrow. The question focuses on marginalized communities such as people of color, indigenous people, LGBTQ+ individuals, low-income communities, and people with disabilities
   • Data collection: the question gives us a hint about the type of data that will be collected, ensuring that data will be collected from multiple individuals from different marginalized communities to ensure diverse perspectives are represented. Data collection methods may include interviews, surveys, and focus groups
   • Feasibility: the question should be determined based on how much time you have, and is answerable with the data that we have available to us
   • Relevance: the question should be relevant and meaningful to marginalized communities who have been impacted by existing power structures are are seeking justice and equity
   • Open-ended: the question does not have a single solution, and acknowledge that the research will involve ongoing dialogue and engagement with minorities communities to better understand their perspectives and experiences and work towards solutions that are equitable and just
4. Provide the following example of critical and non-critical research questions
   • Non-Critical Research Question: What are the factors that contribute to low academic performance among students from low-income families?
   • Critical Research Question: How do systemic inequities, such as the underfunding of schools in low-income communities and the lack of access to resources and opportunities, contribute to lower academic performance among students from low-income families?
   • Critical Research Question: How can school curricula be restructured to better reflect diverse perspectives and experiences, and promote equity and social justice in the classroom?
   • Critical Research Question: How can schools address the school-to-prison pipeline and create more restorative justice practices to support students, particularly those from historically marginalized communities?
   • Critical Research Question: What is the impact of standardized testing on student outcomes, particularly for students from historically marginalized communities, and what alternative assessment practices can schools implement to better support student learning and promote equitable outcomes?

5. Have the students come up with critical research questions based off 2 videos, How US schools punish Black kids | 2020 Election, and The school-to-prison pipeline, explained. Before watching the videos, explain that the school-to-prison pipeline is the practice of disproportionately involving students of color in the criminal justice system for minor school disciplinary issues.

6. Advise the students to start their research questions with phrases such as “in what ways,” “what if,” and “what is the impact of” and to refrain from starting a question with “does”

Part IV: Developing Research Questions (20 minutes) Facilitator Instructions:

1. Frame the activity: explain that part of being a researcher is to ask questions and find answers. To design a research project you need to first figure out what big questions you want to answer. We will use our list of goals to figure out what questions we want to ask
2. Brainstorm research questions:
   • “What big questions do you want to answer with your research?” Also write an example
3. Review checklist for creating a research question
4. Ask people to popcorn responses and record their responses on butcher paper.
5. Explain to the groups that these goals and questions will be the foundation for your research design and implementation.