As you develop your research question(s), the following considerations may be useful to
keep in mind:
- Identify and clearly define the population to be studied. Criteria must be included to
determine both inclusion in the study (e.g., specific diagnoses, age, sex, etc.) and
exclusion from the study (e.g., past medical history, presence of complications of the
disease, contraindications to a certain therapy, etc.).
- Identify and operationally define independent and dependent study variables.
- Independent variables are the components of the study that are manipulated or controlled
by the researcher, whether they be the administration of a drug or a placebo, behavioral
interventions (e.g., patient education or counseling), or other choices.
- Existing factors that differentiate groups of individuals, such as age, sex, or marital
status, may also serve as independent variables. While these characteristics are certainly
not manipulated, groups differing in specific factors may be purposefully selected
forcomparison.
- Dependent variables are the components of the study that will be observed or measured in
the subjects in order to determine whether the experiment has an effect.
- Change non-specific variables into specific variables that can be measured.
- Determine how to measure each variable.
- Estimate the resources required to measure each variable.
- State your research question in an operationalized form that can be studied with your
available resources.
