Aligning research questions with qualitative research designs and data collection

Alignment helps keep both qualitative and quantitative research studies cohesive, meaningful, and valid. The purpose of the study and its implications for policy or practice should be aligned with the research questions, design, and method. Research by Forster, Grigsby, Unger, et al. (2015) illustrates the concept of alignment in a quantitative study. The research focuses on the links between exposure to violence in the community, social ties with gangs or gang members, social self-control, and aggressive behavior. Based on prior research, the authors hypothesize that exposure to violence in the community would be associated with aggressive behaviors. The authors also hypothesize that having friends or family members in gangs was positively correlated with aggressive behavior, and that lower levels of self-control were also correlated with aggressive behavior. All of these hypotheses have the same dependent variable (aggressive behavior exhibited over the past week). These hypotheses and related research questions are also directly aligned with the purpose of the study: which is to identify risk factors for adolescent aggression. Moreover, the authors chose three of the most salient independent variables (exposure to violence, having friends or family members in gangs, and low social self-control) that have been already shown to be associated with aggressive behavior. The authors also want to illustrate the connections between these two variables, two of which are circumstantial or environmental (exposure to violence plus gang associations) and one of which is psychological or individual (social self-control).
The authors also carefully align their research methods and design with the research questions and the purpose of the study. In this case, the researchers choose a cross-sectional design with population samples from Los Angeles. Because the authors are specifically interested in urban gang violence, their sampling methods are appropriate, as is the selection of the research site. The authors did need to choose a population sample that would have been exposed to both violence in the community as well as family members and friends in gangs. The cross-sectional approach allowed the researchers to examine all the variables within the same population sample. Surveys and assessments were appropriately used for data collection.
Descriptive questions used in the study directly and clearly describe responses to the major variables. For example, the surveys asked single pointed questions about whether the individual had family members in a gang but used the social self-control measure, a standardized assessment, for measuring social self-control. The authors used the Stressful Urban Life Events Scale to assess exposure to violence. Responses effectively measure the independent variables. However, aggression was not measured with observation or any objective reports but with a self-report measure. The self-report measure may not have accurately assessed the actual incidences of aggression, except the authors do ask specific questions to measure this variable more accurately. Inferential questions flow from theories about gang violence and the precipitating or risk factors. The three independent variables and one dependent variable are all positioned sequentially and in logical order, based on the inferential questions in the study.
Instead of providing a null hypothesis outright, the authors add additional data collection methods. The null hypotheses are implicit, with no correlation between each independent and the dependent variable. Furthermore, the authors survey for gender but do not perform any statistical analyses that impact their hypotheses. Doing so provides further information for future researchers. Also, the authors include an additional self-report about individual perceptions of their future intentions or likelihood of engaging in aggressive behavior. The hypotheses are not worded with directionality because this is a correlative study that cannot yield information that determines causality.






References

Forster, M., Grigsby, T. J., Unger, J. B., & Sussman, S. (2015). Associations between gun violence exposure, gang associations, and youth aggression: Implications for prevention and intervention programs. Journal of Criminology, 
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/963750