Every good story starts with a clear question. In Health Research, before we do any work, we must define exactly what we are trying to find out. This is a crucial step in the research life cycle.
1. The Research Question (The Uncertainty)
A Research Question is an uncertainty—something we don’t know—that we want to solve by measuring things in people (the study population).
- Our General Uncertainty: “Can the new SuperPaste stop cavities better?”
- The Rule: A good question must be clear, focused on only one issue at a time, and written so everyone understands it.
- Refining the Question (The 6 Steps): We start with the vague idea and sharpen it by going to the literature (old studies) and talking to other dentists (peer group).
| Step | Thinking Process | Our SuperPaste Question Gets Sharper |
| 1 & 2 | Initial Idea: Should kids use SuperPaste? | Vague Question: Can SuperPaste prevent dental caries? |
| 3 & 4 | Defining the Terms: What exactly is the toothpaste (exposure)? What do we measure (outcome)? | Sharpened Terms: SuperPaste (used twice daily for 2 minutes for one year) and the outcome we measure is the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index. |
| 5 & 6 | The Final Question: Specify the details like the study group. | Final Analytical Question: Among children aged 6 to 12 years in Chennai, does using SuperPaste (twice daily for one year) reduce the average DMFT index compared to children who use regular fluoride toothpaste? |
Categories of Questions
All research questions fall into two simple categories:
- Descriptive Question: This involves only observing to measure a quantity. There are no comparison groups.
- SuperPaste Example: What is the extent (how many) of children in Chennai who brush twice a day?
- Analytical Question: This involves comparison groups or an intervention (like giving them SuperPaste). We are comparing two things to see if there is a difference.
- SuperPaste Example: Does SuperPaste reduce caries compared with regular paste? (Note the comparison words: reduce, compared with).
2. The “So What?” Test (FINER)
Before we start, we must test our final question using the FINER acronym to see if it’s worth doing:
- Feasible: Can we actually do it? Do we have enough kids (study participants)? Do we have the resources (money and staff)?
- Interesting: Are we and other dentists excited about finding this answer?
- Novel: Will the answer confirm, refute, or extend previous findings, or give us truly new information?
- Ethical: Will an Ethics Committee allow us to test SuperPaste on children? We can’t hurt them!
- Relevant: Will the answer improve dental practice or influence government policy (e.g., getting SuperPaste into school programs)?
3. ⚖️ The Research Hypothesis
The Research Hypothesis is a specific version of the Analytical Question written for statistical purposes. It’s only needed for Analytical Questions (when we have comparison groups).
- The Rule: A good hypothesis must be simple (one exposure, one outcome), specific, and stated a priori (in advance).
- Our Hypothesis: “Among children with a moderate caries risk in Chennai, using SuperPaste for one year will result in an average DMFT index that is 1.5 units lower compared to those using regular fluoride toothpaste.”
This statement is specific because it says how much better (1.5 units). This detail is needed later for calculating the sample size (how many kids we need).
4. Study Objectives
While the Research Question is the uncertainty and the Hypothesis is the statistical guess, the Study Objectives are a clear list of what the research is going to do.
- The Rule: Objectives are written in scientific language and should use a strong action verb. Never use the word “study” (it is a poor statement of objective).
| Objective Type | Purpose | Preferred Verb | Our SuperPaste Objective |
| Descriptive Objective | To measure how much of a problem exists (quantity). | To estimate | To estimate the prevalence (how common) of tooth-brushing habits among 6-to-12-year-olds in Chennai. |
| Analytical (Primary) Objective | To compare the intervention (SuperPaste) to the comparison group to test the hypothesis. | To determine | To determine the effect of SuperPaste on the DMFT index of patients with moderate caries risk compared to those who use regular fluoride toothpaste. |
The Primary Objective is the main goal, and the secondary objectives are for extra information.
Leave a Reply