Project D: Qualitative Research Question

Typically there are at least two research questions to any dissertation. Research questions stem from the purpose of your research study. The format of the question(s) will depend upon the method that is being used (i.e. quantitative or qualitative). Qualitative oriented dissertations typically only have two or three research questions. There are no hypotheses or null hypotheses. From the Dissertation Manual (2018) research questions, “…are the questions the researcher needs to ask in order to accomplish the purpose of the study and address the problem statement” (p. 9).

Consider your problem statements from Project B-

The general problem to be addressed is the ever changing level of turnover within the healthcare industry. Said changing levels, typically increasing, as opposed to decreasing, result in costly expenses and loss of both revenue and profits. Colosi(2018) stated that the average hospital turnover rate in 2017 was 18.2%, which is the highest recorded turnover rate in the industry for almost a decade. Waldman et al. (2004) notes that the annual total cost to hire staff within a hospital is 2,986,173. The annual cost to train is 7,095,628. The total cost of reduced productivity annually is 7,161,108. These three breakdowns result in an overall annual cost of 17,242,909 for employee turnover in a major medical hospital. The specific problem to be addressed is that employee turnover within the state of Missouri has increased at a volatile rate, proving to be exceptionally high when compared to national employee turnover rates in the Healthcare Industry. Fentem (2018) notes that the two highest turnover professions are unlicensed assistive personnel at 32.6%, and licensed practical nurses at 20.4%, with 44% of the advanced practice registered nurse population being age 50 or older. Several reasons for the high rates of turnover within the state are listed as including working on understaffed units, employee burnout, and insufficient pay

Using the general and specific problem statements that you created as guides, along with any improvements that you have made, develop two qualitative research questions that would align with the specific problem statement. Qualitative research questions will generally be used to explore, understand, or provide context. Include in your discussion the typical features that are used in qualitative research, and how your questions accomplish this. Finally, what is the purpose for doing this research? Write a purpose statement which begins, “The purpose of this qualitative study is to…”. It may require you to go back and adjust one or both of your research questions. That’s okay! The goal is for a reader to be able to clearly see the linkage between the problem, the purpose, and the research questions, as a result of the research method.

Summary of Tasks for Project C:

• Write out your generic problem statement and your specific problem statement (just the paragraph or two that contains these two sentences, along with the scholarly resources). Minimum resources should be two.
• Write a section (maximum of 250 words) on the purpose of your research study. Again, use scholarly resources. Minimum resources should be two, and may be the same or different from the problem statement resources.
• Write the reasons for selecting the qualitative method, and how your questions meet the typical features of qualitative research. Again, resources specific to research should be used; a minimum of two.
• Write the research questions.
• Be sure to include a properly formatted title page and reference page.