Research in primary dental care. Part 2: Developing a research question.
The first step in planning and conducting any research is identifying the research question, that is a testable statement of the question which the research aims to answer. In this article three distinct types of research question are identified: Descriptive questions (for example Who? What? Where? When?); Questions of relationships (How are two or more things related?); Questions of comparison (often these questions will ask about cause and effect). Examples are given of each type of research question. The process of devising a research question is described, in particular searching for relevant information, and evaluating the quality of the information obtained. A list of useful resources is provided.
Newton
J T
JT
Department of Dental Public Health & Oral Health Services Research, GKT Dental Institute, Caldecot Road, London SE5 9RW, UK. Tim.Newton@kcl.ac.uk
Bower
E J
EJ
Williams
A C
AC
D003625:Data Collection; D003729:Dental Care; D018865:Dental Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D012107:Research Design