Picking a research topic/proposal from REB forms? Help!

[Zanela123]

Hi everyone,

 

I am a new masters student and am required to come up with a research topic based on existing data from the lab. However my advisor sent me REB (research ethics board) documents which includes self-report questionnaires of the scales used and the debriefing form that explains the purpose of the study. I don't want to sound stupid and ask him (because this is potentially a stupid question - so please bear with me), but am I supposed to come up with a research topic based on these documents? All I have are the scales used for 2 IV measures and the purpose of the study, but not any actual real data sets. 

 

Am I missing something here? I'm not sure how I am to create a masters research topic using just the REB forms!! 

[hippyscientist]

You mentioned you know the 2 IV measures, do you also know the dependent variables. From understanding the purpose of the study for which the data is being collected, you know the overall aim - are there any sub-sections to that, anything that needs clarifying, anything that you can build upon, branch out etc? Questionnaires include A LOT of data, and most questionnaire responses can garner a fair few interrelated papers. 

[Zanela123]

Hi piglet, thanks so much for the response.

Well, actually I re-read the REB forms and found out they are an IV and a DV.  I need to correct my previous statement (they are not two IVs).

Those are good points Piglet. I think my question is: would I be able to administer a scale to tap into another variable I am interested in, or am I restricted to using the scales stated in the REB? What I'm trying to get is: isn't it hard to track back the people who completed these sets of questionnaires and present them with another set to measure what I want to measure? Does this make sense?

I guess I'm just not sure how research works (still new at this) and for my undergraduate studies, I didn't come up with my own research question.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Zanela123

[hippyscientist]

You mentioned in your first post that the research group wants you to come up with a question based on the data already collected, so I read that as not "going to track back the people who completed the sets of questionnaires" to present them with a new one, but to make use of the data already obtained.

It's challenging without knowing the research question and objective to suggest alternative ways of analysing the data and finding a unique hypothesis, but your best bet is to talk to your supervisor. They should be aware of your confusion on what's been asked of you, and as long as you go with clear, defined questions "can I use another questionnaire as this is what I want to investigate?" "From this data, has anyone thought about looking at this?" they should be able to guide you a lot better than an anonymous commentator on a forum.

Additionally, talk to others in your lab group. They all have research experience and will be able to guide you too. Use the people around you, make connections and learn  that is what you're at university to do!

[juilletmercredi]

Generally speaking, if you are doing a research project that is based upon a grant in progress, you should avoid doing something that is part of the main aims of the study (because your advisor is probably working on that) and answer some related or peripheral question.

That said, you're having a hard time because you can't come up with a research question just based on the questionnaires and scales. You need to know more background. Research is about a conversation between scientists; you're essentially entering the conversation in the middle of it without having heard the beginning. So you've got to backtrack and "ask" everybody what they were talking about - aka, go and do some formative research on the topic your PI is investigating. Ask to see the original grant for an idea of where to start (they have a literature review that you can use). Poke into the background research, and find out where the gaps are. What still has not been answered? What niche can you carve out in the field? What research questions need to be answered in order for the field to advance and address serious problems?

You use the questionnaires as an idea for what can be answered given the data that you have, but they alone are not enough to help you generate an idea. That takes some time and thought.