2  Research questions

Authors
Affiliation

Thomas Brunner

Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

Vladimir Buskin

Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

2.1 What makes a good research question?

2.1.1 The structure of research questions

Example: I am studying the pronunciation of [r] in New York because I want to find out whether different social groups differ with respect to their pronunciation, in order to help my readers understand how social factors influence our linguistic behavior.

  1. Topic: I am studying...

  2. Indirect question: Because I want to find out what, why, how...

  3. (General) linguistic significance: ... in order to help the readers understand how, why, or whether...

Cf. Booth, Colomb, and Williams (2008): 45–48

2.1.2 Hints for good research questions

Tip

  1. A research question must be simple, specific, and doable. It is better to make a small contribution to a particular problem than to aim at covering a whole subfield of sociolinguistics.

  2. Keep a research question stable in your paper, even if you come across interesting new ideas as you work on it.

  3. The research question must be an explicit part of your paper. Mention it in the introduction and keep referring back to it from time to time.

  4. Keep in mind that the research question will determine both methodology and data.

Cf. Hazen (2015): 9–10

2.1.3 Hypotheses

Research questions must be complemented by a set of falsifiable hypotheses. These will be covered in-depth in the chapter on hypothesis testing. In short,

  • Hypothesis \(H_1\) predicts a specific relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable. If \(H_1\) holds, studies often speak of a correlation (or association) between variables.

  • its opposite, Hypothesis \(H_0\), describes the state of affairs where the predicted relationship between the variables does not hold.

The predictions made by the hypotheses are based on previous research. Here is an example:

Research question: I am studying the pronunciation of [r] in New York because I want to find out whether different social groups differ with respect to their pronunciation, in order to help my readers understand how social factors influence our linguistic behavior.

  • Hypothesis \(H_1\): There is a difference in the use of postvocalic /r/ between upper-class and lower-class speakers.

  • Hypothesis \(H_0\): There is no difference in the use of postvocalic /r/ between upper-class and lower-class speakers.

2.1.4 Exercises

Exercise 2.1 Assess the following research questions!

  1. I will try to find the specific linguistic features which a Shetlander uses when speaking Scottish standard English, i.e., Shetland accent in Scottish Standard English.

  2. In this paper, I am going to analyze the use of American and Indian dialect features among Indian immigrants to the US because I want to find out whether they correlate with their willingness to integrate into American society; this will show the degree to which linguistic adaptation depends on cultural orientation.

  3. In this paper, I am going to address the question of how gender influences language.

  4. The study aims to contribute to the investigation of the controversial question of the effect of speaker’s age and sex on quotative use in American English, focusing on the newer quotatives be like, go, be all.

  5. In this paper, adverts by Coca-Cola and Pepsi will be analyzed for the use of verb forms.

Exercise 2.2 Develop valid research questions on the basis of the following linguistic variables:

  1. Speakers in bilingual conversations are especially likely to code-switch when there is a significant change of topic.

  2. Women use more tentative language in conversations than men.