Module 2:
Starting a Research Project
Overview
This module is focused on the beginning stages of forming a research study.
This week, we will discuss the beginning stages of forming a research study. This includes creating research questions. We will discuss theory, which plays an important role in creating research questions.
Why? Research questions are the foundation of scientific studies. We seek to answer questions by describing or explaining a social issue.
Learning outcomes: By the end of this module, you will be able to create research questions!
What we will do: We will watch a video and read about research questions in our own projects! You can reflect privately or publicly on Discord!
PRO TIP: We know, some of these concepts are complicated! Take it step by step and please ask the Urban team ANY questions!
What is the scientific method?
The scientific method involves these steps:
1) Identify a research question
2) Formulate your hypothesis
3) Collect data to test your hypothesis
4) Analyze your data to see if your hypothesis was supported
5) Draw conclusions and share results
Watch the YouTube video about research questions. Sam shares how we can use research methods to answer research questions and hypotheses!
Example Research Question:
Identified research question: Did intimate partner violence (IPV) increase during the pandemic?
Hypothesis: The number of self-reported IPV incidents increased from March 2020-2021.
The theory I chose is the ecological model. Under this theory, we assume that individual, relational, and community/societal factors are the independent variable(s) (X) and cause IPV, the dependent variable (Y). We can think of independent and dependent variables like we do our hypotheses - independent variables are the IF part, while dependent variables are the THEN part. This is also a form of a cause and effect relationship.
Specific factors during the pandemic, such as increased isolation and decreased financial stress (independent variables) could have led to increased IPV (dependent variables) during this time.
Think about your own questions. What is a question you have that you would like answered by research? Participate in Starting a Research Project discussion on Discord or privately in your own notes.
Consider what you already know about our project - what are some examples of our independent and dependent variables?
What is the theoretical background for this project?
We're building this project with a background of positive youth development, with an emphasis on community engagement, participatory methods, and racial equity. Positive youth development centers the growth potential of a young person from a disadvantaged background. This is in contrast to other forms of youth frameworks which often emphasize the deficits between youth from disadvantaged backgrounds and youth of privilege.
Community engagement focuses on including, boosting, and building around the voices of the people most directly impacted by the research: those studied in it. Participatory methods stem from this, ensuring the studied populations are as represented in the development of a project as they are in the final results.
Finally, in centering a racial equity lens, we will contextualize the effects of mentoring and youth development in the reality that people of color, especially Black and Latinx individuals, are faced with inequities stemming from a world built on systemic racism. As action oriented researchers, it is our responsibility to recognize the unfairness of our system, adjusting our project goals and direction to combat this.
What are our research questions for this project? How did we build them?
There are three broad steps we're going to take together to get this project going:
Picking a topic that we care about.
By joining on to be part of the community research team, you've done this already. You've expressed your passion and care for Credible Messenger mentoring, and that you want to show the world the results!
Since we're conducting two separate credible messenger projects, the areas of interest for each are slightly different:
CM1 (Atlanta, GA; Harris County, TX; Birmingham, AL): Identify how Credible Messenger (CM) mentoring programs promote positive youth development and facilitate youth healing.
CM2 (King County, WA; Phoenix, AZ; Jackson, MS; Bay Area, CA): Identify the political and social factors that shape CM and the outcomes of CM programming in three different settings (schools, communities, and detention).
Considering what we may already know about our topic of interest.
This knowledge isn't just our own though - recall in the lecture video how we discussed literature reviews, where experts from around the world can contribute to each other's knowledge. Our job is to dive into what they've found already and expand upon it with our research!
Developing a set of broad questions to guide the project.
In this step we need to find a balance between questions being too easy and too difficult to answer. We also need to ensure that our research informs out opinions rather than our opinions inform the research. While we apply our research theories and frameworks to the design, we have to maintain a scientific evidence base for how our project is designed.
With all this in mind, below you'll see a list of questions we established in the Urban application process - don't stress over the data sources we've laid out for them! Your job is to help us refine these questions, add your own, and to make sure your questions are going to get answered.
Research Questions for CM1 (Atlanta, Harris County, and Birmingham):
How are CM mentoring programs conceptualized to advance change mechanisms that promote positive youth development? What is the underlying logic model (e.g., objectives, inputs, outputs) and theoretical framework for such programs?
How we gain the answer(s): Document Review, Staff Interviews, Youth Focus Groups
To what extent are CM mentoring programs implemented with fidelity to program models in the diverse communities of Atlanta, Birmingham, and Houston? How does variation in funding, CM training, and professional development affect program fidelity?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Data, Staff Interviews, Youth Focus Groups
How do systems of structural oppression, including racial inequity, affect positive changes for youth in historically marginalized communities? How do CM mentoring programs work to support community healing and restorative or transformative justice perspectives including reparation of harm?
How we gain the answer(s): Staff Interviews, Youth Focus Groups, Administrative Data
What are the short- and long-term effects of CM mentoring programs on positive youth development (e.g., social-emotional healing, life skills, prosocial activities; peer and family relationships) and behavioral outcomes (e.g., school, delinquency, employment), as compared to youth who do not receive CM mentoring?
How we gain the answer(s): Youth Life Event Calendar Surveys, Youth Focus Groups, Administrative Data
How do the effects of CM mentoring programs interact and vary across a 36-month period? How do these findings help to identify key behavior change strategies and mechanisms, as well as key targets for intervention?
How we gain the answer(s): Youth Life Event Calendar Surveys, Staff Interviews
In what ways can the research-and-practice knowledge sharing between Urban and the CRTs formed in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Houston strengthen CM mentoring programs’ capacity for performance monitoring and for future research to optimize effectiveness? How can this model be adopted by other programs nationwide?
How we gain the answer(s): Community Researcher Team (CRT) and Advisory Board Meetings, Staff Interviews
Research Questions for CM2 (San Francisco; Jackson; King County; Phoenix):
Policy and Infrastructure Assessment
What are the social and political factors required for successful CM mentoring in communities?
How we gain the answer(s): Literature and Policy Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
What policy and legislative changes are needed to support credible messenger work in each program’s local community?
How we gain the answer(s): Literature and Policy Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
What key partnerships and interactions between communities, organizations, and systems exist to facilitate successful CM mentoring in different settings? Which partnerships are missing?
How we gain the answer(s): Literature and Policy Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
Implementation Evaluation
What are the best practices for CM mentoring in different settings, and how can they be implemented to achieve the best outcomes for youth?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Document Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
How are CMs recruited, hired, and trained? What similarities and differences exist across sites, youth, and settings?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Document Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
What are the eligibility criteria for youth who receive CM mentoring in each setting? How are these criteria similar and different across sites, youth needs, and settings?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Document Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
What barriers exist for youth to access CM mentoring? How can these be overcome?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Document Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
What is the mentoring process for CM mentoring programs across settings, including identification, referral, assessment, matching, mentoring (including cultural and geographic responsivity), completion, and follow-up? How does mentoring differ across sites, youth, and settings? How do different programs adapt formal frameworks to their needs, and is programming provided as intended?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Document Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
What are the key facilitators and challenges to the successful implementation of CM mentoring programs? How are they similar and different across sites, youth, and settings? How can key challenges be addressed?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Document Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
Outcomes Evaluation
What is the impact of CM mentoring on youth system(s) involvement and positive youth development?
How we gain the answer(s): Youth Focus Groups, Life Event Calendar Surveys
What are the intended outcomes for youth, CM mentors, and communities from credible messenger mentoring work? How do these differ across sites, youth, and settings?
How we gain the answer(s): Program Document Review, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews, Youth Focus Groups
What are the perceived immediate and intermediate outcomes for youth, CM mentors, and communities from credible messenger mentoring work? How do these differ across sites, youth, and settings?
How we gain the answer(s): Youth Focus Groups, Life Event Calendar Surveys
What are the measured immediate and intermediate outcomes for youth who receive CM mentoring? How do they vary across sites, youth needs, and settings?
How we gain the answer(s): Youth Focus Groups, Life Event Calendar Surveys
What outcomes are missing and what data are needed to measure them?
How we gain the answer(s): Youth Focus Groups, Leadership Interviews, Program Staff Interviews
The Takeaway: Research Questions drive the research project. Research questions must be measurable and clear. They are developed from theory and often personal experience. We'll close this section by asking this of you: Think about the research questions. What 1-2 questions are you most excited to find answers to??! Participate in Module 2 discussion on Slack or privately in your own notes. As always, feel free to reach out to anyone on the team if you want to have a private conversation!