PURPOSE STATEMENTSTo prepare:

In this Discussion, you will read the Dawidowicz article a second time, focusing on the relationship between a research problem, a problem statement, and a purpose statement and on the narrowing process that occurs often between a research problem and a research study purpose. Reflect also on how research problems can be narrow and reflected exactly in a purpose statement or can be broad and must be narrowed to create a manageable study.

Reflect on how purpose statements within studies should be succinct and should include the following: study (a) design; (b) theory being tested (quantitative), central phenomenon investigated (qualitative), or both (mixed methods); (c) intent; (d) variables (quantitative), the definition of phenomenon (qualitative), or both (mixed methods); (e) participants; and (f) site or context in one or two concise sentences (Crawford, 2016, Ch. 10, para 4).

However, remember that for this Discussion you will not provide these additional details. The focus, instead, is on the important problem-purpose relationship.

View the media piece in this moduleàLearning Resources with a focus on identifying the relationship between research problems and purpose statements.

Review the problem statements of your classmates from the Discussion in Module 2.Post the following:

Choose one of your classmateàproblem statements that intrigued you in the Discussion in Module 2.

Post two purpose statements that could be used to collect data on that problem. Use the following stems to write your purpose statements.

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between [list at least two variables you want to compare].

The purpose of this study is to [explore, explain, describe] the [phenomenon] of [a group of people] on [what].

Read a selection of your classmates0ostings.

• Respond to a minimum of two classmates by doing the following:
• Asking clarifying questions about the alignment of their purpose statements to the problem statement

Suggesting ways to make the purpose statements clearer

Suggesting how the purpose could be changed slightly to explore a different aspect of the phenomenon and why that would still fit the research problem

Dawidowicz, P. (2016). Distinguishing between problem and purpose in a dissertation Download Distinguishing between problem and purpose in a dissertation. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Walden University. (2013c). PhD quantitative dissertation checklist Download PhD quantitative dissertation checklist[Document]. Baltimore, MD: Author.PhD Quantitative Dissertation Checklist 

Walden University. (2013b). PhD qualitative dissertation checklist Download PhD qualitative dissertation checklist[Document]. Baltimore, MD: Author. 

Walden University. (2013a). PhD mixed methods dissertation checklist  Download PhD mixed methods dissertation checklist[Document]. Baltimore, MD: Author.PhD Mixed Methods Dissertation Checklist 

• Walden University Office of Research and Doctoral Services. (n.d.). Doctoral capstone and project resources.Links to an external site. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/research-center… capstone and project resources 
• Document: Alignment Tool (AT) (Excel spreadsheet)Download Alignment Tool (AT) (Excel spreadsheet)Alignment Tool (AT) 
• Document: Problem-Purpose Scenarios (Word document)Download Problem-Purpose Scenarios (Word document)Problem-Purpose Scenarios