Assignment One: Theory, Problem Statements, and Research Questions
Scott L. Tousignant (4467911)
American Military University (EDMG540)
Dr. Randall Cuthbert
10 May 2015 Assignment One: Theory, Problem Statements, and Research Questions This is a review of Thiel (2014) chapters one through five of the course reading utilizing outside materials to provide support. The paper will address why research in emergency management is important and what can be gained from academic study. Problem statements, research questions, and their roles will be discussed. The role of theory in emergency management will be outlined. The paper will introduce operationalization and the different elements of research design. The importance of
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What will result if the problem is resolved or not resolved?
3. Is there a specific timeframe in which the problem occurs?
4. Is there a specific geographic location affected by the problem?
5. Why is the problem important? How does the problem affect stakeholders, governments, citizens, and businesses (Ceptara, 2009)? A research question is an extension of the research problem. The question focuses upon a specific area of the problem. Research questions must be worthy of the time to investigate, and contribute information and significance to the field of study. The question must be feasible, clear, significant, and ethical ("Writing Research Questions", 2009). The research question usually requires additional supporting questions relating to specific areas of the study. The totality of the supporting questions’ answers provides the conclusion to the primary research question.
Theory in Emergency Management A researcher enables different fields to become united by incorporating knowledge into a study. Theory establishes common definitions for issues or occurrences, so that a common understanding of the information can be shared without mis-interpretation.
Theory relates to the entire body of knowledge available in the given discipline. One of the major purposes of theory is to clarify terms by providing sound academic definitions. One of the most significant types of theories or theoretical components is an explanation of
Research allows us to better understand what is unknown, how a human thinks, why a dog barks when they hear a stranger approaching or that the earth is round and not flat. Research allows us to find answers to the questions we have. Research attempts to both understand and define. There are three kinds of research; Explanatory; Exploratory and Descriptive research. Explanatory, Exploratory and Descriptive research define what research is; Research is the attempt to explain, explore and describe (Neuman, 2006, 24).
Research can be used in many methods, for example: questionnaires, television, leaflets, books etc. it allows us to keep up to date on the new findings or discoveries e.g. a new type of cancer or a new vaccination. Research is the investigation into
Research can be defined as the search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, with an open mind, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories. Research can be divided into different steps in order to understand the whole process more in depth. The first step towards conducting research is to observe. Consistst of the subject area of ones interest and following that subject area to conduct subject related research. The subject area should not be randomly chosen since it requires reading a vast amount of
In “Wither the Emergency Manager,” Niel R. Britton comments on Drabek's “Human Responses to disaster: An Inventory of Sociological Findings.” Britton describes six positive and negative issues in emergency management as it is today. In this paper, we will discuss the implications on emergency management as a field and on the individual manager.
Theories are a series of interconnected proposals. Theories are an effort to describe, explain, predict, and finally control a period of events. We are able to base our experiments and select the contenders for the experiments off of our theories. We are able to test our theories by how well the cumulated data describes, relates to and predicts reality. Theories act as patterns for interpreting specific data that we may refer back to. These patterns ensure we stay on topic and are able to obtain the proper results needed to verify our theories.
Theory is a journey to uncover the past and improve the future. By uncovering and analyzing a discipline’s theoretical journey, insight and self-awareness are gained. According to Meleis (2012), “Theories are reservoirs in which related knowledge is articulated and organized into meaningful wholes” (p.33). By implementing and analyzing theories, empowerment and guidance for the future is obtained.
Theory explains how individual act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things. The meaning comes
The burden of emergency management has grown great deal in the last few decades. We have seen an increase in natural disasters, a new threat of terrorism on our front door and an increase in manmade disasters. All of these have tested emergency management in a number of cities and towns across the nation. It is not always disasters that present problems for emergency managers. We have to look beyond our traditional view of emergency management of helping us during times of disasters and view what issues they consider may affect their emergency response. Issues that emergency management see that are moving into the critical area are issues of urbanization and hazard exposure, the rising costs of disaster recovery, and low priority of emergency management.
A theory is a set of systematic informed hunches about the way things work. A good theory goes beyond accepted wisdom and offers explanations and speculations about phenomena. Additionally, a good theory consists of a system of concepts which means that the theorist were able to make connections among his ideas. A theory tends to shape our perception of reality and behaviour and guides us through unknown areas.
A theory is an explanation of why or how things are related to each other (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). Additionally, a theory is defined as a plausible or scientifically acceptable principle, or a body of principles, offered to explain phenomena (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2017). Furthermore, crime theories examine and attempt to identify relationships among humans, criminal behavior, and specific factors such as biological factors, psychological factors, sociological factors, and economic factors (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). Since we have defined a theory, let us further discuss how theories are created beginning with the components of a theory.
Research questions are formulated in a study to inquire about variables, both independent and dependent variables, and the relationship between them. Research questions are categorized into two, that is, qualitative and quantitative research questions. Qualitative questions are used in qualitative research like case studies, surveys and action research where the approach is non-numerical and analyses special phenomena that occur in nature. Quantitative research on the other hand is more of a systematic approach with measurable numerical quantities that go through analysis to prove a hypothesis. Finally, the research hypothesis is either approved or disapproved with regards to the results of the analysis (Laureate Online Education B.V.
Theory delivers an instrument or idea to understand a specific theme, and provides tangible enlightenment for it. The real-world application of theory can be done only with the assistance of the understanding provided by the theory. Theory can be verified only by how it applies practically to the hypothesized ideas, explanations and variables that require examination. This can be accomplished through how it is applied. Consequently, the two terms of research and theory are interlinked, and there is a shared association between both theory and its application.
According to Depoy and Gittin, research is a way individuals think about problems in systematic way. Research is generally described as description, exploration, analysis, prediction and problem solving. There are different types of research and these researches are called the experiments, quasi-experiments and non-experiments. The purpose of research is to provide the insight to practice, it also enhance individuals understanding as well as developing new approaches with different topics, get to test your research for effectiveness. Understanding research is important because it helps to build individuals knowledge bases and informs decision making in practice. Research also enable us to make sure that our practice are up to date with relevant information.
Research is a form of systematic inquiry. It sets out to answer questions through assessing, summarizing and drawing conclusions from what are often very large amounts of information.
A theory is primarily meant to explain or predict an event, behaviour or outcome. Proponents of a theory look for evidence to support the theory. This evidence should be independently observed and consistent after repeated observations. Some theories are speculative or ideas or guesses floated to encourage researchers to undertake the observations required to prove or disprove the theory. The question often debated is what comes