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Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
Achieving Alignment:
How to Achieve Research Alignment
In A Study
D. Anthony Miles
ABSTRACT
Research alignment is a relatively new concept with dissertations and research projects. Most researchers and dissertation chairs are not familiar with it. To achieve research alignment is very important and must be taught to novice and experienced researchers. The purpose of this article to discuss and illustrate how to achieve research alignment in studies. This article will provide a model and template for developing research alignment in a study. As basis for a research study, it is important the researcher and doctoral student understand the concept of alignment and know how to achieve it. First, this article discusses the definition of alignment. Second, it provides two models for developing alignment. Last, the article provides examples of research alignment with studies to illustrate it.
Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
Introduction Many doctoral students have considerable trouble with getting their study in alignment. The reasons stem from not having the knowledge of aligning the problem statements, purpose statement, and research questions. Based on my experience working doctoral students, most of their dissertations or research projects are misaligned. Alignment is a rather new development with dissertations. It has developed probably within the last five years or so. So, a considerable number of professors that work with doctoral students are not familiar with it. So, if they are not familiar with it they cannot possibly assist doctoral students with it. We hope to address that and enlighten doctoral students (and chairs if possible). This article illustrates how to achieve research alignment with the research study and dissertation. This article is based on a workshop we conducted at a conference in Atlanta, GA for doctoral students in 2017. Overview of Article The article has four parts. First, we discuss the meaning and definition of alignment. Second, we discuss the basic rules for alignment. Third, we introduce two tools, The Statement Grid for developing problem statements and purpose statements, and The Alignment Matrix , a tool used for aligning the problem statement, purpose statement and research questions. Last, we give some examples of alignment with all three in some table examples for review. Research Alignment: Definition and Meaning Alignment refers to the logical progression of ideas between the structural elements of your dissertation proposal (Booton, 201 4 ). Chapter 1, one of the most important factors to keep in mind is that of alignment between your problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions. The Rules of Alignment Many times, when I work with doctoral students, surprisingly they are completely unaware of research alignment. Below are three basic rules for achieving alignment:
- Rule #1: If you have three problems as a basis for the study, you must have three purpose statements and three research questions.
- Rule #2: You cannot have alignment if the elements are mismatched number of problem statements, purpose statement and research questions.
Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
Table 2. Example: The Statement Grid – Problem Statement Development Overall Problem Statement: The central problem to be researched by the proposed study is the shortage in the nursing field. This has a lot to do with the current nursing shortage and the need for more nurses in the field. There is a huge problem with this shortage and the availability of nurses. As a basis for this study, the researcher identified the problem to be threefold. Subproblem 1 (issue): First, the issue is the education of new nurses is the responsibility accepted by institutions of higher education, but there is a national shortage of nursing faculty (McSherry, Pearce, Grimwood, & McSherry, 2012, Rosseter, 2015) is limiting the enrollment, education, and graduation of new nurses from institutions of higher learning. Subproblem 2 (issue): Second, the issue in the United States (US), is that 75% of nursing faculty will attain retirement age in 2017 (Brett, Branstetter, & Wagner, 2014) alongside the existing problem in which 6.9% of nursing faculty positions remain unfilled due to a lack of qualified nursing educators (Rosseter, 2015). Subproblem 3 (issue): Last, the issue is the current nursing faculty express low job satisfaction (Bittner & O’Connor, 2012) due to complexities of the nursing educator role making retention and recruitment of qualified faulty difficult (Byme, & Martine, 2014). The current problems include a shortage of qualified nursing faculty to educate new nurses, the complexity of nursing education, current faculty complaints of poor job satisfaction, and a majority of current nursing faculty members (Cook, 2017).
Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
Second: Writing up the Purpose Statement Next, you must complete the purpose statement. First: Write the overall purpose statement template. Second, divide the purpose to be investigated into two or three parts (or objectives) that are compelling. Please note, use the word, objectives with writing the purpose. This is so it does not cause readers to misinterpret them as four separate purpose statements (see Table 3). Table 3. Example: The Statement Grid – Purpose Statement Development Overall Purpose Statement: The overall purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study is to investigate the issues affecting job satisfaction by nursing faculty members in metropolitan New York. Interviewing and questioning nursing faculty living in metropolitan New York provides insight into their personal experiences of job satisfaction while working in the nurse educator role. The researcher has identified three primary objectives as a basis for this study. Objective 1: First, the objective of this study is to examine the issue of job satisfaction with nursing faculty. Objective 2: Second, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of low wages on the nursing faculty Objective 3: Lastly, the objective of this study is to examine the complexities of the nursing faculty role [Cook, 2017]. Now, you must complete the research questions. First: You might want to use the problem statement to go over the research questions. Second, divide the research questions to be investigated into two or three parts that alignment with the objectives and problems (see Table 4 ). Table 4. Example: The Statement Grid – for Research Questions Overall Research Statement: The central problem to be researched by the proposed study is the shortage in the nursing field. As a basis for this study, three research questions will guide this research. Research Question 1: R1: How do nurses describe their experiences with job satisfaction on the nursing faculty? Research Question 2: R2: How do nurses describe their experiences with the impact of low wages on nursing faculty? Research Question 3: R3: How do nurses describe their experiences with the complexities of the faculty role [Cook, 2017]?
Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
Table 6. Example: The Alignment Matrix First and foremost, you must observe the key words in the problem statements, purpose statements and research questions. See key word examples in blue text. This is the key to achieving alignment between the three statements. Once you coordinate this, you have achieved research alignment. See the following examples [Tables 7 to 9]. Problem Statement Purpose Statement Research Questions Subproblem (1) (issue): Objective (1): Research Question (1): The first issue identified as a basis for this study is the question of job satisfaction as experienced by nursing faculty. First, the objective of this study is to examine the issue of job satisfaction with nursing faculty. R1: How do nurses describe their experiences with job satisfaction on the nursing faculty? Subproblem (2) (issue): Objective (2): Research Question (2): The second issue identified as the basis for this research study is the impact of low wages on the lived experiences of job satisfaction by current nursing faculty. Second, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of low wages on the nursing faculty R2: How do nurses describe their experiences with the impact of low wages on nursing faculty? Subproblem (3) (issue): Objective (3): Research Question (3): Lastly, the third issue affecting nursing faculty with job satisfaction is the complexities of the faculty role. Lastly, the objective of this study is to examine the complexities of the nursing faculty role. R3: How do nurses describe their experiences with the complexities of the faculty role [Cook, 2017]?
Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
[Example 1] Table 7. The Alignment Matrix Problem Statement Purpose Statement Research Questions Subproblem (1) (issue): Objective (1): Research Question (1): First, there is the issue concerning the effect of principals’ job stress level. Stressed workers are more likely to be unhealthy, less productive, unmotivated, and not safe at work. First, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of principals’ job stress level on their subordinates and staff. RQ1: How do K- 12 principals and administrators describe their experiences of job stress in an urban Central Texas school district environment? Subproblem (2) (issue): Objective (2): Research Question (2): Second, there is the issue of a lack of research on how job stress level can affect the principals’ ability to use coping skills. Many authors have investigated how principals cope with stress. The second objective is to investigate how job stress affects principals’ ability to use coping skills. RQ2: How do K- 12 principals and administrators describe their experiences of using coping skills with job stress in an urban Central Texas school district environment? Subproblem (3) (issue): Objective (3): Research Question (3): Lastly, this researcher identified the issue concerning the impact job stress can have on how principals balance their work and home life. Lastly, the final purpose of the qualitative study is to investigate the impact job stress can have on how principals balance their work and home life. RQ3: How do K- 12 principals and administrators describe their experiences of coping with work-life balance with job stress in an urban Central Texas school district environment [Forbes, 201 7 ]?
Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
[Example 3 ] Table 9. The Alignment Matrix Problem Statement Purpose Statement Research Questions Subproblem (1) (issue): Objective (1): Research Question (1): The first major problem identified as a basis for this study is the issue regarding customer and market focus and operational performance in air transportation organizations. The first objective of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between customer and market focus, and organizational performance in air transportation organizations. R1: To what extent does a relationship exist between customer and market focus and organizational performance? Subproblem (2) (issue): Objective (2): Research Question (2): The second key problem as a basis for this study is the concerns with employee empowerment and organization performance in air transportation organizations. The second objective of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between employee empowerment and organizational performance in air transportation organizations. R2: To what extent does a relationship exist between employee empowerment and organizational performance? Subproblem (3) (issue): Objective (3): Research Question (3): The last key problem identified as a basis for this study is the issue relating leaders’ openness to new business strategies and organizational performance in air transportation organizations. The last objective of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between leaders’ openness to new business strategies and organizational performance in air transportation organizations. R3: To what extent does a relationship exist between leaders’ openness to new business strategies and organizational performance [Morales, 201 7 ]?
Source: Miles, D.A. & Scott, L., (2017) Workshop: Confessions of a Dissertation Chair Part 1: The Six Mistakes Doctoral Students Make With the Dissertation. Presented at the 5th Annual 2017 Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA on October 26- 29
Conclusions and Summary This article discussed the concept of alignment with novice researchers and doctoral students. This article proposed two conceptual models to illustrate alignment based on the research methods. First, the Statement Grid was discussed. Second, the Alignment Matrix was introduced and discussed. The article provided these two tools for helping doctoral students and researchers with developing the research alignment. This article contributes to the research method literature by demonstrating the importance of problem statement developing and the important factors that are vital. This article makes a key contribution by providing conceptual contribution based on models used to illustrate alignment. The goal of achieving research alignment is important with research. It is our expectation that our proposed conceptual models and frameworks will provide researchers with a template and a foundation for alignment in research projects and dissertations.
