Research question or hypothesis - Essay Example

My research question is that I would like to know if there is any importance or any differences between soldiers who attend military chapel(s) on a regular basis compared to those who do not attend or sporadically attend the same entities. My hypothesis is that there is a difference in the soldier's attitudes and their approach towards life that reflects the spiritual influence (or lack thereof) in their everyday actions. If my hypothesis holds true, then I would expect to find that soldiers who attend chapel on a regular basis are more apt to care for, and take action to implement that caring attitude towards others.

My goal is to either prove or disprove the hypothesis.The first thing I need to deal with then is how am I going to prove or disprove the hypothesis. My first step is to draw up an Estimation Sheet (Practical Research 47). I am going to deal with people, records, thoughts and ideas and need to ensure that I keep my objective in focus. I have stated my questions and now need to know where the data is going to come from to assist me in proving or disproving the hypothesis. Is the data available in records only, or must I also survey individual soldiers to ascertain attitudes How readily available is the data that I am going to require in order to verify that my hypothesis is valid I am assuming that the data is not readily available, or that the data to be gathered will have to come directly from the source(s) in order to be verifiable, accurate and consistent.

I plan on gathering this data through the use of in-person surveys as well as through questionnaires. The questionnaires will be given to a random sampling of soldiers with no preconceived ideas, warnings or directions given to them.No special equipment will be necessary to gather the data. The interviewer will ask a series of questions to which the individual being interviewed will answer. Each of the questions will ascertain how likely it is (or isn't) that the individual will respond to certain situations in a certain manner.

The questionnaires will be designed beforehand to ask questions with scaled answers to them. The scale will be from 1 - 10 with 10 being the most agreeable to the individual and 1 being the least agreeable.Other factors to consider may be the time of year the questions are asked, the weather on a particular day, if there are any untoward circumstances affecting the sampling of soldiers present and whether the soldiers were raised attending chapel or not.Some of the statements I will be asking on my questionnaire are as follows:On a scale of 1-10 please indicate your response to each statement, with 1 being the least agreed to and 10 being the most agreed to, 1.

I attend chapel regularly 2. When I attend chapel I take an active role in the discussions and learning process.3. I believe in a Higher Being,4. I believe in the concept of a life after this one.5. I believe in the concept of Heaven and Hell.6. I believe my actions on earth preclude my lifestyle once I die.7. I believe that each good deed I do here on earth will mean a reward for me in Heaven.8. It is my belief that some individuals who attend church on a regular basis are still inherently evil.9. I believe that we can repent for our sins and still be saved.10. I believe that no amount of good deeds in a person will save him or her but that we are only saved if we believe in a Heavenly Being who will save us by grace alone.

There are other factors to consider in our research and those factors include; the time of year the questions are asked, the weather on a particular day, if there are any untoward circumstances affecting the sampling of soldiers present and whether the soldiers were raised attending chapel or not. ReferencesLeedy, Paul D. (1980) Practical Research: Planning and Design, (Second Edition) New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.