Q: How can I write research questions for the relationship between impostor syndrome and work-life balance?

Detailed Question -

I need to write correlational research questions and hypotheses for the mentioned topic.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Firstly, this is an interesting topic, as it seeks to examine two keenly-discussed sociopsychological paradigms and a possible correlation between them. In our Researchers and Their Stories section, for instance, you will find several stories around impostor syndrome and even one on work-life balance.

Coming to your question, a research question is a concise expression of a research problem that you plan to study. A hypothesis is a statement expressing a tentative solution to the research problem. The research question leads into the hypothesis. You typically need to come up with (write) several research questions (and therefore, hypotheses) before arriving at the final question and hypothesis you will study.

You can come up with research questions and hypothesis in two broad ways:

  • Do a detailed review of existing literature in the area. For your topic, you could review existing studies, expert articles, and even theoretical papers around impostor syndrome, work-life balance, and any possible connection between the two.
  • Analyze the topic from various angles. For instance, you could look at whether impostor syndrome is more prevalent among a certain profile of people, the importance of work-life balance to today’s workforce, the need (if any) for professional success to be matched by personal success, and so on.

Once you have a few relevant questions based on your literature search and analysis, you can distil and modify them until you arrive at your final question.

A final point: when choosing your research question, ensure that it is both interesting and feasible. It has to be interesting to keep you motivated through the duration of your study and feasible to ensure it is possible to conduct the study.

All the best for your study! You may also refer to the following resources for more help:

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