An evaluation of the adapted Population, Experience, Results, Method (PERM) framework towards formulating main research questions and topics for qualitative studies in teacher education

Abstract

Formulating a sound research topic has remained a daunting task for many researchers in teacher education despite the abundant literature on the subject. Successful formulation of a research topic is underpinned by the ability to formulate a sound researchable research question –a process which also requires skill. While many literatures have explained explicitly how to formulate the research question, lacking is a demonstrative framework that can be used in order to formulate research questions with relative ease. This paper is a preliminary study that sought to evaluate the usability of a Population, Experience, Results, Method (PERM) framework in formulating research questions and topics for qualitative studies in teacher education. The framework was adapted from the Population/Patients, Exposure, Outcomes (PEO) framework which has successfully been used in formulating research questions and topics in health education. Informed by the structuration theory, this qualitative study presents pilot test results from thirteen final year university students that were conveniently selected from one institution. Two focus group discussions and document analysis were used to collect data. The results show that, although the adapted PERM framework has benefits and limitations, it is capable of formulating research questions and topics for qualitative studies in teacher education. This study concludes that the PERM framework can be used in guiding the formulation of focused research questions and topics for qualitative studies in teacher education research. Therefore, the study recommends that the PERM framework be further tested for wider application and that it be adopted in teacher education research studies.