Research Question
Hello, I am a current speech-language pathology graduate student and have a question for someone who is or has done research. What have been some of the biggest roadblocks you’ve encountered while doing research on stuttering populations? Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge!
Thank you for your question! I think the roadblocks all depend on the type of study you’re conducting. One general roadblock that researchers experience relates to recruitment: where can you recruit, where can you find participants, and in particular, where can you find the right participants to address the research questions. Validity and reliability can also be roadblocks: are your instruments valid, and is everyone coding the data the same way (again, depending on the type of study you’re doing). A good research project has to be well thought out: you’ve done a thorough literature review, you’re answering a research question that addresses a gap in the literature, and your research design has been reviewed by others with expertise in your area. Best of luck to you in your graduate program!
Hello! This is an excellent question! I find the biggest roadblock to doing research is that of every area of research: finding the time to do it. 🙂 In stuttering research you hear everyone saying the same thing: you can’t find participants. Given our current research the incidence of stuttering is 1% (this number is suspected to change given current trends and it very well might or might not.) Even given a 1% incidence this is still A LOT OF PEOPLE.. like millions. So we don’t have a lack of people who stutter. Perhaps we have a lack of methodology for recruitment. 😉 Or, maybe not that our world is change to a research model of researching WITH people who stutter versus AT them, and a world of collaboration versus separation, perhaps we will start seeing more people who stutter being motivated to participate in research studies in the near future. THAT would be exciting.
So, yes, for me personally, it is just time constraints. As a clinical practitioner that LOVES research, I just simply don’t have as much time for it as I wish that I did… whether it’s stuttering or any other field. 🙂 I hope that helps answer your question, dear one. Be well!