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Asking questions well is the hardest part of applied social research. I It has two principal components. The first is selecting an issue ofsufficient importance, i.e., an issue with a likely "payoff' in knowledge and/or application. In this regard, not all questions are of equal value (Merton, 1959). Unfortunately, we are often uninterested or unwilling to make judgements about quality of questions, and instead focus most of our attention on research methodology. But research costs a great deal oftime and money. Years are required to even begin to address most questions. A scholar can address only a small number of questions in her entire career; and therefore -- ifshe wants to make a meaningful and lasting contribution, and who of us does not? -- she must choose her questions carefully. The second component of asking questions well is I Some may prefer to think ofsocial work as a profession rather than an applied social science. Certainly social work has elements of both. The emphasis in this paper is on the use of theory in knowledge building for application. In this sense, social work faces issues similar to other applied social sciences such as public administration, commuuity development, urban plamting, and public health, as well as applied branches of academic disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics. As I discuss in this paper, the fact that social work is also a profession does not change the nature of knowledge, or the requirements for knowledge building. I to frame a research question that will be productive. It is possible, indeed common, to have an important issue but a research question that does not lead anywhere worthwhile. Toward the end ofthe lecture, I suggest that, for the purposes ofthe applied social sciences, certain structures ofinquiry may lead to theories that are more productive than others.

This is the theory I am using in my research

A useful guide to common theories in health behavior research. I will be using the Integrated Theory of Health Behavior in my proposal