chapter 4 developing the research plan. research approaches general framework for conducting...
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Research ApproachesResearch Approaches
General framework for conducting research– Historical– Descriptive– Qualitative– Experimental
The general nature of the research problem will determine which approach to use
HypothesesHypotheses
Important to most research studies
Tentative explanation of the outcome of a research problem
In some research in the behavioral sciences, especially descriptive studies, it may be appropriate for the researcher to list objectives rather than hypotheses or to exclude them all together, unless comparisons are being made
Types of HypothesesTypes of Hypotheses
Research Hypothesis - An “educated guess” or tentative proposition regarding the possible solution or explanation to the problem being studied– based on theory or previous research
Null or Statistical Hypothesis - A hypothesis of “no difference or no relationship”– primary use is for statistical testing– hypothesis which says the independent variable has no effect on
the dependent variable– does not necessarily reflect the researcher’s expectations
Hypothesis TestingHypothesis Testing
The Research Hypothesis is transformed into a Statistical or Null Hypothesis (Ho)– This is done so that statistical tests can be
employed that will determine whether the findings are statistically significant or can be attributed to chance
– The results of the statistical test will enable the researcher to accept or reject the null hypothesis
More Hypothesis Testing More Hypothesis Testing
The purpose of the statistical test is to evaluate the null hypothesis at a specified level of probability– For instance, testing the difference in the mean values between 2
groups at the .05 level means:
Do the values of the dependent variable differ significantly (p<.05) so that these differences would not be attributable to chance occurrence more than 5 times in 100?
– If the null hypothesis is accepted, then the researcher rejects the research hypothesis and concludes there is no difference between the groups
– If the null hypothesis is rejected, then the research hypothesis is affirmed and the researcher concludes there is a significant difference between the groups
Example Research HypothesisExample Research Hypothesis
It is hypothesized that children taught by teaching method A will perform better on a reading achievement test than children taught by method B
Direction of Expected ResultsDirection of Expected Results
Directional Hypothesis – when the researcher has reason to believe a particular relationship or difference exists– Children with a high IQ are more easily motivated than
children with a low IQ
Nondirectional Hypothesis – when the researcher has no reason to believe a particular relationship or difference exists in any direction– There is a difference in the motivational level of
children with a high IQ and children with a low IQ
Example Null HypothesisExample Null Hypothesis
There will be no significant difference in reading performance between students taught by method A and students taught by method B
or
Teaching method has no effect on the reading performance of students
Rule of ThumbRule of Thumb
Research which asks DIFFERENCE or RELATIONSHIP questions should always have hypotheses
Research which asks DESCRIPTIVE questions (with no comparisons across groups) may not need hypotheses
You can only reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis
Data Collection TechniquesData Collection Techniques
The nature of the study will determine what type of data are required to answer the question and the method of collecting these data
Multiple techniques may be used in a single study
Three Basic TechniquesThree Basic Techniques
Observation - the researcher may watch the research participants perform and record relevant information about them
Measurement - the researcher may test the research participants or apply a device to measure certain qualities
Questioning - the researcher may ask the research participants questions to obtain information
Observation TechniquesObservation Techniques
Direct observation
Indirect observation
Participant observation
Direct ObservationDirect Observation
Researcher directly observes research participants
Research participants usually know they are being observed
Researcher’s presence might change the way the research participants act
Indirect ObservationIndirect Observation
Research participants are filmed or videotaped
Researcher views tape
Participant ObservationParticipant Observation
The observer participates in the research setting with the research participants, often spending considerable time in the natural setting developing field notes
Qualitative research methodology
Measurement TechniquesMeasurement Techniques
This broad category of techniques involves actively testing the research participants on the characteristics of interest
Almost anything can be measured
Major categories of measures include– Physical– Cognitive– Affective
Prevalent TypesPrevalent Types
Physical measures– e.g., muscular strength, blood pressure, physiological responses
to exercise . . . common in HHP
Cognitive measures – e.g., knowledge on innumerable topics
Affective measures– e.g., opinion, attitude, interest, personality traits, motivation, self-
concept– affective factors are often more difficult to capture quantitatively
and are typically measured through the use of pencil and paper self-report scales
Scaling TechniquesScaling Techniques
Scaling is the process of assigning numbers to the various levels of a particular concept that we wish to measure. Thus, a scale provides an indirect measure of the concept of interest
Scales can be used to obtain information on almost any topic, object, or subject. Attitude, opinion, behavior, performance, and perception are frequently measured by some type of scale
Rating ScaleRating Scale
Individual items are judged on a single dimension and scored on a linear scale or continuum by selecting a numerical or verbal point on the scale that corresponds to their impression of the item
Numerical Rating ScaleNumerical Rating Scale
How important to you is each of the issues listed below:
Extremely ExtremelyUnimportant Important
1 2 3 4 5
The protection of endangered species of animals ____The improvement of the quality of the air ____The provision of social services to those in need ____
Verbal Rating ScaleVerbal Rating Scale
Concepts No Moderate GreatestImportance Importance Importance
Staff Discipline ___ ___ ___
Communication ___ ___ ___
Goal Setting ___ ___ ___
Public Relations ___ ___ ___
Computer Use ___ ___ ___
Administrative Concept Scale
Semantic Differential ScaleSemantic Differential Scale
A scaling method designed for measuring ones “image” of a selected topic or concept. Subjects will choose a relative position between pairs of bipolar adjectives which describe the topic along a single dimension
No more than about 20 items should be used. Responses are converted to numeric values and treated statistically
Semantic Differential ScaleSemantic Differential Scale
Place an “x” in the space on each line below to show your opinion of the pizza served here:
Hot ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ColdBland ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ SpicyFresh ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ StaleSoggy ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Crisp
Rank Order ScaleRank Order Scale
Items are ranked, usually in terms of preference or importance, relative to each other. This forced ranking results in ordinal scores, thus limiting the statistical treatment of the scores
The number of items to be ranked should be less than 10, to avoid making the task too difficult
Rank Order ScaleRank Order Scale
Please rank the brands of beer listed below in order of preference, with a 1 being the brand you most prefer, 2 being your second choice, and so forth.
____ Budweiser____ Coors____ Miller____ Corona
Likert ScaleLikert Scale
A very popular scaling technique which measures the respondent’s degree of agreement or disagreement on an issue, opinion, or particular belief
The continuum of response typically runs from SA , A, U, D, to SD
Responses to a Likert scale can be considered to be interval level scores, thus allowing scores to be summed and treated statistically
Likert ScaleLikert Scale
Pick a number from the scale to show how much you agree or disagree with each statement:
1 Strongly agree2 Agree3 Undecided4 Disagree5 Strongly disagree
College athletes should be paid ____A woman’s place is in the home ____Participating in sports is all about winning ____
Scales & StatisticsScales & Statistics
Some controversy exists among researchers and statisticians regarding the appropriate statistical treatment of scaled responses – If the intervals between score points are presumed to
be equal, thus resulting in interval data, the responses can be analyzed statistically
Interval Level ScalesInterval Level Scales
Most authorities are willing to accept Likert Scales, Semantic Differential Scales, and to a lesser extent Rating Scales, as meeting these assumptions, thus enabling the scores to be treated statistically
Ordinal Level ScalesOrdinal Level Scales
On the other hand, there is virtually no controversy concerning Rank Order Scales such as “Forced Ranking Scales” or “Paired Comparison Scales”
Responses constitute ordinal data . . . thus it is inappropriate to perform arithmetic operations or combine responses for a total scale score
Report frequencies and percentages only
Questioning TechniquesQuestioning Techniques
Wide variety of methods that involve questioning the research participant
Questionnaires– Structured– Unstructured– Checklist
Interviews
QuestionnairesQuestionnaires
Survey research - most common type of descriptive research
Usually self-report questionnaires pertaining to attitudes, behaviors, practices, likes, dislikes, etc.
May be mailed, distributed by the researcher or completed online
Many formats
Interviews Interviews
Essentially an oral questionnaire
May be personal or telephone interviews– Structured interview– Unstructured interview
Focus Group InterviewFocus Group Interview
Essentially an interview with groups of people
Designed to stimulate participants free expression of feelings, beliefs, etc.
Requires a skilled facilitator to guide discussion
Delphi TechniqueDelphi Technique
Unique questioning method used to get consensus on a specific issue or topic
Involves obtaining responses from a well-defined group of individuals
Each person then reviews his/her position based upon the collective responses from the group and revises position as warranted
May require several iterations
Selecting the Data Collection MethodSelecting the Data Collection Method
What type of data is needed to answer the research problem?
Factors to consider– Demands on the research participant– Costs in terms of money, energy, and time– Ability of the researcher to handle the selected
technique, including the data analysis
Data Collection InstrumentsData Collection Instruments
May include any mechanical or electronic equipment, physical performance task, paper-and-pencil test or scale, as well as a questionnaire designed to collect data on the variable of interest
Researcher’s choice of instrument involves deciding if one already exists that can be used as is, if one exists but needs to be revised, or if one needs to be developed
Instrument SelectionInstrument Selection
Thoroughly review the literature
If instrument is found, assess suitability– Reliability - consistency with which it measures– Validity - measures what it is suppose to measure
Reliability and validity of an instrument are often specific to the age, gender, characteristics of subjects on which it is used
Without acceptable reliability and validity, the data are of no use in answering the research question
– Objective - free from scorer bias– Appropriateness to current study– Ease of administration and scoring
Instrument RevisionInstrument Revision
If an instrument is found, but it is not quite acceptable for the current research situation, it may be modified or revised
Permission should be obtained before revising copyrighted instrument developed by someone else
If changes are major, then it may be necessary to determine new indices of reliability and validity of the revised instrument
Instrument DevelopmentInstrument Development
This is a time-consuming and difficult task
Only undertake if there is no existing instrument that will suffice
Basic steps include the following:1. Review the literature
2. Develop tentative instrument
3. Obtain opinions of experts concerning the instrument
4. Revise the instrument as needed
5. Pilot test the instrument
6. Further revise the instrument as needed
7. Finalize instrument
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