CHAPTER 3 REVIEWER

• Research Design


  A set of advance decisions that make up the master plan specifying the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information
• Good research design is the "first rule of good research"
• Objectives of the Research Design

  • To gain background information and to develop hypotheses
  • To measure the state of a variable of interest
  • To test hypotheses that specify the relationships between two or more variables
• Validity

  • A good research design draws an outcome that can be applied to a large set of people and is not limited to sample size or the research group
• Types of Quantitative Research Design

  • Descriptive Research Design
  • Correlational Research Design
  • Experimental Research Design
  • Quasi-Experimental Research Design
• Descriptive Research Design


  Seeks to describe the current status of an identified variable. Describes existing conditions, behaviors, and characteristics. Systematically collecting/gathering data without manipulating any existing variables. The researchers are in no part of this design, only the research itself. Purely describes the characteristics of a data. Addresses: what, who, where, and when questions
• Correlational Research Design


  Involves identifying and measuring relationships between two or more variables without manipulating them. When there's a change in one thing accompanied by a change of another thing. Variables cannot be controlled whether may it be about ethical, logical, or practical reasons. Does HAVE limitations. Correlation does not equate causation
• Experimental Research Design


  Often called true experimentation, uses the scientific method to establish the cause-effect relationship among a group of variables that make up a study. The true experiment is often thought of as a laboratory study, but this is not always the case; a laboratory setting has nothing to do with it. A true experiment is any study where an effort is made to identify and impose control over all other variables except one. An independent variable is manipulated to determine the effects on the dependent variables
• Quasi-Experimental Research Design


  Used to investigate causal relationships when the researcher cannot (or doesn't want to) randomly assign participants (whether for practical and ethical reasons). Relies on groups or pre-existing groups to form groups for comparison. It's more difficult to confidently establish causality between variables. Less control over other variables that may impact findings. Uses great statistical power; pays attention to any confounding variables (outside variable)
• Types of Qualitative Research Design

  • Phenomenological Research Design
  • Grounded Theory
  • Ethnographic Research Design
  • Case Study Research Design
• Phenomenological Research Design


  Explores the meaning of lived experiences and how they are perceived by individuals. Seeks to understand people's perspectives, emotions, and behaviors in specific situations. The aim of the researchers is to uncover the essence of human experience without making any assumptions or imposing preconceived ideas on their subjects. Uses: in-depth interviews and open-ended questionnaires. Includes involvement of: interviewing families and parents, talking to kids, and looking for patterns in a message
• Grounded Theory


  Aims to develop theories by continuously analyzing and comparing collected data from a relatively large number of participants. Uses inductive reasoning as an approach with the focus of letting the data speak for itself without being influenced by pre-existing theories or the researchers preconceptions. Can be time intensive as it requires repetitive approach. Goal is to directly derive a theory from the data that was collected in order to have a deeper understanding of the context
• Ethnographic Research Design


  Involves observing and studying a culture-sharing group of people in their natural setting to gain insight into their behaviours, beliefs, and values. Observing participants in their natural environment as opposed to a controlled or artificial environment. Aside from interviews, this also revolves around the belief of exploring participants' views, beliefs, etc.. Enables the generation of rich, contextually embedded insights into the socio-cultural dynamics of human behaviour
• Challenges in Ethnographic Research Design

  • Research bias
  • Participant's confidentiality
  • Ethical complexities
• Case Study Research Design


  Involves investigating a single individual (or a single grouo of individuals) to gain an in-depth understanding of their experiences, behaviours, or outcomes. A deep-dive into specific circumstances revolving around a person, a group of people, event, or phenomenon within a context. Includes: interviewing staff and management, surveying customers, and reviewing documents
• Types of Case Study Research Design

  • Single-Case Design - type of case study focuses on one group, person, or event
  • Multiple-Case Design - type of case study, the researcher studies two or more cases
  • Longitudinal Design - researchers repeatedly examine the same individuals to detect any changes that might occur over a period of time
• Mixed-method research design


  An approach to inquiry that combines or integrates qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Element


  An object on which a measurement is taken
• Population


  A collection of elements about which we wish to make an inference
• Sampling units


  Nonoverlapping collections of elements from the population that cover the entire population
• Sampling frame


  A list of sampling units
• Sample


  A collection of sampling units drawn from a sampling frame
• Parameter


  Numerical characteristic of a population
• Statistic


  Numerical characteristic of a sample
• Errors of non-observation


  Errors caused by non-responsive behaviors of respondents
• Errors of observation


  Errors that can be classified as due to the interviewer, respondent, instrument, or method of data collection
• Biased Samples

  
  

  Not everyone in the population has a chance of being part of the data
• Convenience Sampling

  
  

  Samples that are easy to reach and are closer to you
• Voluntary Response

  
  

  People with strong interest who volunteered to be chosen
• Probability samples


  Each member of the population has a known non-zero probability of being selected
• Nonprobability samples


  Members are selected from the population in some nonrandom manner
• Random sampling


  • The purest form of probability sampling
  • Each member of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected
  • When there are very large populations, it is often 'difficult' to identify every member of the population, so the pool of available subjects becomes biased
• Systematic sampling


  • Often used instead of random sampling
  • Every Nth record is selected from a list of population members
  • As long as the list does not contain any hidden order, this sampling method is as good as the random sampling method
  • Its only advantage over the random sampling technique is simplicity (and possibly cost effectiveness)
• Stratified sampling


  • A commonly used probability method that is superior to random sampling because it reduces sampling error
  • A stratum is a subset of the population that share at least one common characteristic
  • Identify relevant stratums and their actual representation in the population
  • Random sampling is then used to select a sufficient number of subjects from each stratum
  • Often used when one or more of the stratums in the population have a low incidence relative to the other stratums
• Cluster sample


  • A probability sample in which each sampling unit is a collection of elements
  • Effective when a good sampling frame is not available or costly, while a frame listing clusters is easily obtained
  • The cost of obtaining observations increases as the distance separating the elements increases
• Convenience sampling


  • A nonprobability method used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation
  • The sample is selected because they are convenient
• Judgment sampling


  • A common nonprobability method where the sample is selected based upon judgment
  • An extension of convenience sampling
  • The researcher must be confident that the chosen sample is truly representative of the entire population
• Quota sampling


  • The nonprobability equivalent of stratified sampling
  • First identify the stratums and their proportions as they are represented in the population
  • Then convenience or judgment sampling is used to select the required number of subjects from each stratum
• Snowball sampling


  • A special nonprobability method used when the desired sample characteristic is rare
  • Relies on referrals from initial subjects to generate additional subjects
  • Lowers search costs but introduces bias because the technique itself reduces the likelihood that the sample will represent a good cross section from the population
• Researcher-completed instruments

  • Rating Scales
  • Interviews
  • Tally Sheets
  • Flowcharts
  • Performance Checklists
  • Observation Forms