PowerPoint Assignment 10.1: Applied Research Project: Mock Research Design Visual Presentation

Introduction

By evaluating the development and learning programs, employers can ensure their development and learning initiatives can be put in line with their overall development and learning strategies and business objectives (Harlow, Burkholder and Morrow, 2002). An efficient evaluation process for learning or development in organizations needs the firm to understand their learning needs, whether or not these align with the established strategy of growth and learning as well as how the program supports the entire plan. There are various quantitative techniques which employers can use to evaluate learning and development in corporations. These include testimonials to quantitative research approaches, development metrics testimonies, and post-training questionnaires. Education contributes to strategic values that are aligned with the objectives of a business, thus evaluating the process is a crucial activity in corporations (Harlow, Burkholder and Morrow, 2002). This work will analyze a quantitative survey design that can be used to collect and analyze data in a corporation’s learning and development (L&D) program. The validity and reliability of the model will also be provided.

Quantitative Survey techniques

An example of a quantitative research technique that can be used in corporations to evaluate L&D programs is the survey research method. This approach involves a process where the researcher poses some set of predetermined questions a sample of individuals and an entire group of persons. This research method is particularly useful in cases where a researcher is interested in explaining or describing features of groups or a considerable group. This method may also be employed as a way of obtaining general information on a particular population of interest which in turn helps one prepare for in-depth and more focused research that makes use of highly time-intensive methods including interviews and field research. In such a scenario, a survey is central in a researcher bid to identify specific locations and specific individuals from which additional data can be obtained or collected (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Just like other methods of data collection, survey research is better suited and positioned to provide answers to some kinds of research questions in comparison to other research methods (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).

The Design of Quantitative Survey Method: Questionnaires

Quantitative survey design like Post-training questionnaire is aimed at understanding and discovering the thoughts of people, their action, and their feelings concerning a specific work. The polls are supplied to a large sample of people which major on the number of replies as opposed to acquiring an understanding of emotional details that is the primary goal of qualitative studies. The standard format for quantitative research surveys is for different respondents to be queried similar probes which ensure objective analysis of data (Dörnyei, 2007). Data is typically provided in a numerical presentation which allows for examination in a computable technique through various statistical approaches. The surveys can be tailored to veer off in cases where respondents answer in specific ways, which subsequently means they can be asked different questions.

Before designing a quantitative survey or questionnaires, the researcher must decide the nature of the study; that is whether it will be experimental or descriptive. Notably, this dictates how one will; gather, interpret, and analyze the results. Many rules govern a descriptive study. Some of these rules include measurement of a subject once intending to determine the relationship between the different variables. The second rule is ensuring a valid and correct estimation of a relationship between different variables; thus, the study makes use of a sample population of hundreds or thousands. Experimental design includes purposefully chosen subjects measured before and after a particular examination intended to establish the relationship between different variables

The questionnaires in quantitative research surveys tend to favor closed-ended questions. These questions provide the respondent with a list of answers where they will generally be allowed to give lengthy open-ended responses (Dörnyei, 2007). This ensures that the quantitative process is efficient as compared to the use of qualitative style open questions. Quantitative surveys allow for the addition of further categories in the record of likely replies to different inquiries where suitable. As such, this permits respondents to obtain their exact reactions documented and used in the evaluation of outcomes. When it comes to surveys, there is a much variety defined in terms of time and terms of administration. There are two types of studies classified in terms of time. They are cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal surveys. The type of surveys administered at just one point is referred to as cross-sectional surveys. They offer detailed insights and details of the nature of things for different respondents at the time of administration of the same (Creswell & Clark, 2017).

The various types of longitudinal surveys include panel, trend as cohort surveys. These longitudinal surveys have a collective strength of allowing a researcher to make multiple observations over a time, which allows for the capturing of disparities and changes in different phenomenon (Creswell & Clark, 2017). Delivery of Surveys can also be done door to door, and people can be asked to fill them out where they can be picked after they are completed. Whatever the delivery mechanism is chosen, there is a need to keep in mind the merits and demerits of the various options mentioned. Understanding the pros and cons of these options allows a researcher to choose the necessary method of conducting the surveys (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). For one to design and conduct a quantitative investigation, there should be a consideration of getting input from a survey expert. Employing a survey expert allows for an appropriate account of various issues related to designing suitable samples that use reliable and valid measures (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Also, a survey expert allows for protest conduction before launching a survey study. Notably, this is because most surveys are customized studies designed to provide answers to specific research questions. Other inquiries can be termed as an omnibus, where questions about a particular topic are added to an existing survey (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).

Data Collection, Validity, and Reliability of Quantitative Survey

These questionnaires can be supplied to employees in a corporation to collect data about how the programs of L&D in the organization improve their performance and productivity in the company. Employing survey methods in the collection of data confer a researcher with many benefits. The most notable advantage of the survey method is its reliability. The reliability of survey research method lies in the fact that the phrasing of questions is standardized, which allows for consistency (Dörnyei, 2007). Other qualitative methods of research do not offer this consistency. Assuming well-constructed questions and design of the questionnaire is an excellent strength of survey design, which provides great potential for producing reliable results (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). The validity, on the other hand, can be a significant impediment with surveys. The standardization of survey question limits one from asking questions that are not general (Creswell & Clark, 2017). In essence, survey results are not as valid as results obtained through qualitative ways where results are obtained using data collection methods that provide for in-depth and comprehensive analysis and examination of the subject under study.

References

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Sage publications.

Harlow, L. L., Burkholder, G. J., & Morrow, J. A. (2002). Evaluating attitudes, skill, and performance in a learning-enhanced quantitative methods course: A structural modeling approach. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(3), 413-430.