assign 5 GRAD 695

To start with, justify your choice of research tool, highlighting its strengths and pointing out its weaknesses. Then outline the major segments of your research tool and their relevance to the main objectives of the study. If you are using a standard instrument, briefly discuss the availability of evidence on its reliability and validity. If you adapt or modify it in any way, describe and explain the changes you have made.

Construct an instrument for data collection

The construction of a research instrument is the first practical step in operationalizing your study. It is an important aspect of your research as it constitutes the input; the quality of your output (the findings and conclusions) is entirely dependent upon the quality and appropriateness of this input. Items in a research instrument are questions asked of respondents. Responses to these questions become the raw data that is processed to find answers to your research questions.

So, you should consider the following steps in developing your research instrument:

For quantitative studies;

Quantitative research is structured and predetermined in terms of what you want to find out about and how. As a part of this operational step, you need to decide what questions to ask of your respondents, the wording you are going to use and the order in which the questions will be asked.

The following steps will help you to construct a data collection instrument:

Step 1: List all your subobjectives, research questions and hypotheses and the required information.

Step 2: Formulate the questions, giving particular attention to their wording and order. In your own mind you must examine the relevance and justification of each question in relation to the objectives of your study. If you cannot relate the relevance and justification of a question to the objectives of your study, it should be discarded.

Step 3: After developing the first draft of your research instrument, answer the questions yourself; that is, interview yourself or complete the questionnaire. If you find it difficult to answer a question, re-examine it.

Step 4: Once you are satisfied with the research instrument, pre-test it with a few respondents from a population similar to the one you are going to study. Discuss the problems that the respondents had in understanding or interpreting a question. In light of these discussions, if necessary, change the wording of questions with which they have difficulties.

Step 5: Having pre-tested, make each question match the objective for which it provides information. If a question cannot be linked to a specific objective, research question or hypothesis, examine why it was included.

Step 6: Prepare the final draft of your research instrument.

For qualitative studies;

If you are doing a qualitative study, you do not need to develop a list of specific questions that you want to discuss with your potential respondents. However, it is important that you construct a framework of the issues that you think you should cover to achieve the objectives of your study. This interview guide or conceptual framework of questions will help you to continue with your interviews if nothing much is forthcoming from your respondents.

Select a sample

The accuracy of what you find out through your research endeavour, among many other things, depends upon the way you select your sample, the people who are going to provide you with the information you need. (You can include sampling in this section or in research design section)

For quantitative studies;

The basic objective of a sampling design in quantitative research is to minimize, within a given cost, any difference between the values obtained from your sample and those actually prevalent in the study population. When selecting a sample in quantitative studies you need to decide on two things:

1. The sample size you plan to select;

2. How to select the required sampling units.

You also need to think about your reasons for deciding the size and choosing the sampling strategy.

3. How will you select your sample? (What sampling design are you proposing?)

4. Why did you select this sampling design? (What are its strengths?)

5. What are the limitations of this design?

For detailed information, read CH 12 in our textbook (Kumar’s book).

For qualitative studies;

In qualitative research your aim is not to select a random or unbiased sample but one which can provide you, as far as possible, with the detailed, accurate and complete information that you are looking for. Hence, you are predominantly guided by your convenience and judgement in the selection of your respondents.

You can select your sample in two ways: (i) in the light of financial constraints decide from how many respondents you can collect data; or (ii) you decide to be guided by the saturation point (a point where you are not getting new information or it is negligible) in data collection. If you decide to be guided by the attainment of the saturation point, you do not specify your sample but the bases that will determine the saturation point.

You also need to decide who are going to be your respondents and how they are going to be identified. You need to think about the determinants on which you are going to base your judgement as to the suitability of your respondents for being your respondents.

III. Data Analysis

In general terms, describe the strategy you intend to use for data analysis. Specify whether the data will be analyzed manually or by computer. For computer analysis, identify the program and where appropriate the statistical procedures you plan to perform on the data.

For quantitative research;

1. What are the main variables? Dependent, independent variables?

2. What are the statistical procedures/ data analysis techniques you plan to perform on the data?

For qualitative research;

1. What is your plan to analyze your interviews or observation notes to draw meanings from what your respondents have said about issues discussed or observation notes made?

2. How will you analyze this information manually or use a computer program for the purpose? Which program will you be using?

Rubrics:

Scoring Guide

1= no evidence of indicator being met, not passing

2= some evidence of indicator being met, passing, but needs improvement

3= acceptable evidence of indicator being met for course purposes. Meets novice research criteria.

4= consistent evidence of indicator being met. Meets proficient criteria.

5= exemplary evidence of indicator being met, meritorious researcher skills.

The Methodology (90 pts)

Clearly describes the research design including subjects and setting, data, parameters, sampling, methods and analysis or context of the study - 1 2 3 4 5

Discusses the details of how you plan to operationalize your major concepts. - 1 2 3 4 5

Clearly describe data collection methods and the construction of research instrument (if any) - 1 2 3 4 5

Clearly describe sample and sampling technique – 1 2 3 4 5

Clearly describe data analysis methodologies - 1 2 3 4 5

Format (10 pts)

Well written and structured paragraphs and sentences. - 1 2 3 4 5

Is appropriately cited - 1 2 3 4 5

APA format is followed - 1 2 3 4 5

Free of major spelling, grammatical, punctuation errors - 1 2 3 4 5