Research X

Please scroll through the body of your paper for my specific comments and improvement suggestions.

Faculty Name: Dr. Antoinette Kohlman

Grade Earned: 3.9/5 = C+

Date Graded: May 23, 2019

Quantitative Design and Data Collection

BTM-7303 Assignment # 9

Elton Norman

Dr. Antoinette Kohlman

18 May 2019

The Relationship Between Substance Abuse and School Dropout Cases

Restated Problem

The high rate of students dropping out of school has been associated with substance abuse. Although extensive research has been carried on the issue, the drugs responsible for most of the school dropout cases have not been established. Besides, the level of education where substance abuse has led to a high rate of drop-out cases among the users has not been researched since most of the researchers have dwelled on the main drug abused by students and their effects on their health. Comment by Antoinette Kohlman: This is better because you are learning to state a problem as research-worthy vs. a situation that is merely less than ideal. Remember, if the “problem” has an easy to apply or readily apparent solution it is probably NOT research-worthy.

Purpose

This research aims at identifying the drug which has contributed to a higher percentage of drop out cases and the level where most of the substance abusers drop out of school. Comment by Antoinette Kohlman: Thinking ahead, then what? You collect and analyze data and find that illegal drug XXX is the culprit. So what? What do you expect others to do with this information?

Research Questions Comment by Antoinette Kohlman: I think there is a gap here. I would add to/revise the questions and hypotheses. Where can you get more help? In addition to your weekly readings, there are handouts that explain how to craft hypotheses in the Dissertation Center. Click the following link to access NCU’s Developing a Hypothesis Handout. An important element that is missing from your quantitative research questions and hypotheses is “statistical significance.” Here is an excerpt that you can use to self-evaluate your hypotheses: Nature of Hypothesis 1. It can be tested –verifiable or falsifiable 2. Hypotheses are not moral or ethical questions 3. It is neither too specific nor to general 4. It is a prediction of consequences 5. It is considered valuable even if proven false

1. What kind of substance abuse has contributed to the highest level of school dropout rates?

2. At what educational level do substance abusers drop out of learning institutions?

Hypothesis

1. Alcohol abuse is associated with most of the school dropout cases witnessed in high school.

2. Most of the school dropout cases due to alcohol are rampant in high school.

Description and Justification of The Data Collection Method

Surveys will be the method used to collect data in the research since is difficult for the researcher to interview all the people who dropped out of school due to drug abuse in a certain locality. In this case, a group of individuals chosen randomly will be used as the representative for the whole population. The respondents will be chosen and informed of the idea behind the survey and their consent sought to ensure that they participate in the research without being coerced. In this scenario, issuing questionnaires is the suitable data collection method since it is possible to use a large sample size as it takes minimum time to fill the questions. Besides, the method is economical since it only requires papers printed with the questions which the respondents will answer (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016).

Discussionand Justification of The Population

The research will utilize two hundred respondents to arrive at valid results. It should be noted that the survey about school dropout rates and the drugs which contribute to a higher percentage of users dropping out of school will infer to the whole population. Thus, the size of the sample chosen must bear the capacity to act as the representative for all of the students who dropped out of school due to substance use. Small sample size will reduce the accuracy of the survey leading to results which are not valid. On the other hand, large sample size will be uneconomical since a lot of resources will be used to reach a vast number of respondents. This sample size is appropriate as its confidence levels have been established and the sample values lie within the required interval range. Besides, the effective size has been calculated whereby the statistics have been divided by a standard error, determining the most appropriate sample (Urdan, 2010). Comment by Antoinette Kohlman: In your next submission, I would like you to incorporate what you are learning about G Power analysis and how that factors into determining adequate sample sizes.

Limitations of The Data Collection Method

Although the questionnaire method is mostly used in surveys, it has setbacks which can affect the accuracy of the research. For example, it limits the respondents as they only provide answers to the questions captured in the questionnaires. The presence of closed questions leads to shallow answers since they mostly contain YES/NO options. In this scenario, the absence of the right response among the provided options will lead to the collection of inaccurate information. Another limitation is that it is prone to misinterpretation of the questions resulting in ambiguous results. When that happens, it is difficult to correct the mistakes in the absence of the respondent and the researchers have to guess what the respondent wanted to say (Wood, Kerr, & Brink, 2006).

Strengths and Weaknesses of The Design, Data Collection, and Sampling Technique

The quantitative research design, questionnaires, and sampling method have strengths and weaknesses which affect the results. One of the advantages of the qualitative design is that it results in data which can be measured easily. Also, it gives the chance to expand the data to predictions that can be used to establish future trends. However, it cannot be applied to give explanations for social phenomena. Questionnaires give the researchers an opportunity to compare and contrast their research with other researchers. Besides, the data collected using questionnaires can be easily analyzed using statistical tools. However, they are prone to dishonest answers which affect the validity of the research. Sampling method provides the least time consuming and least expensive way of collecting data but the sample selected may not be a representative of the whole population leading to incorrect conclusions (Wallace & Van, 2012). Comment by Antoinette Kohlman: Let’s begin to shift your thinking by incorporating more of the information from your required readings. For example, what are the main 4 types of quantitative research designs and which one are you interested in proposing?

Ethical Issues with Quantitative Methods

Quantitative methods must observe ethical issues to avoid violating the rights of the respondents. One of the ethical issues is informed consent where the respondents participate in the research voluntarily without being forced. The researcher must explain the research in-depth for the respondents to choose whether they will participate or not. Also, participation in the research must bear no harmful effects such as economic, social, emotional and physiological harms to the respondents. Another ethical issue followed during research is confidentiality and anonymity where the identity of the respondents is not availed to the public. Thus, the researcher must ensure anonymity by not attaching the respondent’s identity to the responses (Schneider, Whitehead, LoBiondo-Wood, & Haber, 2012). Comment by Antoinette Kohlman: You have a solid grasp of this area. Very good! I appreciate the care and deliberation that you express in this area.

References

Schneider, Z., Whitehead, D., LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (2012). Nursing and Midwifery Research: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice. Chatswood: Mosby.

Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Urdan, T. (2010). Statistics in plain english, third edition. New York: Routledge.

Wallace, D., & Van, F. C. (2012). Knowledge into Action: Research and Evaluation in Library and Information Science. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Wood, M. J., Kerr, J. C., & Brink, P. J. (2006). Basic steps in planning nursing research: From question to proposal. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.