NO PLAGIARISM DUE THURSDAY 11-14-19. RESOURCES THAT ARE ATTACHED MUST BE USED NO EXCEPTIONS

PSY 326 Research Methods Week 2 Guidance

Welcome to Week 2 of Research Methods! This week, you will have an overview of qualitative versus quantitative, and experimental versus non-experimental research approaches. Required resources are sections 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, and 5.2 of the textbook (Newman, 2016), two research studies (Blixen, Perzyski, Bukah, Howland, & Sajatovic, 2016; Boyers & Rowe, 2018), and three helpful videos about writing research questions and hypotheses. The videos are linked in the Course Materials and the written assignment prompt.

Assignments for the week include a discussion, an interactive learning activity and quiz, a journal exercise, and a written assignment. To see how your assignments will be graded, look at the rubrics accessible through a link on the screen for each discussion or assignment.

The Week 2 discussion is Method Comparisons. Your initial post is due by Day 3, and all replies are due by Day 7. To prepare for the discussion, read the sections of the textbook listed above and the lecture portion of this instructor guidance. Your initial discussion post will have two parts. The first part is the same for everyone. Explain the similarities and differences between qualitative and quantitative research. Then, explain the difference between experimental and non-experimental research.

The second part of the post is a jigsaw puzzle. Instead of having the entire class read and report on four categories of research, each person will research and report on one category. Categories are assigned based on the first letter of your last name. When you determine your assigned category, use the Research Methods research guide and the databases in the Ashford University Library to find at least two scholarly/peer-reviewed articles about that type of research. Then, describe the features of the research category, name at least one specific research design in the category, and suggest a suitable topic for this type of research. Document your sources in APA style.

At least three replies to the initial posts of classmates will be required for this discussion, because you must read and respond to at least one post about each of the other three research categories. As the expert on your assigned category, you will also be expected to respond to questions posted on your thread by others. See the discussion prompt for complete details.

After you have learned about the research design categories from the assigned readings and participating in the discussion, you will be ready to do the interactive learning activity and take the quiz called Name That Design Category, due by Day 6. In the first part of the learning activity, match the name of the design category with its description. In the scenarios presented in the second part of the learning activity, you must select all categories of research that apply, and not select any that do not apply to the described research situation. When you have mastered the interactive learning activity, take the graded quiz. As with all quizzes in this course, you may retake it as many times as you wish until the end of the course to improve your score. Your highest score will be retained.

The Method Comparison Journal Exercise is due by Day 7. For this exercise, you will read the two research studies provided (Blixen et al., 2016; Boyers & Rowe, 2018). A form is provided in Microsoft Word format to enter your observations about the characteristics of these two articles. They both are about an aspect of bipolar disorder, but one study is qualitative and the other is quantitative. Looking at the articles, what differences do you notice about them? Consider the research design, sample size, how they collected and analyzed data, the format of the results or findings, and the kind of language used in the research report. Fill out the form by noting your impressions about the articles in the cells of the table.

The written assignment is a paper called Research Question, Hypothesis, and Approach, which is due on Day 7. Review the assigned readings and what you learned from the discussion, quiz, and journal exercise, then view the three videos linked in the assignment prompt,  Picking Your Topic is Research ,  Writing a Research Question  (clunylibrary, 2016), and  Research Questions, Hypothesis, and Variables  (Wallace, 2013). Using the topic you selected last week, develop a specific research question and a testable hypothesis statement. A template is provided, which you must use to answer questions about the research question, hypothesis, and the type of research design you would use. Submit your completed template form to Waypoint.

After completing the activities in this instructional unit, you will be able to:

· Analyze various research designs and when each should be used.

· Compare and contrast characteristics of non-experimental and experimental research designs.

· Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative research approaches.

· Formulate a researchable question and a testable hypothesis.

Keep these objectives in mind as you go through this week’s learning activities.

Newman (2016) categorizes research designs into three types: descriptive, correlational, and experimental (including quasi-experimental). Descriptive and correlational research designs are non-experimental. Section 2.1 presents an overview of the different types of research designs. In following weeks, you will cover each type in more detail. As Newman (2016) notes in Section 5.2, true experimental research has all three of these characteristics: (1) manipulation of an independent variable; (2) random assignment of participants to groups or conditions; and (3) control of extraneous variables. A quasi-experiment is a study that has some, but not all, of these characteristics. Studies that do not have any of the three characteristics of an experiment are non-experimental.

Another way of categorizing research designs is by whether they use qualitative or quantitative methods. The textbook provides some insight into the similarities and differences between these two approaches, but the following are additional characteristics to look for as you decide how to classify the methods used in a study.

Qualitative research:

· Relatively small sample sizes

· Uses purposeful (specific) sampling to get participants who have knowledge and experience of the topic of the research

· Narrative data (words, pictures, etc.)

· Starts with a broad research question but may end with a hypothesis

· Uses special coding methods for data analysis

· Value is based on trustworthiness

Quantitative research:

· Relatively large sample sizes

· Sampling techniques may be random to get a wide variety of participants representing the population

· Numerical data in the form of variables

· Hypothesis and/or research question(s) must be specified before data collection

· Uses statistical techniques for data analysis

· Value is based on validity and reliability

Additional features of qualitative and quantitative research can be found at James Neill’s website, http://wilderdom.com/research/QualitativeVersusQuantitativeResearch.html (Links to an external site.) (Neill, 2007).

Is your proposed research question actually researchable and is your hypothesis testable? One quick way to check is to see if the research question contains the word “should.” Empirical research is designed to provide evidence pertaining to a research question, but it does not answer questions that call for value judgments or opinions. No matter how strongly you feel that someone should do something, the statement of what someone should do is your opinion, not a fact. It is an inference or conclusion which may be based on your interpretation of facts. In presenting their research findings, researchers must be careful not to state something as a fact which is actually an idea they have inferred from the evidence. Inferences are influenced by cultural backgrounds, previous experiences, and biases which vary from person to person.

A hypothesis is a declarative statement which can be tested to determine the probability of it being true or false. There are two hypotheses involved in hypothesis testing – the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis (also called the research hypothesis). The null hypothesis states that there is no difference or connection between the things being observed. It is often, but not always, the hypothesis that researchers hope to find evidence against. The research or alternative hypothesis must state that there is a significant difference or connection between the things being observed. The null and the alternative hypotheses must be phrased to be exact opposites of each other, so that if one is shown to have a high probability of being false, the other must necessarily have a high probability of being true. You will learn more about hypothesis testing in Week 4. For now, concentrate on formulating a research hypothesis that is specific about what is being compared or studied when trying to answer your research question.

Your assignments are listed on the Overview page for Week 2 as well as in the Course Guide. If you have any questions about this week’s readings or assignments, email your instructor or post your question on the “Ask Your Instructor” forum. Remember, use the forum only for questions that may concern the whole class. For personal issues, use email.

References

Blixen, C., Perzynski, A. T., Bukah, A., Howland, M., & Sajatovic, M. (2016). Patients’ perceptions of barriers to self-managing bipolar disorder: A qualitative study. International Journal of Social Psychology, 62(7), 635-644. doi: 10.1177/0020764016666572

Boyers, G. B., & Rowe, L. S. (2018). Social support and relationship satisfaction in bipolar disorder. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(4), 538-543. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/fam0000400

clunylibrary. (2016, September 15).  Writing a research question (Links to an external site.) . Retrieved from Writing a Research Question (Links to an external site.)

Neill, J. (2007). Qualitative versus quantitative research: Key points in a classic debate.  Retrieved from http://wilderdom.com/research/QualitativeVersusQuantitativeResearch.html (Links to an external site.)

Newman, M. (2016). Research methods in psychology (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Wallace, R. [Ron Wallace]. (2013, May 20).  Research questions, hypothesis, and variables (Links to an external site.). [Video file]. Retrieved from Research Questions Hypothesis and Variables