RES 831

RES-831-RS-QuantitativeStudyDefense.pptx

Instructions for Learners

Use this template for a Quantitative study.

This is a working document. You will start this document in RES-831 and update it through your upcoming residency courses RSD-851 and 881, subsequent research courses and potentially in your first two dissertation classes.

Requirements, hints, and alignment notes are found in the Notes section.

To view notes, click the “View” tab at the top of the application and select “notes.”

Hint: You may need to expand the notes section in order to see all of the notes contained for each slide.

To view bubble comments from faculty, click the “review” tab at the top of the application and select “Show Comments.”

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Instructions for Faculty

Written feedback is to be provided via bubble comments. Comments can be created by holding Ctrl+M (for PC) or Command+Shift+M (Mac) on your keyboard, or via the Review tab.

To access the Comment pane, click the “review” tab and select “Show comments.”

The notes section in each slide contains the slide requirements.

Feedback should be focused on helping the learner meet the slide requirements.

See the supplementary faculty job aid materials for grading and other resources.

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RES 831 Slides - Instructions

Complete the slides under the RES 831 section header:

Literature Review:

Background to the Problem

Problem Space

Theoretical Foundation

Review of Literature

Problem Statement

Research Questions/Hypotheses & Variables

Methodology

Feasibility

Note: This template is a similar format is also used for your first residency RSD 851 and in subsequent research and residency courses. You will continuously use and update this document as you move through your research and residency courses.

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Proposed Dissertation Topic Title

Learner Name

Course Instructor

Submission Date

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Literature Review: Background to the Problem

10/9/2019

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Objective:

The outline on this slide is used in the Prospectus to develop the Background of the Study in Chapter 1 and the Background of the Problem Space in Chapter 2.

Slide Requirements:

Use either a bulleted format or table format

Describe what is already understood about the problem.

Present findings from prior research related to the history of the problem space.

Focus on:

When the problem started

What has been discovered about the problem

The current state of the problem

Support information with APA compliant in-text citations in your slide, and then make sure to include the full reference for the citation in the List of References slide (last slide of this presentation)

Literature Review: Problem Space

10/9/2019

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Objective:

This slide is used to develop the Problem Space section in Chapter 2. The outline on this slide is used in the Prospectus to develop the Background of the Study in Chapter 1 and the Background of the Problem Space in Chapter 2.

Slide Requirements:

In 3-5 bullets, describe what still needs to be understood related to the topic from empirical literature or research.

Use empirical literature dated primarily within the past 5 years.

Identify and support what still needs to be understood regarding the problem space through a combination of arguments:

Professional and/or broader societal need identified in the literature

Directions for future research based on limitations, recommendations, and/or conflicting findings

Synthesis of broader topics to study in combination

Slide Requirements:

Use the following steps to complete the Table above:

Step 1: Define the Perspectives to be used.

Step 2. Identify what is known (in the literature).

Step 3. Identify what is unknown or needs to be better understood.

Step 4. Develop a need statement for each perspective.

Step 5. Synthesize the points into a need statement.

Step 6. Develop a problem statement.

Literature Review: Theoretical Foundations

10/9/2019

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Objective:

Identify the laws, theories, models, and/or concept that will be used to develop the study variables and research questions/hypothesis, and to guide data collection. In the Proposal this information is used to develop the research questions for chapter 1 and 3. It is expanded significantly in Chapter 2.

Slide Requirements:

There should be one slide on each model or theory in outline format.

Include a visual of the model or theory if it is available.

Focus on describing the theory and not on discussing how it has been used in prior studies.

Define study variables based on theory or model, then develop research questions/hypotheses that align to the theory/model and variables.

Hints:

Two ways to find models or theories for both quantitative and qualitative research are:

Find studies related to your topic and see what theoretical foundation theory, model, or concept they used. Then research it or find a quantitative instrument that is used to collect data on it.

Look for validated quantitative instruments that measure variables you are studying from either a quantitative or qualitative approach; then do a Google or Google Scholar search that combines the name of the instrument and the term “validation study” or “validity”. This document will explain the model behind the instrument, trace it back historically to the creator of the initial model or theory. For the quantitative studies, use the instrument article to provide the reliability and validity statistics for the instrument.

For each theory and or model, provide an explanation of the theory, one sentence to describe the components/dimensions within the theory/model, and one sentence to explain how the theory(s)/model(s) will be used to form your study.

Literature Review: Review of Literature

Major Topic	Topic Description	Empirical Sources APA Formatted Reference

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Objective:

This slide is used to provide an outline of the topics that will be included in the Review of Literature section, which is 30+ pages in Chapter 2.

Slide Requirements:

Column 1: Identify 3-5 major topics in the literature related to the proposed problem space, perspectives/topics (Use the list from the Problem Space slide)

Column 2: Write 1-2 sentences defining/describing each topic

Column 3: Provide at least 3 current empirical sources (ideally within the past 5 years) supporting each topic

Hints:

For quantitative studies, topics could include:

Research describing societal, community, or professional issues/needs

Research on the broad population and why the topic is relevant

Studies describing and/or relating the topics associated with the variables

Studies on the instruments used to collect data

Studies defining the need from an organizational perspective

Studies similar to the topic

Studies on related research such as factors associated with the themes

Problem Statement

Examples:

It is not known …

Based on what is known in the empirical research literature, _____ is still unknown or what still needs to be understood is…

While the empirical research literature indicates ____________, it is not known in (school/district/organization/community) __________.

10/9/2019

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Objective:

This slide is used to provide the problem statement, which will be expanded upon in the Chapter 2: Problem Statement section.

Slide Requirements:

State the specific problem for research with a clear declarative statement.

Alignment: The problem statement must align with the established problem space as described on previous slides.

Alignment: The research questions must be based on the problem statement as well as the theoretical foundation.

Hints:

Some examples of how to phrase a problem statement include:

It is not known how or why…

Based on what is known in the empirical research literature, _____ is still unknown/what still needs to be understood is…

While the literature indicates ____________, it is not known in (school/district/organization/community) how/why __________.

Use this Slide for Quantitative Studies: Variables

10/9/2019

Variable	Conceptual Definition	Operational Definition	Measurement Level	Instrument/Data Source
[Variable 1]
[Variable 2]
[Add Variables as needed]

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Objective:

State and define each variable in table format. The table is used in Chapter 3: Research Questions and Hypotheses in the dissertation template.

Slide Requirements:

Complete the table for each variable.

Included citations as appropriate.

Hints:

The conceptual definition is ‘what does it mean’. For example, a conceptual level of a variable in a school setting may be student achievement.

An operational level is how the researcher will measure the variable to reflect the conceptual definition. The operational level of the variable for student achievement may be the test score on a final exam, which ranges from 0 to 100.

The measurement level is whether the variable is nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio.

Use this Slide for Quantitative Studies: Research Questions and Hypotheses

RQ1:

H10

H1A

RQ2:

H20

H2A

10/9/2019

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Objective:

State and define each research question and hypothesis. This information is expanded upon in Chapter 3: Research Questions and Hypotheses in the dissertation template.

Slide Requirements:

State the research question(s) and hypotheses guiding the proposed study.

Define the variables within the RQs and hypotheses.

Alignment: Research questions must align with the problem statement presented on the previous slide and the theoretical foundations.

A minimum of two sets of hypotheses is required.

Hints:

Do not introduce new constructs in the research questions that were not introduced in the problem statement or theoretical foundation.

One research question may have more than one set of hypotheses.

Methodology Justification

Quantitative	Qualitative
Seminal sources describing quantitative methodology:	Seminal sources describing qualitative methodology:
Justification for quantitative:	Justification against qualitative:

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Objectives:

The approach on this slide is used to justify the methodology using methodology articles and resources

The information presented on this slide is used to develop one of the three paragraphs comprising the methodology section in Chapter 3. In addition, a second paragraph is added justifying why the opposite methodology is not as appropriate. A third paragraph is developed that uses similar and related empirical articles to justify the proposed methodology for the study

Slide Requirements:

Present 2-3 seminal sources describing quantitative methodology (Top Row – Left Box)

Justify why either qualitative or quantitative methodology is appropriate based on those sources (Bottom Row - Left Box)

Present 2-seminal sources describing qualitative methodology (Top Row - Right Box)

Justify why either qualitative methodology is not as appropriate based on those sources (Bottom Row - Right Box)

Hint:

Do not summarize prior research in this slide

First, find citation(s), then, develop argument(s) based on the research articles.

Justify methodology from methodology articles

Justify methodology from empirical studies. For example, current empirical studies, foundational studies, government studies

Justify why the alternative methodology is not suited for your study. Use empirical evidence.

Feasibility - Slide 1

Resources for study:

Ethical Concerns:

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Objectives:

Identify and discuss the feasibility of your proposed study based on the Feasibility & Benefits Checklist located in the Dissertation Template appendices.

The information on this slide will be used to inform the Ethical Considerations section in Ch. 3.

As part of preparation for this slide, you will complete the Feasibility & Benefits Checklist located in the dissertation template appendices, a required appendix in your dissertation.

Slide Requirements:

Complete the following bullets in order of presentation:

Resources for Study:

What, if any, authorization(s) are required as well as how you will obtain authorization? If no authorization is needed, why not?

What, if any, access to site resources will you need? (i.e., building access, computer programs, etc.)

Additional trainings necessary (i.e., instrument certifications, etc.)

Any other resources you will need to complete this study.

Ethical Concerns/Considerations:

What risks, if any, are present? How will you mitigate these risks?

What benefits are there to participants?

Study Alignment with Program:

Identify your degree program

Describe how your study aligns with your overall degree program (i.e. Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, General Psychology, etc.).

Feasibility Concerns:

What obstacles might you face, and what are your backup plans?

Based on the information you have learned, is your study feasible? Why or why not? How can you make your study more manageable?

Hints:

Visit https://dc.gcu.edu/irb for additional resources and information

Feasibility – Slide 2

Study Alignment with Program (Identify Program of Study):

Feasibility Concerns:

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Objectives:

Identify and discuss the feasibility of your proposed study based on the Feasibility & Benefits Checklist located in the Dissertation Template appendices.

The information on this slide will be used to inform the Ethical Considerations section in Ch. 3.

As part of preparation for this slide, you will complete the Feasibility & Benefits Checklist located in the dissertation template appendices, a required appendix in your dissertation.

Slide Requirements:

Complete the following bullets in order of presentation:

Resources for Study:

What, if any, authorization(s) are required as well as how you will obtain authorization? If no authorization is needed, why not?

What, if any, access to site resources will you need? (i.e., building access, computer programs, etc.)

Additional trainings necessary (i.e., instrument certifications, etc.)

Any other resources you will need to complete this study.

Ethical Concerns/Considerations:

What risks, if any, are present? How will you mitigate these risks?

What benefits are there to participants?

Study Alignment with Program:

Identify your degree program

Describe how your study aligns with your overall degree program (i.e. Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, General Psychology, etc.).

Feasibility Concerns:

What obstacles might you face, and what are your backup plans?

Based on the information you have learned, is your study feasible? Why or why not? How can you make your study more manageable?

Hints:

Visit https://dc.gcu.edu/irb for additional resources and information

List of References

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Slide Requirements:

Include a fully APA 7.0 correctly formatted reference for each citation used in the preceding slides. Add an additional List of References slide as needed so that ALL citations in your presentation are listed.