Week three reseach methods. Please use to capstone as your guide.

Methods Section Rubric

Criteria	Points Possible
Purpose Statement	_____/5 points
Research Question(s) and/or Hypothesis/Hypotheses	_____/5 points
Study Design - A complete attempt to address all parts of section – Subjects and Sampling, Measurement, Data Collection, Analysis	_____/50 points
Analysis Plan – clearly explains how the data will be analyzed after it is collected (statistical tests, transcribing interviews and coding, etc.)	_____/15 points
APA Formatting – title page, in-text citations, Times New Roman, 1” margins, double-spaced, etc.	_____/10 points
References – includes 15 credible, peer reviewed references. At least 12 of these were published within the past 5-7 years. Formatted according to APA 7th edition guidelines.	_____/15 points
Total	_____/100 points

Elements of an QUALITATIVE Method Section

1. Research Question. Your specific research question should be stated clearly at the end of the description of the problem/objective.

2. Procedures: Methods Section. This section includes overview of the design, population and study sample, research methodology, and data analysis process.

         Overview of the Design. Why is a qualitative study important here – what are you trying to find out?

· What type of study will you do?

· How will you manage bias and control the quality of the study?

· What you do anticipate will happen and how will you manage this bias?

· You need to make it clear where you stand as the researcher so it is clear to readers.

· What is the role of the researcher?

         Population and Study Sample

· What will be the sample size for your study? (keep in mind that for interviews we usually have a sample of 20-25 people, for focus groups we may have 2+ groups of 5-7 people)

· How you will select the participants for your study? Why?

· What criteria will you use when selecting sample participants? (what inclusion criteria must they meet to qualify for the study)

          Research Methodology: Here is where you will lay out your research methods (think of it like a cookbook) of how the study will run…considering the following questions

· Where will you get data?  e.g., interviews, survey, focus groups?

· How will you collect the data?

· Will you need to create an interview guide?

· If so, will this be structured? Semi-structured? \

· What questions will you ask in the interview or focus group?

· Provide sample questions you will ask your participants

          Data Analysis process

· How will you analyze the data you collect?

· For qualitative this usually includes transcribing the interviews/focus groups and then coding, etc.

· How are you going to code?

PLEASE NOTE: Your Methods section should run between 3 to 4 pages not counting your APA formatting title page and APA formatting references.

 

Constructing a Quantitative Method Section

1. Research Question or Hypothesis. Your specific hypothesis/hypotheses be stated clearly at the end of the description of the problem/objective.

2. Procedures: Methods Section. For an empirical (QUANTITATIVE) research proposal this section includes a description of the subjects (or participants), the measurements (instruments), the data collection methods, and analysis/analyses.   Remember that this is a quantitative project, and you will need to state a clear hypothesis or quantitative research question.  Be sure to revisit this section of the textbook for help.

          Subjects for study. Describe the subjects (people, objects, e.g., texts) for your study, considering carefully the type and number you need. Explain your method of selecting your subject(s) (and if a sample, describe the population and how the sample will be drawn). Discuss the subjects in relation to your research question and research design. That is, you need to identify the subjects and make clear whether they will be available and how you will reach them. This section typically answers the following questions:

· Who or what will you study in order to collect data?

· Is it appropriate to select a sample from a larger pool? If so, how will you do that?

· How do these subjects relate to your research question?

          Measurement. Describe the kinds of measure you intend to use and explain why you have selected these (have they been used previously?). A discussion of measurements generally considers the following questions:

· What are the key variables in your study?

· How will you define and measure them?

· Do your definitions and measurements draw on or differ from those of previous research in the area?

          Data Collection Methods. Describe what you plan to actually do and the kind of research you will conduct. Your data-collection methods obviously need to be consistent with your research problem, your subjects, and your measurements. Please revisit the data collection methods that are appropriate for an empirical/QUANTITATIVE study (usually a survey method or experiment) This section typically considers the following questions:

· How will you actually collect the data for your study (i.e., what kind of survey – cross-sectional? Longitudinal?)?

· What kind of study will you conduct? (e.g., cross-sectional, experiment, etc.)

        Analysis. Describe the kind of analysis (statistical) you plan to conduct and explain the logic and purpose of your analysis. The kind(s) of analysis you plan will, of course, be contingent on the subjects, the measures and the data collection as well as on your research question. These all work in tandem with one another.  You need to explain how you will analyze the data that you collect. This section typically answers the following kinds of questions:

· Do you intend to examine relationships between variables (i.e., correlation, regression, chi-square)?

· Do you intend to examine differences between variables (i.e., t-test, ANOVA)

· What possible explanatory variables will your analysis consider and how will you know if you’ve explained the variables adequately? If you plan to use specific statistical procedures (whether descriptive, inferential, or some combination), state these.

PLEASE NOTE: Your Method sections should run between 3 to 4 pages not counting your APA formatting title page and APA formatting references.

1

Method Section

Your Name

Department, University

Course Number: Course Name

Professor/Instructor

Due Date

Method Sections

Research Question

RQ1: Here you want to write your research question. This should be an open ended question that is interested in understanding people’s subjective experience of the communication phenomenon you are studying. I’ve included an example below:

What are nurses’ experience communicating with terminal patients about death?

Methods Section

Your methods section is the MOST IMPORTANT section and is where you will demonstrate your understanding of the material that you learned in the course.

Data Collection Methods

In this section you will want to be sure to clearly justify the use of qualitative methods to answer your research question. You should include information about how you will maintain ethics in your research (e.g., IRB approval, etc.), how you will manage any researcher bias, your positionality as a researcher in relation to the topic and the participants, your role in the research.

Population and Study Sample

In this section you want to describe the people that will be participating in your study. Describe the participants for your study, considering carefully the specific characteristics needed (inclusion/exclusion criteria) and number you need (usually qualitative studies have smaller samples…between 20 and 30 for interviews, and between 20 and 50 for focus groups). Explain your method of selecting (sampling – see Chapter 5) your participant(s). Discuss the participants in relation to your research question and research design. That is, you need to identify the participants and make clear whether they will be available and how you will reach them. Be sure to refer to sampling methods in Chapter 5, and justify your choice(s) (citing the textbook). You will also want to consider how you will consider ethics in your research. This includes things like informed consent, protecting your participants, etc. See Chapter 1.

Research Methodology

In this section you will want to lay out your research method(s). This is kind of like a cookbook. Someone should be able to conduct your study easily by reading your methods section. Be sure to include all the details needed based on the method you have chosen (e.g., ethnography, interviews, focus groups). You want to be sure that ALL the step by step instructions and details are included here including where you will get the data/evidence, how you will collect it, whether you will need to create an interview or facilitator’s guide and if so what are some of the sample question you will ask, who will conduct the interviews/facilitate the focus groups, how long, how you will schedule them, where they will be held, if there will be an incentive for participants, if there is a budget, who is paying for this, etc. etc.

Analysis

In this section you want to describe how you will analyze the data/evidence that you collect. Again, this will depend on the method that you choose (e.g., ethnography, interviews, focus groups) This will probably include transcribing the interviews/focus groups and coding so you will want to talk about this process step-by-step and in as much detail as possible (be sure you are using and citing the textbook).

References

Bednarchik, L. A., and Lamb, M. (2022). Title of the article: A great article. Name of the

Journal, volume(issue), 1-134. http://doi.com/19.488575777333.8

Creswell, J. W. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods

Approaches (5th ed.). Sage.

1

Quantitative Methods Section

Your Name

Department, University

COH 611: Research Methods

Dr. Bednarchik

Due Date

Quantitative Methods Section

Problem/Objective

This section of your paper should include a short paragraph that describes the health problem that your study hopes to solve. This is where you will be using the peer reviewed sources that you found (which should help you make a case for your study). This section should establish what the problem is, and the significance of the problem. You will want to include what it is that you are study and why it is worth studying. In addition, you want to identify any theoretical or practical significance of your proposed study and how it contributes to a new understanding of the communication phenomenon. What you present in this section should CLEARLY and intuitively lead to your hypothesis.

Hypothesis

H1: Here you want to write your hypothesis. Remember that this should include an independent variable and a dependent variable. I’ve included an example below:

There is a difference in students intentions to communicate affirmative sexual consent communication (DV) between those who are high in sexual assertiveness and those who are low in sexual assertiveness (IV).

Methods Section

Your methods section is the MOST IMPORTANT section and is where you will demonstrate your understanding of the material that you learned in the course.

Participants

In this section you want to describe the people that will be participating in your study. Describe the participants for your study, considering carefully the specific characteristics needed (inclusion/exclusion criteria) and number you need (be sure to consider power…we usually sample between 200 and 400 participants when conducting quantitative data analysis). Explain your method of selecting (sampling) your participant(s). Discuss the subjects in relation to your research question and research design. That is, you need to identify the subjects and make clear whether they will be available and how you will reach them. Be sure to refer to sampling methods in the textbook, and justify your choice(s) (citing the textbook). You will also want to consider how you will consider ethics in your research. This includes things like informed consent, protecting your participants, etc.

Measurement

In this section you want to describe the kinds of measures (scales) you intend to use and explain why you have selected them. This includes clearly naming and defining your variables and how you will measure each. For our example hypothesis, we would include two sections here including one on students’ intentions to communicate sexual consent and one on sexual assertiveness. I’ve included examples below.

Intentions

Intentions to engage in affirmative sexual consent communication will be measure using 4 items (e.g., If I engage in sex or sexual activity in the next 30 days, I expect/plan/intend/will try to communicate my consent to engage in sexual activity with my partner). The items will be rated on a 1 = strong disagree to 5 = strongly agree scale with higher scores indicating stronger intentions to engage in affirmative sexual consent communication. Individual scores on each of the four items will be averaged to create individual mean scores on this construct.

Sexual Assertiveness

Sexual assertiveness (SA) (Hurlbert, 1991; Pierce & Hurlburt, 1999) will be measure using a shortened version of the Hurlburt Index of Sexual Assertiveness. Fifteen of the items on the 25-item scale will be used to evaluate how open and comfortable participants are with communicating about their sexuality in a particular relationship. Items that relate to sexual initiation (e.g., “I approach my partner for sex when I desire it”) and no shyness (e.g., “I feel that I am shy when it comes to sex”) were included in the study. The items will be rated on a 1 = strong disagree to 5 = strongly agree scale with higher scores indicating greater levels of sexual assertiveness. Eight of the items are reverse coded. After data collection a median split method will be used to categorize sexual assertiveness scores in two groups: high SA and low SA. Any value below the median will be places in a “low SA” group, and every value above the median will be labeled as “high SA”.

Data Collection Methods

In this section you will want to describe what you plan to do and the kind of research you will conduct. You will want to indicate how you will address ethics in your research (e.g., IRB approval, etc.). Your data collection methods obviously need to be consistent with your research problem, your subjects, and your measurements. Please revisit the data collection methods that are appropriate for a quantitative study (usually survey method). This includes things like the type of survey (paper, web, etc.), how it will be administered (software program, email, where posted) and whether it is cross-sectional or longitudinal and why. You should be using and citing the information from the textbook to help you here. Be sure to consider all the details. Someone should be able to read this section and conduct your study from these step by step instructions.

Analysis

Describe the kind of analysis (statistical) you plan to conduct and explain the logic and purpose of your analysis. The kind(s) of analysis you plan will, of course, be contingent on the subjects, the measures and the data collection as well as on your research question. These all work in tandem with one another. You need to explain how you will analyze the data that you collect. Keep in mind that you always run descriptive statistics (e.g., charts/graphs, frequencies, measures of central tendency and variability) on your sample demographics. You will run inferential statistics to test your hypothesis. For our sample hypothesis we are interested in the difference between two groups (high SA and low SA) which would mean that we would run an independent samples t-test with high/low SA as the IV and intentions as the DV.

References

NOTE: You are required to provide references for a minimum of 25 sources. This does NOT include the textbook (which should be cited in your method section and you should provide a reference here). Your sources should be related to/support your topic and from peer-reviewed journals.

Sample formatting for peer-reviewed journal article:

Bednarchik, L. A., and Lamb, M. (2022). Title of the article: A great article. Name of the

Journal, volume(issue), 1-134. http://doi.com/19.488575777333.8