Module 4 A 2

Methods of Research

By Alexa Vigenser

Research Methods/Psy 302

3/11/15

Good work Alexa (, Please find your feedback attached. Please open this attachment for very detailed feedback on how you can revise and improve subsequent assignments. Kind regards, Yvonne B.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria		Maximum Points
1) Explanation and justification of research question.		12/12
2) Presentation of hypothesis and null hypothesis.		16/16
3) Analysis of participants exclusion/inclusion factors.		16/16
4) Explanation of sampling technique and characterization of population that sample generalized.		12/12
5) Identification of study's variables.		12/12
6) Operational definitions for each variable are defined.		16/16
7) Development of methods to measure each variable, and the reliability and validity of these measures are evaluated.		16/16
8) Description of technique(s) used for data collection.		12/12
9) Description of the research design being used.		12/12
10) Identification of the research procedure.		5/12
11) Prediction of POTENTIAL ethical issues; POTENTIAL ethical issues are evaluated in terms of how they would be addressed.		20/20
Organization: · Introduction · Thesis · Transitions · Conclusion		12/12
Usage and Mechanics: · Grammar · Spelling · Sentence Structure		12/12
APA Elements: · Attribution · Paraphrasing · Quotations		16/16
Style: · Audience · Word Choice		4/4
Total:		193/200

I. Research question

This study aims at answering the research question of whether or not methadone maintenance manages to take away the craving of heroine use and how it is an effective treatment to opiate abusers. This will be made possible through collecting a sample of the heroine abusers and putting them under observation for a period of 40 days. The selected people will be monitored once in a while to ensure that they follow the stipulated rule (Cohen, 2005).

II. Hypothesis

Sufficient maintenance of methadone treatment in the society can be able to help people who crave for heroine to take that craving away and for the opiate abusers; this can also be an effective treatment as opposed to those not using the treatment (O'Connor, 2004). This is because methadone treatment can act like a detox in order for those to keep off of street drugs like heroine. Once people who use heroine are able to establish a dose that is regular, they can be able to stay on methadone for a long period of time, which in other words can be called maintenance and this helps them stay away from heroine and takes away the craving for heroine.

With time, most of these people gradually reduce the methadone dose and come out of it because of its detoxification ability. Methadone is able to fight the craving of heroine because of its ability to stay long in the person’s body. In addition to that, with methadone maintenance treatment, people who abuse opium can be able to stabilize their lives and be in a position to reduce the harm that is associated with drug abuse. The goal of methadone maintenance treatment is to stabilize the people who use heroine in order to improve their general well-being through physical withdrawal prevention. Therefore, with the doses of methadone through the doctor’s prescription, their heroine craving will be diminished slowly by methadone, hence reducing and eventually eliminating the heroine cravings (Cohen, 2005).

II B. Null hypothesis

Methadone maintenance is unrelated to the decrease of heroine craving and it is not an effective treatment for opiate abusers. This statement show that any effects be they negative or positive that are observed after the treatment are as a result of chance (O'Connor, 2004). The question that is answered here in terms of statistics is, if the samples to prove the hypothesis indeed came from the population that is similar with regard to the outcome, then how likely is the result that is obtained?

III. Number of participants

In conducting this research the number of participants that will be used are twenty because that is a sample that is manageable and they will be able to represent the rest of the population of people who are abusers of opium and heroine. The inclusion characteristics will be that they should be of both genders that is; male and female, from the age of 18 to 35 and more specifically, they should be abusers of heroine or opium. Besides that, the samples will hold people from all races such as; Hispanic, Black-Americans, and Caucasians (Laurel, 2003).

The sample will also be specifically from Phoenix. The exclusion characteristics would be; those people who have only used heroine once in their life or twice because they do not have an addiction. The study will be focused more on those with a history of abusing heroine and opium for a period of more than two years (Ardilly, 2006). This sample is not diverse because it only focuses with people who have abused heroine and opium for more than two years meaning that it does not include any person who have abused these drugs for less than two years. In addition to that, it also focuses mainly on heroine and opium and not any other forms of drugs meaning that it is not very diverse in terms of the diagnosis. On the other hand, it can also be said to be diverse in some way because it has reduced biasness by including samples from both genders; male and female and also people from the different ages from 18 to 35.

IV. Sampling technique

In collecting the sample from the population, we will use the stratified sampling technique in order to reduce the sampling error that is associated with other methods like random sampling methods (Laurel, 2003). Here a subset of the population will be chosen and from the sample we mentioned earlier, the subset involves people who are from phoenix, from all different races with the specification of abusing heroine and/or opium for a period of more than 2 years and from the age of 18 to 35.

This method will be easier to use since the sample will be put in different stratums depending on the stated inclusion characteristics. The population of this sample generalizes only to the population of heroine abusers meaning that it is not general to the whole of the Phoenix population since the whole of the phoenix population is not made up of drug abusers. Therefore this means that the sample is only general to the small population of drug abusers and specifically heroine and/or opium abusers (Ardilly, 2006).

V & VI. Variables

There are two main variables in research; independent and dependent variables. The independent variables are those objects which can be subject to manipulation by the researcher while the dependent variables are the responses that the researcher measures (Craighead, 2002). In our hypothesis we stated that sufficient maintenance of methadone treatment in the society can be able to help people who crave for heroine take that craving away and for the opiate abusers, this can also be an effective treatment as opposed to those not using the treatment.

Here, the independent variable is sufficient methadone treatment. On the other hand, the dependent variables are taking away cravings of heroine abusers and effective treatment for opium abusers. This is because, like we said, the researcher has control over the independent variable which in this case is the methadone maintenance treatment (Sales, 2000).Therefore, the researcher will use the methadone maintenance treatment in dosages to see the effect on the abusers of heroine or opium and see if the craving rates will decrease. This means that the consequence is the reduction of the craving rates which are the dependent variables in our study.

VII. Measurement of variables

In measuring each variable, we can use the interval measurement whereby a rank order and the difference in the results can be provided to determine the people who were able to stop the craving for heroine through the methadone maintenance treatment and understand what made the difference for those who were not able to stop the craving by comparing them with those that stopped (Laurel, 2003). This measurement level is reliable because it focuses on the measurement consistency since even when it is repeated again and again it will produce the same results. On the other hand, it can be said to be valid because it is measuring the item of interest which is the methadone maintenance treatment on doing away with raving levels of heroine.

VIII. Data collection methods

In collecting the relevant data to the study, the method used will be direct observation because this will be the most accurate ways to ensure that the proper results are given (Sales, 2000). Therefore with this method, it will be possible to know the people who have relapsed and those who are indeed reducing their craving for heroine and make an unbiased conclusion.

IX. Research design

The research designed used in the study is a case study design since it will be in a position to provide an in-depth study of the research question being investigated and be able to narrow down the broad question into an easy example of research (Laurel, 2003). This is an effective design for research since it will help provide descriptions that are detailed on the specific and rare cases of this topic on methadone maintenance and its ability to stop heroine craving.

X. Procedures of conducting research

In conducting this research the procedures that would be followed are;

· Identifying the problem; this involves forming the research question and giving basis information and knowledge of the stated problem.

· Clarifying the problem; here the problem is narrowed to the scope of the study. This is done after the literature has been reviewed (Laurel, 2003). Whereby in the review, the researcher states more on the problem and what has been done before involving the topic

· Defining the population; here the researcher chooses the sample in which the study can be tested in order to prove the hypothesis of the study. The population should be representative enough (Ardilly, 2006).

· Collecting data; this is a critical step since it is needed so that the researcher can be capable of answering the questions on the research topic

· Analyzing the data; this is done according to the researcher’s plan. Here the results of the data are compared among each other and the researcher determines the reliable ones from the unreliable ones.

XI. Potential ethical issues in research

· Following the rules of informed consent

Researchers should always ensure that they inform the participants of the research of the purpose of the study, the procedure and the duration of the study (Ardilly, 2006). In addition to that, they should also tell them of any prospective benefits that can be expected of the study as well as the potential risks.

· Confidentiality and privacy

Besides that, it is important to respect their privacy and assure them of confidentiality. This can be made possible by discussing with them the limits of confidentiality, taking practical measures on the security of the participants as well as knowing the state and federal laws (Sales, 2000).

References

Sales, B.D., & Folkman, S. (Eds.). (2000). Ethics in research with human participants. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Ardilly, P., & Tillé, Y. (2006). Sampling methods: Exercises and solutions. (Springer e-books.) New York: Springer.

Cohen, L. J., Gertmenian-King, E., Kunik, L., Weaver, C., London, E. D., & Galynker, I. (2005). Personality measures in former heroin users receiving methadone or in protracted abstinence from opiates. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 112(2), 149-158.

Craighead, W. E., & Corsini, R. J. (2002). The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science. New York: Wiley.

Laurel, B. (2003). Design research: Methods and perspectives. Cambridge, Mass. ; London, England: MIT Press.

O'Connor, A. (2004, Aug 03). New ways to loosen addiction's grip. New York Times.

�Good work idenotfying your null hypothesis. (

�Once again, nice work on idenotofying your variables. (

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For question 10 you need to discuss your procedure. �This section should be very specific. It should be a set of instructions of what you did with your participants to perform the study. It needs details and needs to be specific to your study.

The procedure includes the step-by-step instructions for your experiment. The procedure should include these two sections, which you answered above:

• A description of the experimental design and how participants were assigned conditions.

• Identification of your independent variable(s) (IV), dependent variable(s) (DV), and control variables. Give your variables clear, meaningful names so that your readers are not confused.

Along with:

• Important instructions to participants.

A step-by-step listing in chronological order of what participants did during the experiment.

For example, you mentioned using surveys and an interview, but it is not mentioned here in your procedure section.