Research Proposal (For Katetutor)

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Introduction

There is excessive use of internet today both by the old and the young. It common to see people spending most of their time behind computers or using their mobile phones browsing the internet and assessing social media. Internet is beneficial for various reasons such as entertainment, social interaction, education and even work. There have been concerns as to whether this excessive use of internet by individuals has a negative impact on their psychological health. Some of the aspects that internet has been seen to affect one’s psychological health include; anxiety, sleep, stress, depression and even social life. Some researchers have conducted studies which link excessive use of internet to extreme cases of low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts. The focus of this paper is to analyze the statistics and measurements that will be used in the research which will be conducted to confirm if excessive internet use has a negative impact on psychological health.

Type of Research

The research to find out if excessive use of internet affects psychological health will be quantitative. This is where the variables will be assigned numerical date in scales and during data collection. After obtaining results from the date collection process, the collected data will be analyzed using various statistical analysis tests. The use of quantitative research in this case will be important to the test in various ways. Quantitative research tends to be more objective and reliable compared to qualitative research (Balnaves, 2001). It is also significant as statistics can be used to conclude a finding. The complex problem in a research study can be restructured and reduced to a smaller number of variables. It also focusses association and relationship between variables and can describe cause and effect easily. After results have been analyzed, quantitative research can easily test hypothesis and theories. It is important through its assumption that a sample represents the whole population. There is less recognition of the researcher’s subjectivity and therefore there is less biasness in this kind of research.

Variables

The qualitative study will be relational as it will analyze the relationship between various variables. There will be collection of data among university students who will be selected randomly and they will fill a questionnaire. The variables in the research study can be generally divided into two categories; internet use and psychological health. The data on internet use will be collected using Online Cognition Scale (OCS) while the psychological state which will comprise depression, anxiety and stress will be collected using DSSS. The will be comparison between internet use and each component of psychological state will be analyzed. The variables in this case will be more of ordinal, this is because although they could be categorical, they are ordered in the respective scales used in the study.

Reliability

Reliability of the research study will be determined using parallel forms. In this case there will be clarity on whether there is consistency in the different forms of measure. This test will therefore ensure that the correct measure is adopted in measuring the various variables (Salkind, 2012). If the outcome of the reliability test will be high then it is will be a clear indication that the different forms of measures can be used in measuring the behaviors. The measures for the various variables will be subjected to this test.

Validity

It will be important to conduct a validity test for the measures that will be used in the research study. This kind of test is important in establishing whether the test adopted for every variable is appropriate (Salkind, 2012). The kind of validity test that will be applicable to the research study is construct validity test. It will be able to confirm whether the test adopted measures the underlying variables appropriately. This test will be conducted by comparing the tests used in the research study to others that have been proved to be effective measures for the given variables.

Methods of Measurement

The method of data collection that will be adopted in the research will be a use of questionnaire that will be presented. The students will be invited to take part in the study through emails and then they will be randomly selected with a consideration of gender, the sample should have 50% of both males and females. Collection of this data will be done in a systematic way as follows. The forms will be first developed and it will contain all the information that will be needed to collect sufficient data on the variables under study. For easy analysis of the data, there will be coding, this will be done before the actual data collection in order to get sufficient information for the coding itself. Actual collection of data will done online, however the process will be timed and the participants will be given a period of two days and they can complete the questionnaire at their own convenient time so long as it is within the set period. To ensure that the participants have almost the same environment as much as possible, they will be advised to complete the questionnaire early in the morning when the mind is still fresh. In addition, to ensure that results have less impact from external factors, participants will be advised to complete the questionnaire in a place with fewer interruptions so that they can give accurate responses.

After collection of data, it will be compiled and entered into SPSS for analysis. This process will be checked and even have another person to double check it, this is to ensure that there will be correct data for analysis. Inaccurate data will mean that the whole process is wrong and therefore invalid. Although human error can occur in any stage of a research study, the most sensitive one is on data entry and thus requires a lot of attention (Salkind, 2012). It would be recommendable to transfer data electronically from the questionnaire to SPSS if it was possible.

Data Analysis

Various analysis tests will be conducted to confirm whether the set hypothesis is right or wrong. In our case, the data analysis done on the collected data will be able to confirm if it is true that excessive internet use or internet addiction can negatively affect one’s psychological health in terms of anxiety, depression and stress. Descriptive statistics will be applied mainly in the research study. This will be important as it will be able to give a clear picture on the characteristics of the collected date. For instance, from our research study, it can be easily established the average score of each variable such as anxiety and depression among others. Variability measures can also be used and this will be important for the research study as it will explain the way in which data has been dispersed. From the respective chosen scales for the variables, it will be clear whether most participants either up or down in the scale. Standard deviation on the research study will be able to indicate the variation of every score from the mean (Miles, 2014). This variation will be important in comparing other score and particularly for the general student population.

The data will also be subjected to statistical tests in form of significance tests for analysis. There will be use of a t test and this will be used to compare difference between males and females in regards to how they are psychologically affected. Using the t-test will be able to explain if either males or females are affected more by internet addiction. Since the research study involve multiple variables, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will be used in analysis of the variables.

Interpretation of Results

Results interpretation will be found in the discussion part of the research. It is important to interpret the analyzed data for it to have meaning to any other reader. Presentation of data in the analyzed form does not have any meaning as it may appear technical to other people. Interpretation of data should answer the questions in the research study. Interpretation of results will therefore make them have meaning. It should be able to explain how the research will be important. For instance in the research study, if the results will indicate that excessive internet leads to depression, at this level it does not make any meaning. It will be more meaningful if this can be applied to real life. It would make more sense if the results are interpreted that students should avoid excessive internet use in order to avoid getting depressed.

Protection of Data and Ethics

It is important for any researcher to consider issues on data protection and ethics. Guidelines on ethics ensure that the environment, participants and even the general population are protected from manipulations, any harm and malpractices (Burgess, 2005). It is important to affirm to the participants that the data that is being collected is for lawful and specific reasons. The participants will also be informed that the data will be safe and that the identity of participant cannot be revealed. The participants will also be made aware that they could withdraw from the research if they see it not fit to proceed with it. In addition, there will be a full disclosure on ways in which data will be used including whether there will be a third party involved.

References

Balnaves, M., & Caputi, P. (2001). Introduction to quantitative research methods: An investigative approach. London: SAGE.

Burgess, R. (2005). The Ethics Of Educational Research. Routledge

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, Califorinia : SAGE Publications

Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.