Module 9

Module 9

 

Sorry I am posting a bit late this week. But this week’s assignments are pretty straightforward… please go ahead and draft your survey instrument. Keep in mind that you will need to display your data graphically. This will dictate the format of your questions. Do not administer your survey yet… I will need to sign off on it first. 

 

In addition to drafting your survey, please draft a description of your proposed method for administering the survey… Who will be your survey-takers? How many do you need? How will you approach them? Will they write on a piece of paper? Will you ask them questions and put tick marks on a tally sheet? Will you email the survey to them? Be as detailed as you can in describing your proposed method for conducting your survey.

 

If you want background reading for this segment, Questionnaire Research has good segments on developing and administering the Survey Instrument.

 

Since I am posting this assignment late, Module 9 work will not be due until Tuesday of next week: November 3. You can send it to me earlier if you’d like to.

Midterm

 Midterm Exam: Research Methods

Andrews/Fall 2020

 

 

Please respond to 3 of the following topics. Your responses should be 2-3 paragraphs in length. Spend approximately 20 minutes on each response. These responses are worth 10 points each. You may use your books, blogs and notes.  Please send me your responses BY EMAIL no later than 11pm on Sunday, October 25.

 

 

 

1) What is the role of writing a literature review in the context of a major research project? Why do scholars expend the considerable time and effort required to do this step?

 

 

2) How did the literature review help you in understanding what topic you wanted to pursue?




3)Write a 2-3 paragraph “executive summary” of your literature review for this class.

 

4) What are the challenges and benefits of open-ended questions in the context of a survey? Give examples.

 

 

4) What kinds of survey questions enable a researcher to most effectively depict his or her research results graphically? Give examples.

Module 8

Module 8

 

It’s midterm week… that can be stressful and since we have a flexible class format, we can be flexible about how you manage your time this week. Please feel free to give priority to your other midterms, which may have stricter deadlines. You can catch up on your modules for this class later in the week… deadline for all module work is now 11pm this coming Sunday, October 25. My priority is to make sure you have an opportunity to do your best work, not to have the work by an arbitrary deadline. 

 

What I DO need for you to do now is to spend some time looking through your notes and blog posts for this class so far and send me 3 short-answer style questions that you feel would be appropriate to ask on a midterm. Please send me these by email by this coming Tuesday, October 20 at 11pm. I will send/post your midterm exam on Wednesday, October 22, and your replies will be due at 11pm on Sunday, October 25. The format for the midterm will be all short-answer questions, in which you’ll give answers 1-3 paragraphs in length. An example would be: What is the role of writing a literature review in the context of a major research project? Why do scholars expend the considerable time and effort required to do this step?

 

So, recap of this week: You send me your 3 proposed midterm questions by email by Tuesday 11pm, I will email/post your midterm exam on Wednesday, your responses and any remaining Module work are all due by Sunday 11pm. Hopefully, that timeline allows you ample opportunities to plan your time and get your work done before, after, or during midterm break, according to your preference.

Module 7

 Module 7

 

The Boynton and Greenhalgh article on NCBI, “Selecting, designing, and developing your questionnaire,” includes a useful table titled “How should you present your questions?” This is noted as figure 2 in the article. This week, as we approach the halfway point of the semester, please revisit this table for examples of how to phrase effective questions in a questionnaire.

 

Now, take the questions you started to map out and run through the following exercise.

 

First, phrase them in an open-ended manner – i.e. a manner that allows the responder to answer the question in a narrative style, using whatever words they want to use. 

 

Second, phrase the same questions in a manner that only allows the responder to answer using pre-determined options, such as yes/no, true/false, Likert scale, check boxes, selection of words.

 

Third, assess the two different ways of phrasing your questions. Consider that you will need to summarize your survey results using tables, charts, or other graphical format. Which question style will make it easier / more difficult to graphically summarize your results? What are the pros and cons of using these different question styles in your survey?

 

Post your two sets of question styles, and your assessment, to your blog.

 

Next week we will have some midterm review starting Monday and a midterm exam… yes, it’s midterms already!

Module 6

 Module 6

 

Having completed your literature review, you are now more knowledgeable about the subject area you’ve chosen to explore this semester. In particular, you are familiar with what others have already written about it. Now it’s time to turn to the original research you’ll do in the second half of the semester. That research will be conducted via survey, so this week, you’ll begin thinking about what kind of information you might gather about your topic by conducting a survey.

 

If you were able to obtain a copy of Patten’s Questionnaire Research: A Practical Guide, it will serve as a handbook and reference as you develop your survey. I will not be making specific assignments out of the Patten text… it is there for you to use as a reference. 

 

This article will give you a good overview of considerations to keep in mind as you begin to think about your survey. 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC420179/

 

After reading the article, please make a blog post outlining your current thinking in response to the following questions:

 

1. You have been developing your familiarity with the existing literature around a topic area in your literature review. What questions have occurred to you that are not yet adequately answered by the existing literature? 

 

2. What questions or concerns drew you to the topic area in the first place?

 

3. If you were to ask 50 people a series of questions, how might their answers help you better understand your topic area or answer your most pressing questions?

 

4. What kinds of people would you sample? Would you want to ask your questions of people of a certain age range? People who have had certain life experiences? People who feel a particular way about an issue? Describe the people who might most usefully take your survey.

 

5. What questions might you ask your survey-takers? List at least 10-12 questions. 

 

Please DO NOT write your survey yet. We are just beginning and this is just a brainstorming exercise to get you started.

 

An example: If your topic is vaping, similar to our lit review example, you might have been drawn to this topic because you have an interest in addiction or in health. You might be most interested in learning how people get started vaping… is it true that flavored substances cause younger children to get hooked on vaping? You might in that case ask your series of questions of kids in high school or college. Or you could, alternatively, survey parents of young people who vape. Or maybe your interest is more in older vapers who continue the habit into adulthood. You might want to construct a series of questions that helps you understand why they started, or how they became addicted, whether they fully understand the health risks, etc. Or, more broadly, you might want to ascertain general attitudes toward vaping – do people see it as a social problem? Are they concerned about the possible burden on taxpayers if vapers develop serious illnesses like smokers have done? Is there a need for more social services focused on treating or avoiding vaping addiction? This is the level at which you should begin your thinking about your survey.