conducted following sound research design practices H u m a n i t i e s

Part 1

During Module 3, we discussed sampling techniques and data collection. Think about how you can use this information in your daily life, both personally and professionally.

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Week 7:

Provide an example of how you are using a more critical lens when presented with information. Share the questions that you are asking because of what you now know about sampling techniques and data collection.

Part 2

Watch the video and read the two articles about the ethical issues that can and do arise in research that is publicly shared. The last link is to a website called “Retraction Watch.” This website consists of a searchable database on research in all disciplines that has been retracted due to fraud (fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism), as well as other types of ethical misconduct.

What A Massive Database of Retracted Papers Reveals about Science Publishing’s ‘Death Penalty’ (Links to an external site.)

Viewpoint: Why So Many Scientific Studies Are Flawed and Poorly Understood (Links to an external site.)

Retraction Watch (Links to an external site.)

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

Let’s start this discussion with your opinion. If publishing research results is a form of advertising, as mentioned in the video, does the responsibility of researchers end once they have published their findings?

Using the Reaction Watch database, identify a study that has been retracted within your discipline recently. Summarize the ethical misconduct – in other words, why the study was retracted. What was the potential harm that the findings could have or resulted in? Did the author(s) face any consequences?

Part 3

FIELD NOTES

Each note should be composed of four parts:

Notes
Description of everything observed or that can be remembered
Analysis
Reflection

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

Identify a research study in your field. Feel free to use the ones that you have referenced in the discussions or in your literature review.

A critique of the research article’s Analysis section:

What type of data was used? Do you think this was the most appropriate data to use for this study? Why or why not?
How did the researchers analyze the data? What sort of statistics were provided?
How did the researchers present the data (e.g., charts, tables, figures, etc.)? Where they used appropriately? Did they help you better understand the analysis?

A critique of the Results section:

Are the conclusions about the results logical? Are the implications, limitations, and recommendations for further research included?
Are they relevant to the current study and appropriate for furthering the literature in that area?

Based on your understanding of research methods, provide an overall statement of your analysis. Would you recommend this article to someone who might benefit from the information? Explain how it might (or might not) be applicable in practice.

Part 4

Apply a grounded theory approach to the qualitative analysis of your field notes. Apply the three-step coding process that we covered earlier in the module to your field notes to identify any patterns that exist. In addition, you will be submitting your completed Field Notes/journal.

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

In your short write-up, be sure to include the following:

Recurring themes identified.
Key words, phrases, and/or sentences that fall within the themes.
Since you do not have a specific research question or theoretical foundation to guide your analysis, identify any potential relationships that you find.
Write up a short narrative of your findings. Be sure to include any patterns you may have found.

Your qualitative analysis should be 1-2 pages, not including your completed Field Notes/journal, which you will need to upload as a separate document for this assignment.

Part 5

Your Research Proposal

In this course, you will research a topic of your choice and write an APA style proposal for a research study in your discipline. The process of developing your research proposal will take place over the duration of the course, by the end of the course, you will have a complete research proposal to submit. In the development of your proposal, you will describe how your study would be conducted following sound research design practices and ethical principles. You will NOT conduct an actual study.

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Your final research proposal will likely be 8-10 pages in length, including the following sections:

Introduction & Literature Review:
General introduction to your topic, and citing relevant research.

You will introduce your topic and research questions.
Define any terms that are specific to your research.
Discuss previous research and how your research will relate to what has been documented in the literature.
Conclude with your hypothesis.
Approximately 3-4 pages.

Methods:
This is where you will describe your study in detail, through various subsections (approximately 1-2 pages).

Participants: Describe your sample, starting with a description of the population and drill down from there to your specific sample. Be sure to include the total number of participants you plan to have in your study, their age, gender, and any other important demographic information that may be relevant to your study.
Measures/Instrumentation: If you are using previously developed measures (i.e., a survey/questionnaire that has been developed and validated by researchers in the field), briefly describe the measure and cite the original authors. If you are using the survey you developed in Module 3 or developing a different measure, be sure to include a copy of your measure in the appendix of your final submission. Be sure to provide a description of the format, content, purpose, and validity of your developed measure within your proposal.
Procedure: Here you will describe each step of your study, providing specific details with regard to what the participants in your study will experience. Be sure to include any specific instructions or special procedures that are relevant to your study.

Results:
Since you are not conducting your study, you will not have any data to analyze.

You should describe any analyses you would conduct.
Describe how you plan to present the data if you were to conduct the study.
Be sure to include how you plan to communicate your results, identifying a specific peer-reviewed journal and a conference.
Approximately 1 page.

References:

You should include at least five references.

This assignment is due Sunday of Week 8 by 11:59 PM EST. You will be assessed using the M4.5 Research Proposal Rubric.

This assignment uses Turnitin. Click for Turnitin submission instructions.

Part 6

Now that you have a better understanding of what research methods is, reflect on what you wrote at the beginning of and midway through this course. How has your understanding changed? Provide an example of how research methods apply in your discipline. How might you be able to use what you learned in this course in your life, personally and professionally?