Assignment: Research hypothesis, design and method Summary

Assignment: Research hypothesis, design and method Summary

Assignment: Research hypothesis, design and method Summary

Name(s): ______________________________________________

Quantitative study: __________ Qualitative study: _____________

Location of Researcher’s Observation or Experiment

none _________ home ________ clinic _________ lab __________

residential facility ________ school _________ hospital _________ other __________

Were children involved? Yes _____ No ______ If your answer is yes, how many? _________

Introduction

Research hypothesis or research questions/problem behaviors: ________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Operational definitions:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Consider the following questions:

Is the need for the study clearly stated in the introduction?

_____________________________________________________________________________

Were the research questions and hypothesis clearly stated? Note that research questions are often presented implicitly within a description of the purpose of the study section.

Review of literature as relevant to the study: _________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Method

Sample size (total): ________________ Size per group or cell: _______________

Consider the Following Questions:

_______ Were the methods described so that the study could be replicated without further information?

Subjects

_______ Were subject recruitments and selection methods described?

_______ Were subjects randomly selected? Were there any biases in sampling?

_______ Were the samples appropriate for the population to which the researcher wished to generalize?

_______ Were characteristics of the sample adequately described?

_______ Are two or more groups being compared? Are they shown to be comparable on potentially confounding variables? If they are not comparable, is this incomparability handled properly?

_______ Was informed consent obtained?

_______ Was the size of the sample large enough for the number of measures and for the effect being sought?

Research Design

_______ Single group, time series study

_______ Multiple baseline (sequential) design: ______________

_______ Single group, no measurement

_______ Single group with measurement: Pre ______ During _____ Post _____

_______ Two groups classic experimental versus control group, randomly assigned

_______ (Quasi-experimental) two groups experimental versus control group,

not randomly assigned

_______ Correlation research, not manipulated, degree of relationship

_______ Descriptive research (qualitative study)

_______ Natural observation

_______ Analytical research

_______ Interview research

_______ Historical study

_______ Survey research

_______ Legal study

_______ Ethnography research

_______ Policy analysis

_______ Fieldwork research

_______ Evaluation study

_______ Phenomenology

_______ Grounded theory

_______ Protocol analysis (collection and analysis of verbatim reports)

_______ Case study, no measurement

_______ Case study, with measurement: Pre _________ During _______ Post _________

_______ Developmental research

_______ Longitudinal (same group of subjects over a period of time)

_______ Cross-sectional (subjects from different age groups compared)

_______ Cross-sequential (subjects from different age groups, shorter period of time)

_______ Correlation, more than two groups: control, treatment, and other treatment comparisons

_______ Factorial design, two or more groups: other treatment differences, no untreated controls

_______ Two or more dependent variables (MANOVA)

_______ Other design: __________________________________________________________

Consider the Following Yes/No Questions:

_______ If appropriate, was a control group used?

_______ Was the control method for the study appropriate?

_______ What variable was being controlled for?

_______ In the case of an experimental study, were subject randomly assigned to groups?

Measures

Type of dependent measures or instruments used: ____________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Measurement or instrument validity information: _______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Measurement or instrument reliability information: _____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Consider the Following Yes/No Questions:

_______ For all measures—measures to classify subjects, dependent variables, and so forth—was evidence of reliability and validity provided, either through summarizing the data or by referring the reader to an available source for that information?

_______ Do the reliability and validity data justify the use of the measure? Specific evidence is particularly important if a measure is created just for this particular study.

_______ Do the measures match the researchers questions and hypothesis being addressed?

_______ In the case that different tasks or measures are used, was their order counterbalanced? Do the researchers analyze for potential order effects?

_______ Are multiple measures used, particularly those that sample the same domains or constructs but with different methods, such as self-report, rating scales, self-monitoring, or direct observation?

_______ If human observers, judges, or raters were involved, was inter-observer or inter-rater agreement (reliability) assessed? Was it obtained for a representative sample of the data? Did the two raters do their ratings independently? Was their reliability satisfactory?

Independent and Dependent Variables

Independent variables: ________________________________________________________

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Dependent variables: __________________________________________________________

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Data Analysis

Scales of Measurement:

Nominal _______ Ordinal _______ Interval _______ Ratio _______

What type of statistical techniques are used?