Description
RES-831-O500 Foundations of Research Design 1 GCU Full Course
RES 831 Full Course Discussions GCU
What is the nature of quantitative methodology? What types of measurements are best explored using quantitative methodology? Why? Based on your initial readings in Chapter 1 of the course textbook, how is this different from qualitative methodology? Explain.
Imagine that you already have a doctoral degree and have a new job as a supervisor. It comes to your attention that several employees are dissatisfied and talking about leaving. Turnover is costly and disruptive, so you urgently need to identify a solution. The intensity of the situation and the burgeoning negative bandwagon have you concerned that talking to employees about the problems they are experiencing will unnecessarily heighten emotions and exacerbate the situation. Nonetheless, you wish to come to your boss with a fact-based list of measures that may be taken, starting with the most urgent, easiest to implement, and most effective. What kind of data do you need? How do you acquire the information you need? Support your position.
You still have the supervisor job (and your doctoral degree, of course). You still want to impress your manager, who has now asked for ideas to reward employees who contribute more to the company. As a deep thinker (you have a doctorate after all), your question is: More of what? To remain as objective as possible while evaluating your staff members, you determine that a quantitative methodology will be the best approach. How can you fairly measure what an employee has contributed? What criteria and measures would you use? What records would you keep for this purpose to be able to compare contributions? Using the research literature, justify why this would be the best approach for data collection.
Your boss was happy with your data collection plan to identify contributions of employees and offer them equitable rewards for their contributions to the success of the company. The plan has been implemented for half a year now. Has it been effective? Effective in terms of what? What quantitative research design can you use to find out? Why did you choose this design?
Your manager is very pleased with your research data collection plan and quantitative research design for measuring employee contributions and has asked you to write a literature review (similar to Chapter 2 in your dissertation). Your dilemma is what empirical research should be included in your literature review. How can you discern quality studies in the quantitative realm from mediocre ones? What are the top five criteria for selecting high quality quantitative empirical articles for your literature review? Justify criteria selected with appropriate sources.
After you have determined what sources to include in your literature review to assess employee contributions in the workplace, you must now compile your review and reflect on the implications of all that you have read in the extant literature and how that applies to your research. To what extent might the strengths, weakness, limitations, and delimitations of existing studies indicate strengths, weakness, limitations, and delimitations of your study? Explain.
A critical aspect of dissertation research is not determining what to research or how to research it, but justifying the research plan to others. Your dissertation committee will invest a lot of time and effort supporting you all the way to graduation. So, you need to persuade them that you have thought through the entire research plan and can justify each piece as both necessary and optimal for its particular function. What are the specific quantitative based arguments you have to present to your dissertation committee (chair, methodologist, and content expert) to garner their full approval? How will you craft your argumentation to maximize opportunity for approval of your research plan? Explain.
You have examined 10 recent quantitative dissertations from your field and devised systematic approach for identifying quality argumentation in the articles and recording potentially useful information from them. Now, you have one more week available to expand your sources of information and are considering reading some additional articles recently published in the top peer reviewed journal in your field. Will you be able to use your “systematic approach” for evaluating for these journal articles as well, or do you need a different approach? How do you know? Explain the feasibility and benefits of your decision.
To maximize the effectiveness of a planned campaign to raise community awareness of available services, a mental health provider has contracted a researcher to investigate how residents in an urban immigrant community seek mental health services. What types of useful knowledge could the researcher generate using qualitative methodology to investigate this problem? Explain. What types of knowledge regarding this problem cannot be credibly and dependably generated using qualitative methodology? Explain.
Based on your quantitative analyses of employee contributions to the workplace, you have learned that several employees continue to be dissatisfied and may leave. Turnover is costly and disruptive, so your manager wants you to investigate how employee perceive their work environment and motivation to stay with the organization. What types of useful knowledge could the researcher generate by using qualitative methodology to investigate this problem? What types of knowledge regarding this problem cannot be credibly and dependably generated using qualitative methodology? Support your position.
Your manager was impressed with the quantitative data collection plan that you initiated over a year ago and has now asked you to delve more deeply into how to motivate employee performance. Now, your questions become those of how and why? To understand more about how to motivate your staff members, you determine that a qualitative methodology will be the best approach. What are appropriate sources of data for this type of research? Describe how you would document and organize your qualitative data for future analyses? Using the research literature, justify why this would be the best approach for data collection.
Your manager was happy with your proposed qualitative design to better understand how to motivate employee performance. However, over the last 40 hours since you first discussed the plan with your manager, you are wondering if a different qualitative design would possibly yield better results. Consider each of the core qualitative research designs supported by GCU. How would the information gained from conducting the study differ from design to design? Explain. Which of the GCU core qualitative designs do you believe would best serve the purpose of the study? Why? Why would the other designs not be as effective? Explain.
Your manager is very pleased with your research data collection plan and qualitative research design for understanding how to motivate employee performance and has asked you to write a literature review (similar to Chapter 2 in your dissertation). Your dilemma is what empirical research should be included in your literature review. How can you discern quality studies in the qualitative realm from mediocre ones? What are the top five criteria for selecting high quality qualitative empirical articles for your literature review? Is there ever an instance where you might include a study that does not adequately meet all five criteria? Support your position.
After you have determined what sources to include in your literature review to understand how to motivate employees in the workplace, you must now compile your review and reflect on the implications of all that you have read in the extant literature and how that applies to your research. To what extent might the strengths, weakness, limitations, and delimitations of existing studies inform the development of your qualitative research problem and proposed study design. Explain.
Researchers may wish to conduct qualitative research to investigate a specific phenomenon when few or no qualitative studies are published on the matter. Imagine you are a member of a research team debating whether to conduct a qualitative or quantitative study on the health care needs of the community you serve with residual grant funding. As the qualitative specialist, how would you convince the quantitative research specialists in your team that qualitative research is justified? Simply noting there is a dearth of qualitative research on the problem or that other researchers have recommended qualitative research on the problem is not a strong enough argument. How would you justify the need to do qualitative research based on its merits for understanding the phenomenon? Explain.
Researchers must make a case about the merits of their research and try neither to overstate nor underestimate study results. This includes addressing research strengths and limitations. All research has potential limitations either inherent in the methods used or created through errors in the conduct of the research. Researchers should describe actual or potential study limitations and how these could be minimized or avoided. With that in mind, imagine you are a peer reviewer for a scholarly journal and are asked to review a qualitative research study submitted for publication and to provide the editor feedback regarding whether it should be accepted, revised, or rejected. What concerns with the research might surface during your review that may lead you to recommend that the manuscript be revised or rejected? What aspects of the research may persuade you that the manuscript should be accepted with minor or no revisions? Justify your arguments for and against publication of the study by highlighting the significance of identified strengths and limitations.
RES 831 Full Course Assignments GCU
Topic 1 SPSS Download and Install
Assessment Description
The use of software to assist with statistical computation is the norm when completing a quantitative dissertation. While software programs will not perform the data analysis for the researcher, programs such as IBM’s Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) are robust tools that can significantly reduce the manual labor required allowing the doctoral candidate to focus on the analysis of the data. In this assignment, you will download and install SPSS and begin to familiarize yourself with the user interface for use in future assignments. The installation is typically straight forward and can be accomplished in just several minutes. If you prefer not to download and install the software to your computer, you can run SPSS from the GCU Citrix server.
Directions:
Clickhereto access the download file located on the Technical Support Help Center page and begin the installation. Follow the instructions to download and install the software.
When prompted, enter thesoftware access key.
Once installed, clickhereto view an SPSS introductory video which provides an overview of both the user interface and the basic system functionality.
After viewing the video, start SPSS and experiment with the user interface. The time spent in familiarizing yourself with the interface will be beneficial when completing the SPSS assignment next week.
To complete the assignment, copy the SPSS home screen by taking a screenshot and pasting it into a Word document. For instructions on taking a screenshot, please clickhere. At the top of the document, add your name and the statement, “I am attaching a screen capture indicating that I have downloaded and installed SPSS onto my computer.” Note: If your output is large, you may need to reduce the size by compressing it. For instructions on how to compress a file, please clickhere.
Save the document to your computer being sure to include your name in the file name.
Submit the saved Word document to the Topic 1 assignment drop box.
Topic 2 Introduction to SPSS for Quantitative Analysis
Assessment Description
Understanding the data sampling procedure and the description of the data is critical to accurately interpreting the results of a study. In this assignment, you will practice describing data from an SPSS data set.
General Requirements:
Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:
- Refer to the Topic 1 assignment, “SPSS: Download and Install.” As a result of completing that assignment, you should have downloaded and installed SPSS on your computer. You will use the SPSS software in this assignment.
- Refer to the SPSS introductory video found athttps://youtu.be/_zFBUfZEBWQ.
- Access the document, “Introduction to Statistical Analysis Using IBM SPSS Statistics, Student Guide” to complete the assignment. It is attached to this assignment.
- Download the file “Census.sav” and open it with SPSS. Use the data to complete the assignment.
- Refer to the document, “Example: Introduction to SPSS for Quantitative Analysis” attached to this assignment.
- Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
- You are not required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Directions:
Open the attached document, “Introduction to Statistical Analysis Using IBM SPSS Statistics, Student Guide.”
Carefully read the following lessons in the Guide:
- Lesson 0: Course Introduction
- Lesson 1: Introduction to Statistical Analysis
- Lesson 2: Understanding Data Distributions
- Lesson 3: Data Distributions for Categorical Variables
As you read, work through all the tasks in the sections labeled, “Procedure: …,” and complete the “Apply Your Knowledge” activities within each lesson. These activities are designed to help you learn to navigate the SPSS program and build your understanding of statistical analysis. You will not submit your work on these activities; they are for your personal practice in learning SPSS. Note that not every lesson has these components.
Complete the tasks in section 3.9 Learning Activity in Lesson 3: Data Distributions for Categorical Variables by doing the following:
- Locate the data set “Census.sav” and open it with SPSS.
- Run the Frequencies procedure as directed in question 1.
- Answer questions 1-3 in the activity based on your observations of the SPSS output.
- Type your answers into a Word document.
- Copy and paste the full SPSS output including any supporting graphs and tables directly from SPSS into the Word document with your answers to the questions for submission to the instructor.
The appropriate tables and charts must be copied from the SPSS output into the Word document under each related question to support the written answer.
The SPSS output must be included in the submission with the problem set answers in order to receive full credit for the assignment. Note: If your output is large, you may need to reduce the size by compressing it. For instructions on how to compress a file, pleaseclick here.
Following the pasted image of the SPSS output in the same Word document, write a reflection (250-500 words) describing the following:
- The challenges you faced in downloading and using SPSS to complete the 3.9 Learning Activity.
- How you overcame those challenges to complete the assignment.
- Your overall perceptions of using SPSS for doing quantitative analysis.
- How you build on your introductory knowledge of SPSS as you begin to define your dissertation topic and methodological approach.
Submit to the instructor the single Word document with the following items:
- Your answers for 3.9 Learning Activity, questions 1-3.
- The SPSS Output for 3.9 Learning Activity that correspond to the questions.
- Your reflection on the use of SPSS.
Topic 4 Quantitative Analysis and Argumentation
Assessment Description
In your upcoming Residency, you will be asked to defend your choices of potential research topic, background to the problem, problem space, theoretical foundation, initial literature review, problem statement, variables, research questions and hypotheses, study methodology, and study feasibility. In this assignment, you will draft an initial defense of these items assuming your study will use a quantitative methodology.
General Requirements:
Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:
- Refer to your submission of “Dissertation Development” from RES-820.
- Locate the presentation template “RES-831 Quantitative Study Defense” attached to this assignment.
- This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
- Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
- Refer to thePublication Manual of the American Psychological Associationfor specific guidelines related to doctoral level writing. The Manual contains essential information on manuscript structure and content, clear and concise writing, and academic grammar and usage.
- This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
- You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Directions:
Refer to your potential dissertation topic from your submission of “Dissertation Development” in RES-820. For this assignment, you must use a quantitative methodology.
Using the presentation template “RES-831 Quantitative Study Defense,” complete the template slides to prepare a presentation to describe and defend your choices of the following as a quantitative study:
- Proposed Dissertation Topic Title
- Literature Review: Background to the Problem
- Literature Review: Problem Space
- Literature Review: Theoretical Foundations
- Literature Review: Review of Literature
- Problem Statement
- Variables
- Research Questions and Hypotheses
- Methodology Justification
- Feasibility
Your choices must be defended with relevant current research.
Topic 5 MAXQDA Download and Install
Assessment Description
The use of software to assist with coding interview and focus group feedback is common when completing a qualitative dissertation. While software programs will not perform the data analysis for the researcher, programs such as MAXQDA are robust tools that can significantly reduce the manual labor required allowing the doctoral candidate to focus on the analysis of the data. In this assignment, you will download and install MAXQDA and begin to familiarize yourself with the user interface for use in future assignments. The installation is typically straight forward and can be accomplished in just several minutes
Directions:
Clickhereto access the download file located on the Technical Support Help Center page and begin the installation. Follow the instructions to download and install the software.
When prompted, enter thesoftware access key.
Once installed, clickhereto view theintroductory video “Getting Started With MAXQDA: Getting Started in Just 10 Minutes” which provides an overview of both the user interface and the basic system functionality.
After viewing the introductory video, start MAXQDA and experiment with the user interface. The time spent in familiarizing yourself with the interface will be beneficial when completing the MAXQDA assignment next week.
Clickhereto view the instructional video, “How to Code Your Data With MAXQDA.”
To complete the assignment, copy the MAXQDA home screen by taking a screenshot and pasting it into a Word document. For instructions on taking a screenshot, please clickhere. At the top of the document, add your name and the statement, “I am attaching a screen capture indicating that I have downloaded and installed MAXQDA onto my computer.” Note: If your output is large, you may need to reduce the size by compressing it. For instructions on how to compress a file, please clickhere.
Save the document to your computer being sure to include your name in the file name.
Submit the saved Word document to the Topic 5 assignment drop box.
Topic 6 Introduction to MAXQDA for Qualitative Analysis
Assessment Description
Qualitative analysis software can assist with the analysis of data. In this assignment, you will use MAXQDA analysis software, which is used for qualitative data analysis, as well as some specialized quantitative analysis such as quantitative content analysis. This software can be used to analyze interview and focus group transcripts, documents, photographs, videos, and artifacts by inductively coding the data and developing themes using the process of thematic analysis, specific to your selected qualitative design.
General Requirements:
Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:
- Use the MAXQDA software you downloaded in Topic 5 of this course.
- Download the transcript “TS Focus Group” using the link shown below as well as available in the Topic Resources for this topic.
- Refer to the document, “Getting Started – MAXQDA 2020” attached to this assignment.
- Code the transcript focusing on addressing, or answering, the research question shown at the top of the transcript document. Please do not use the “lexical coding process for coding words and phrases”, which is used in quantitative research.
- This assignment will be scored based on full completion of the preliminary steps and assignment tasks followed by submission of the required deliverable.
- Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
- You are not required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Directions:
During Topic 5, you downloaded MAXQDA and read the MAXQDA Getting Started Guide from within MAXQDA at https://www.maxqda.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/GettingStarted-MAXQDA2020-EN.pdf. Please note the Guide is updated to the 2020 version. While vastly similar, you may notice some differences in the appearance of the interface. Pay particular attention as you read pages 12-24 of the Getting Started Guide.
Watch a Getting Started Video Tutorial athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJhBK3CDF9Ufor instruction on coding and the coding system in MAXQDA.
Use the instructions on pages 12-13 of the Guide to import the transcript document “TS Focus Group” into the software.
Read instructions on pages 19-24 to do the following:
- Activate all documents.
- Use the coding feature to practice assigning codes to the quotes in the transcripts.
- To code the document, you will highlight sentences or long phrases, which you believe address the research question shown at the top of the focus group transcript. Assign a code name to the highlighted text. Then add a description for the code. Each code will show in the “code system”.
- Export the coding system and coded segments for one code in Excel.
- Double click on one code to activate and export the coded segments as an Excel table.
- Submit the MAXQDA output in EXCEL and the reflection paper to the gradebook.
Write a reflection (250-500 words) describing the following:
- The value of using MAXQDA for doing coding and thematic analysis.
- The challenges you faced in downloading and using MAXQDA to do coding.
- How you overcame those challenges.
Submit the following items to the gradebook for this assignment:
- Coded transcripts and code system showing your highlighted sentences and phrases. Include the code name and description
- The Excel output from MAXQDA from coding the transcript of the focus group: coding system and coding segments for one code.
- Your reflection on the use of MAXQDA.
Topic 7 Qualitative Argumentation and Defense
Assessment Description
In your upcoming Residency, you will be asked to defend your choices of potential research topic, background to the problem, problem space, theoretical foundation, initial literature review, problem statement, variables, research questions and hypotheses, study methodology, and study feasibility. In the Topic 4 assignment in this course, you prepared a defense based on a quantitative methodology. In this assignment, you will draft an initial defense of these items assuming your study will use a qualitative methodology.
General Requirements:
Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:
- Refer to your submission of “Quantitative Analysis and Argumentation” in Topic 4 of this course.
- Refer to your submission of “Dissertation Development” from RES-820.
- Locate the presentation template “RES-831 Qualitative Study Defense” attached to this assignment.
- This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
- Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
- Refer to thePublication Manual of the American Psychological Associationfor specific guidelines related to doctoral level writing. The Manual contains essential information on manuscript structure and content, clear and concise writing, and academic grammar and usage.
- This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
- You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Directions:
Refer to your potential dissertation topic from your submission of “Dissertation Development” in RES-820. For this assignment, you must use a qualitative methodology.
Review your submission of “Quantitative Analysis and Argumentation” in Topic 4 of this course and any feedback from your instructor on that assignment. Update the following as needed, and transfer the updated information to the presentation template “RES-831 Qualitative Study Defense” attached to this assignment:
- Potential Research Topic
- Background to the Problem
- Problem Space
- Theoretical Foundation
- Initial Literature Review
Continuing in the presentation template “RES-831 Qualitative Study Defense,” complete the template slides to prepare a presentation to describe and defend your choices of the following as a qualitative study:
- Problem Statement
- Research Questions and Phenomena
- Study Methodology
- Study Feasibility
Your choices must be defended with relevant current research.
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