1 For this task, imagine that you were asked to present to a class of master's level students who are enrolled in their first quantitative research methods course. Create a PowerPoint presentation that explains how you would 'teach' the concepts you have learned regarding how to describe data presentation for both descriptive and correlation designs. Be sure to include the following in your presentation: An overview of both descriptive and correlational designs. An explanation of how data are presented regarding each design. Note the strengths and limitations of each design. Incorporate appropriate animations, transitions, and graphics as well as \"speaker notes\" for each slide. The speaker notes may be comprised of brief paragraphs or bulleted lists. Support your presentation with at least five scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources may be included. Length: 12-15 slides (with a separate reference slide) Notes Length: 200-350 words for each slide Be sure to include citations for quotations and paraphrases with references in APA format and style where appropriate. Save the file as PPT with the correct course code information. Assignment 2 For this task, you will prepare a mock interview. Assume you were asked to interview a researcher about the merits and weaknesses of quasi-experimental designs. These designs include (a) single group post-test only designs, (b) single group pretest/posttest design, (c) single-group time-series design, (d) nonequivalent control group posttest-only design, (e) nonequivalent control group pretest/posttest design and (f) multiple-group time-series design. Your interview should be conversational in nature and critically discuss the following questions regarding each of the major Quasi-Experimental Designs: 1. What are the merits of each of the specific designs? 2. When should you use each of the specific designs? 3. What is the statistical analysis that is used for each of the specific designs? 4. What are the limitations of each of the specific designs? 5. What is one research question for each of the specific designs (using a topic area that you are interested in)? For your mock interview, utilize all of this week's required readings to illustrate points throughout your interview. Length: 5-7 pages Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to the topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Resources Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Institute on Climate and Planets. ICP's guide for presenting your research. http://icp.giss.nasa.gov/education/presentation/ Hussain, M. (2012). Descriptive statistics - presenting your results I. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association, 741-743. http://www.jpma.org.pk/PdfDownload/3569.pdf Research Methods Knowledge Base. Correlation. Web Center for Social Research Methods. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statcorr.php Jackson, S. L. (2016). Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach. (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Trochim, T.M., Donnelly, J., & Arora, A. (2015). Research methods: The essential knowledge base. (2nd. ed.). Boston, MA. Cengage Learning. CHAPTER 4 Descriptive Methods Observational Methods Naturalistic Observation Options When Using Observation Laboratory Observation Data Collection Narrative Records Checklists Qualitative Methods Case Study Method Archival Method Interviews and Focus Group Interviews Field Studies Action Research Qualitative Data Analysis Survey Methods Survey Construction Writing the Questions Arranging the Questions Administering the Survey Mail Surveys Telephone Surveys Personal Interviews Sampling Techniques Probability Sampling Nonprobability Sampling Summary Key Terms Chapter Exercises Critical Thinking Check Answers Web Resources Chapter 4 Study Guide 75 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 76 chapter 4 Learning Objectives Explain the difference between naturalistic and laboratory observation. Explain the difference between participant and nonparticipant observation. Explain the difference between disguised and nondisguised observation. Describe how to use a checklist versus a narrative record. Describe an action checklist versus a static checklist. Describe the case study method. Describe the archival method. Describe the interview method. Describe the field study method. Describe what action research is. Differentiate open-ended, closed-ended, and partially open-ended questions. Explain the differences among loaded questions, leading questions, and double-barreled questions. Identify the three methods of surveying. Identify advantages and disadvantages of the three survey methods. Differentiate probability and nonprobabililty sampling. Differentiate random sampling, stratified random sampling, and cluster sampling. I n the preceding chapters, we discussed certain aspects of getting started with a research project. We will now turn to a discussion of actual research methodsthe nuts and bolts of conducting a research project starting with various types of nonexperimental designs. In this chapter, we'll discuss descriptive methods. These methods, as the name implies, allow you to describe a situation; however, they do not allow you to make accurate predictions or to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables. We'll examine three different types of descriptive methodsobservational methods, qualitative methods, and surveysproviding an overview and examples of each method. In addition, we will note any special considerations that apply when using each of these methods. Observational Methods As noted in Chapter 1, the observational method in its most basic form is as simple as it soundsmaking observations of human or animal behavior. This method is not used as widely in psychology as in other disciplines such as sociology, ethology, and anthropology, because most psychologists want to be able to do more than describe. However, this method is of great value Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 77 in some situations. When we begin research in an area, it may be appropriate to start with an observational study before doing anything more complicated. In addition, certain behaviors that cannot be studied in experimental situations lend themselves nicely to observational research. We will discuss two types of observational studiesnaturalistic, or field observation, and laboratory, or systematic observationalong with the advantages and disadvantages of each type. Naturalistic Observation ScienceCartoonsPlus.com 2005 Sidney Harris. Reprinted with permission ecological validity The extent to which research can be generalized to real-life situations. Naturalistic observation (sometimes referred to as field observation) involves watching people or animals in their natural habitats. The greatest advantage of this type of observation is the potential for observing natural or true behaviors. The idea is that animals or people in their natural habitat, rather than an artificial laboratory setting, should display more realistic, natural behaviors. For this reason, naturalistic observation has greater ecological validity than most other research methods. Ecological validity refers to the extent to which research can be generalized to real-life situations (Aronson & Carlsmith, 1968). Both Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey engaged in naturalistic observation in their work with chimpanzees and gorillas, respectively. However, as you'll see, they used the naturalistic method slightly differently. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 78 chapter 4 Options When Using Observation undisguised observation Studies in which the subjects are aware that the researcher is observing their behavior. nonparticipant observation Studies in which the researcher does not participate in the situation in which the research subjects are involved. participant observation Studies in which the researcher actively participates in the situation in which the research subjects are involved. disguised observation Studies in which the subjects are unaware that the researcher is observing their behavior. Both Goodall and Fossey used undisguised observationthey made no attempt to disguise themselves while making observations. Goodall's initial approach was to observe the chimpanzees from a distance. Thus, she attempted to engage in nonparticipant observationa study in which the researcher does not take part (participate) in the situation in which the research subjects are involved. Fossey, on the other hand, attempted to infiltrate the group of gorillas that she was studying. She tried to act as they did in the hopes of being accepted as a member of the group so that she could observe as an insider. In participant observation, then, the researcher actively participates in the situation in which the research subjects are involved. Take a moment to think about the issues involved when using either of these methods. In nonparticipant observation, there is the issue of reactivitysubjects reacting in an unnatural way to someone obviously watching them. Thus, Goodall's sitting back and watching the chimpanzees may have caused them to \"react\" to her presence, and she therefore may not have observed naturalistic or true behaviors from the chimpanzees. Fossey, on the other hand, claimed that the gorillas accepted her as a member of their group, thereby minimizing or eliminating reactivity. This claim is open to question, however, because no matter how much like a gorilla she acted, she was still human. Imagine how much more effective both participant and nonparticipant observation might be if researchers used disguised observationconcealing the fact that they were observing and recording participants' behaviors. Disguised observation allows the researcher to make observations in a more unobtrusive manner. As a nonparticipant, a researcher can make observations by hiding or by videotaping participants. Reactivity is not an issue because subjects are unaware that anyone is observing their behavior. Hiding or videotaping, however, may raise ethical problems if the subjects are humans. This is one reason that all research, both human and animal, must be approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or the Animal Care and Use Committee, as described in Chapter 2, prior to beginning a study. Disguised observation may also be used when someone is acting as a participant in the study. Rosenhan (1973) demonstrated this in his classic study on the validity of psychiatric diagnoses. Rosenhan had 8 sane individuals seek admittance to 12 different mental hospitals. Each was asked to go to a hospital and complain of the same symptomshearing voices that said \"empty,\" \"hollow,\" and \"thud.\" Once admitted to the mental ward, the individuals no longer reported hearing voices. If admitted, each individual was to make recordings of patient-staff interactions. Rosenhan was interested in how long it would take a \"sane\" person to be released from the mental hospital. He found that the length of stay varied from 7 to 52 days, although the hospital staff never detected that the individuals were \"sane\" and part of a disguised participant study. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 79 expectancy effects The influence of the researcher's expectations on the outcome of the study. As we have seen, one of the primary concerns of naturalistic studies is reactivity. Another concern for researchers who use this method is expectancy effects. Expectancy effects are the effect of the researcher's expectations on the outcome of the study. For example, the researcher may pay more attention to behaviors that they expect or that support their hypotheses, while possibly ignoring behaviors that might not support their hypotheses. Because the only data in an observational study are the observations made by the researcher, expectancy effects can be a serious problem, leading to biased results. Besides these potential problems, naturalistic observation can be costlyespecially in studies like those conducted by Goodall and Fossey where travel to another continent is requiredand are usually time- consuming. One reason is that often researchers are open to studying many different behaviors when conducting this type of study; anything of interest may be observed and recorded. This flexibility often means that the research can go on indefinitely, and there is little control over what happens in the study. Laboratory Observation An observational method that is usually less costly and time-consuming and affords more control is laboratory or systematic observation. In contrast to naturalistic observation, systematic or laboratory observation involves observing behavior in a more contrived setting, usually a laboratory, and focusing on a small number of carefully defined behaviors. The subjects are more likely to know that they are participating in a research study in which they will be observed. However, as with naturalistic observation, the researcher can be either a participant or a nonparticipant and either disguised or undisguised. For example, in the classic \"strange situation\" study by Ainsworth and Bell (1970), mothers brought their children to a laboratory playroom. The mothers and children were then observed through a two-way mirror in various situations, such as when the child explored the room, was left alone in the room, was left with a stranger, and was reunited with the mother. This study used nonparticipant observation. In addition, it was conducted in an undisguised manner for the mothers (who were aware they were being observed) and disguised for the children (who were unaware they were being observed). Laboratory observation may also be conducted with the researcher as a participant in the situation. For example, a developmental psychologist could observe play behavior in children as an undisguised participant by playing with the children. In other studies involving laboratory observation, the subject is disguised. Research on helping behavior (altruism) often uses this method. For example, researchers might stage what appears to be an emergency while subjects are supposedly waiting for an experiment to begin. The researcher participates in a disguised manner in the \"emergency Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 80 chapter 4 situation\" and observes how the \"real\" subjects act in this situation. Do they offer help right away, and does offering help depend on the number of people present? In laboratory observation, as with naturalistic observation, we are concerned with reactivity and expectancy effects. In fact, reactivity may be a greater concern because most people will \"react\" simply to being in a laboratory. As noted, one way of attempting to control reactivity is by using a disguised type of design. An advantage of systematic or laboratory settings is that they are contrived (not natural) and thus offer the researcher more control. The situation has been manufactured to some extent to observe a specific behavior or set of behaviors. Because the situation is contrived, the likelihood that the subjects will actually engage in the behavior of interest is far greater than it would be in a natural setting. Most researchers view this control as advantageous because it reduces the length of time needed for the study. Notice, however, that as control increases, flexibility decreases. You are not free to observe whatever behavior you find of interest on any given day, as you would be with a naturalistic study. Researchers have to decide what is of greatest importance to them and then choose either the naturalistic or laboratory method. Data Collection Another decision to be faced when conducting observational research is how to collect the data. In Chapter 3, we discussed several types of measures: self-report measures, tests, behavioral measures, and physical measures. Because observational research involves observing and recording behavior, data are most often collected through the use of behavioral measures. As noted in Chapter 3, behavioral measures can be taken in a direct (at the time the behavior occurs) or in an indirect manner (via audio- or videotape). In addition, researchers using the observational technique can collect data using narrative records or checklists. narrative records Full narrative descriptions of a subject's behavior. Narrative Records. Narrative records are full narrative descriptions of a subject's behavior. These records may be created in a direct mannerwriting notes by handor an indirect manneraudio- or videotaping the subjects and then taking notes at a later time. The purpose of narrative records is to capture, in a complete manner, everything the participant said or did during a specified period of time. One of the best examples of the use of narrative records is the work of Jean Piaget. Piaget studied cognitive development in children and kept extensive narrative records concerning everything a child did during the specified time period. His records were a running account of exactly what the child said and did. Although narrative records provide a complete account of what took place with each participant in a study, they are a very subjective Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 81 means of collecting data. In addition, narrative records cannot be analyzed quantitatively. To be analyzed, the data must be coded in some way, reducing the huge volume of narrative information to a more manageable quantitative form, such as the number of problems solved correctly by children in different age ranges. The data should be coded by more than one person to establish interrater reliability. You may recall from Chapter 3 that interrater reliability is a measure of reliability that assesses the agreement of observations made by two or more raters or judges. checklist A tally sheet on which the researcher records attributes of the subjects and whether particular behaviors were observed. static item A type of item used on a checklist on which attributes that will not change are recorded. action item A type of item used on a checklist to note the presence or absence of behaviors. Checklists. A more structured and objective method of collecting data involves using a checklista tally sheet on which the researcher records attributes of the subjects and whether particular behaviors were observed. Checklists enable researchers to focus on a limited number of specific behaviors. Researchers use two basic types of items on checklists. A static item is a means of collecting data on characteristics that will not change while the observations are being made. These static features may include how many people are present; the gender, race, and age of the participant; or what the weather is like (if relevant). Many different characteristics may be noted using static items, depending on the nature of the study. For example, observations of hospital patients might include information on general health, whereas observations of driving behavior might include the make and type of vehicle driven. The second type of item used on a checklist, an action item, is used to record whether specific behaviors were present or absent during the observational time period. Action items could be used to record the type of stop made at a stop sign (complete, rolling, or none) or the type of play behavior observed in children (solitary, cooperative, or parallel). Typically, action items provide a means of tallying the frequency of different categories of behavior. As discussed in Chapter 3, it is important that researchers who use checklists understand the operational definition of each characteristic being measured to increase the reliability and validity of the measures. As you may recall, an operational definition of a variable is a definition of the variable in terms of the operations (activities) a researcher uses to measure or manipulate it. Thus, to use a checklist accurately, the person collecting the data must clearly understand what constitutes each category of behavior being observed. The advantage of checklists over narrative records is that the data are already quantified and do not have to be reduced in any way. The disadvantage is that the behaviors and characteristics to be observed are determined when the checklist is devised. Thus, an interesting behavior that would have been included in a narrative record may be missed or not recorded because it is not part of the checklist. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 82 chapter 4 Features of Types of Observational Studies In Review TYPES OF OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES Naturalistic laboratory Description Observing people or animals in their natural habitats Observing people or animals in a contrived setting, usually a laboratory Options Participant versus nonparticipant Disguised versus nondisguised Participant versus nonparticipant Disguised versus nondisguised Means of Data Collection Narrative records Checklists Narrative records Checklists Concerns Reactivity Expectancy effects Time Money Lack of control Reactivity Expectancy effects Lack of flexibility Critical Thinking Check 4.1 1. Explain the differences in flexibility and control between naturalistic and laboratory observational research. 2. If reactivity were your greatest concern in an observational study, which method would you recommend using? 3. Why is data reduction of greater concern when using narrative records as opposed to checklists? Qualitative Methods qualitative research A type of social research based on field observations that is analyzed without statistics. Qualitative research focuses on phenomena that occur in natural settings, and the data are analyzed without the use of statistics. Qualitative research usually takes place in the field or wherever the subjects normally conduct their activities. When using qualitative methods, however, researchers are typically not interested in simplifying, objectifying, or quantifying what they observe. Instead, when conducting qualitative studies, researchers are more interested in interpreting and making sense of what they have observed. Researchers using this approach may not necessarily believe that there is a single \"truth\" to be discovered but rather that there are multiple positions or opinions and that each have some degree of merit. Qualitative research entails observation and/or unstructured interviewing in natural settings. The data are collected in a spontaneous and openended fashion. Consequently, these methods have far less structure and control than do quantitative methods. Researchers who prefer quantitative methods often regard this tendency toward flexibility and lack of control as a threat to the reliability and validity of a study. Those who espouse qualitative Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 83 methods, however, see these characteristics as strengths. They believe that the subjects eventually adjust to the researcher's presence (thus reducing reactivity) and that once they adjust, the researcher is able to acquire perceptions from different points of view. Please keep in mind that most of the methodologies used by qualitative researchers are also used by quantitative researchers. The difference is in the intent of the study. The quantitative researcher typically starts with a hypothesis for testing, observes and collects data, statistically analyzes the data, and draws conclusions. Qualitative researchers are far less structured and go more with the flow of the research setting and the subjects. They may change what they are observing based on changes that occur in the field setting. Qualitative researchers typically make passive observations with no intent of manipulating a causal variable. Qualitative research has been more commonly used by other social researchers, such as sociologists and anthropologists, but it is growing in applicability and popularity among psychologists. Case Study Method One of the oldest qualitative research methods is the case study method, an in-depth study of one or more individuals, groups, social settings, or events in the hope of revealing things that are true of all of us. For instance, Freud's theory of personality development was based on a small number of case studies. Piaget, whose research was used as an example of observational methods, began studying cognitive development by completing case studies on his own three children. This inquiry piqued his interest in cognitive development to such an extent that he then began to use observational methods to study hundreds of other children. As another example, much of the research on split-brain patients and hemispheric specialization was conducted using case studies of the few individuals whose corpus callosum had been severed. One advantage of case study research is that it often suggests hypotheses for future studies, as in Piaget's case. It also provides a method to study rare phenomena, such as rare brain disorders or diseases, as in the case of split-brain patients. Case studies may also offer tentative support for a psychological theory. Case study research also has problems. The individual, group, setting, or event being observed may be atypical, and, consequently, any generalizations made to the general population would be erroneous. For example, Freud formulated a theory of personality development that he believed applied to everyone based on case studies of a few atypical individuals. Another potential problem is expectancy effects: Researchers may be biased in their interpretations of their observations or data collection, paying more attention to data that support their theory and ignoring data that present problems for it. Because of these limitations, case study research should be used with caution, and the data should be interpreted for what they are observations on one or a few possibly unrepresentative individuals, groups, settings, or events. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 84 chapter 4 Archival Method archival method A descriptive research method that involves describing data that existed before the time of the study. A second qualitative method is the archival method, which involves describing data that existed before the time of the study. In other words, the data were not generated as part of the study. One of the biggest advantages of archival research is that the problem of reactivity is minimized because the data have already been collected and the researcher does not have to interact with the subjects in any way. As an example, Linda Gordon (1988) used welfare records to try to understand family violence. She used case records from social work agencies to investigate how social conceptions of family violence changed over time. You can see, based on this example, that another advantage of archival research is that it is usually less time-consuming than most other research methods because the data already exist. Thus researchers are not confronted with the problems of getting participants for their study and taking the time to observe them because these tasks have already been done for them. There are many sources for archival data. The best-known is the U.S. Census Bureau. However, any organization that collects data is an archival source: the National Opinion Research Center, the Educational Testing Service, and local, state, and federal public records can all be sources of archival data. In addition to organizations that collect data, archival research may be conducted based on the content of newspapers or magazines, data in a library, police incident reports, hospital admittance records, computer databases, or private records. Some data sources might be considered better than others. For instance, reviewing letters to the editor at a local newspaper to gauge public sentiment on a topic might lead to biases in the data. In other words, there is a selection bias in who decided to write to the editor, and some opinions or viewpoints may be overlooked simply because the individuals who hold those viewpoints decided not to write to the editor. Moreover, in all archival research studies, researchers are basing their conclusions on data collected by another person or organization. This secondhand collection means that the researchers can never be sure whether the data are reliable or valid. In addition, they cannot be sure that what is currently in the archive represents everything that was originally collected. Some of the data may have been purged at some time, and researchers will not know this. Nor will they know why any data were purged or why some data were purged and some left. Thus as a research method archival research typically provides a lot of flexibility in terms of what is studied but no control in terms of who was studied or how they were studied. Interviews and Focus Group Interviews interview A method that typically involves asking questions in a face-to-face manner, and it may be conducted anywhere. Interviews can be thought of as the verbal equivalent of a pencil and paper survey. During an interview the researcher is having a conversation with the respondent and the conversation has a purpose. An interview typically involves asking questions in a face-to-face manner, and it may be conducted anywhereat the individual's home, on the street, or in a shopping mall. There are three different types of interviews: the standardized interview, the Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 85 focus group interview A method that involves interviewing six to ten individuals at the same time. semistandardized interview, and the unstandardized interview (Berg, 2009; Esterberg, 2002). The standardized interview is somewhat formal in structure, and the questions are typically asked in a specific order. There is little deviation on the wording of the questions. That is, questions are asked just as they are written, and there is no question clarification provided to respondents nor are general questions about the interview answered or additional questions added on the spur of the moment. The semistandardized interview has some structure to it, but the wording of the questions is flexible, the level of the language may be modified, and the interviewer may choose to answer questions and provide further explanation if requested. Respondents have a greater ability to express their opinions in their own words when using this type of interview structure. Lastly, there is more flexibility in terms of the interviewer adding or deleting questions. The unstandardized interview is completely unstructured in that there is no set order to the questions nor a set wording to the questions. The questions are more spontaneous and free flowing. This flexibility obviously means that the level of the language can be modified and that the interviewer may provide question clarification, answer questions the respondent may have, and add or delete questions. When conducting an interview, no matter the type of interview, the researcher needs to think about the order of the questions. It is generally recommended that one begins with questions that the respondent should find easy and nonthreatenting before moving on to the more important questions. Sensitive questions should come later in the interview when the respondent is more at ease with the situation. At some point there should be validation of the more sensitive questions, that is, questions that restate important or sensitive questions. These validation questions should be worded differently than the previous questions on the same topic. If your interview involves several topics, you should arrange the questions on each topic in the manner described above. In addition, when interviewing on more than one topic, there should be some sort of transition between the questions on each topic such as 'The next series of questions will ask you about...\" One advantage of interviews is that they allow the researcher to record not only verbal responses but also any facial or bodily expressions or movements, such as grins, grimaces, or shrugs. These nonverbal responses may give the researcher greater insight into the respondent's true opinions and beliefs. A variation on interviewing individuals is the focus group interview. Focus group interviews involve interviewing six to ten individuals at the same time. Focus groups usually meet once for 1 to 2 hours. The questions asked of the subjects are open-ended and addressed to the whole group. This procedure allows subjects to answer in any way they choose and to respond to each other. One concern with focus group interviews is that one or two of the participants may dominate the conversation. Consequently, it is important that the individual conducting the focus group is skilled at dealing with such problems. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 86 chapter 4 Focus group interviews are a flexible methodology that permit the gathering of a large amount of information from many people in a fairly short amount of time. Because of their flexibility, focus group interviews allow the moderator to explore other topics that might arise based on the discussion of the group. Field Studies field studies A method that involves observing everyday activities as they happen in a natural setting. Earlier in the chapter, we discussed a methodology that is very similar to field studies: naturalistic observation. Field studies involve observing everyday activities as they happen in a natural setting. In addition, the observer is directly involved with those that are being observed. In this sense, field studies are similar to participant observation. The main difference is that when field studies are used, data are always collected in a narrative form and left in that form because the research is qualitative. The hope of the researcher conducting a field study is to acquire the perspective and point of view of an insider while also keeping an objective analytic perspective. The data produced are in the form of extensive written notes that provide detailed descriptions. Observers should take note of the ongoing social processes, but they should not interfere with these processes or attempt to impose their perspectives. This balancing act requires quite a bit of skill because the researcher is a participant in the situation but cannot influence those being observed. In other words, we want those being observed to act as they would if the researcher were not there, and we want the outcomes to be the same as they would have been if the researcher were not there. This method is unlike participant observation in which those being observed may not realize they are being observed. With field studies, subjects realize they are being observed, meaning there is the issue of reactivity that we discussed earlier in the chapter. The goal of field studies is a holistic understanding of a culture, subculture, or group. Action Research action research A method in which research is conducted by a group of people to identify a problem, attempt to resolve it, and then assess how successful their efforts were. The final type of qualitative research we will discuss is action research, research conducted by a group of people to identify a problem, attempt to resolve it, and then assess how successful their efforts were. This research is highly applied in that it is typically conducted by those who have a problem in order to solve the problem. That is, action research follows the old adage: \"If you want something done right, do it yourself.\" So rather than hire someone to analyze a social program in order to assess its effectiveness, those who work in the program would identify a problem to be evaluated, explore the problem, and then define an agenda for action. Action research has a wide range of applications, for example, in schools, hospitals, social agencies, the justice system, and community contexts. The methodology uses a collaborative approach that as an end result Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 87 gives people a course of action to fix a problem. It utilizes a participatory democratic style. There are three basic phases to action research. The first process is looking, when the researchers gather information, identify a problem, and identify who the stakeholders are. The second process is thinking, which involves thinking about the problem, gathering the information to answer the questions posed, and analyzing and interpreting the data. Areas of success should be identified along with possible deficiencies. The final process is actionthus the name action research. After looking and thinking, action needs to be taken to improve the lives of the participants (i.e., the stakeholders). This last process also involves sharing the results not only with the stakeholders but with the larger community. Unlike other methodologies, action research is typically not published in academic journals but instead might be presented in a newspaper article, on television, or in a magazine. These venues mean that the language and content of action research is easier to understand and typically does not include difficult-to-understand statistical techniques; that is, it is written at a level that a lay person can understand. As a means of illustrating action research, consider the following example of a possible action research study designed to address complaints of noise in a residence hall on a college campus (Sommer & Sommer, 2002). A committee of students in the residence hall makes up the key people undertaking the study, with some of the students coming from the preference-for-quiet-while-studying side of the issue and some coming from the preference-for-music-while-studying side of the issue. The students decide to conduct a door-to-door survey to learn how much the residents are bothered by noise. A survey instrument that utilizes a series of open-ended questions is developed, and given that the questions used for the interview are open-ended, the research is qualitative in nature. However, you should appreciate that the question type could be changed to rating scale questions or that the answers to the open-ended questions could be coded into numerical data, making this action research study quantitative in nature. Thus, as stated earlier, most of the qualitative methods described in this section could also be used as quantitative methods. The data from the interview would be reviewed and discussed by the committee in order to assess the general consensus of the members of the residence hall. Based on these qualitative results, an action plan should be developed and implemented in the residence hall that addresses the problem. The committee should then revisit the issue a month or two later to assess the effectiveness of the action plan, closing the loop in the action research process. Qualitative Data Analysis Let's begin our discussion of qualitative data analysis by identifying the similarities between it and quantitative data analysis. Both types of data analysis involve the researcher making some type of inference based on the Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 88 chapter 4 data. In addition, both types of data analysis involve the researcher carefully examining the data that have been collected in order to reach a conclusion. Finally, researchers who use both types of analyses make their findings public so that they can be scrutinized and reviewed by others. The main difference between qualitative and quantitative data analyses is that statistics and mathematical formulas are not used with qualitative analyses. Most of the data collected are nominal in scale and are collected via extensive note taking. Consequently, the data are verbal in nature rather than numerical and consist of very detailed notes on what was observed via the particular methodology used. Unlike quantitative analyses in which data analysis cannot take place until after all data have been collected, with qualitative analyses the results of an early review of the data might guide what data are collected later in the study. Qualitative analyses usually involve reading through the notes taken and trying to conceptualize from the data. During this stage the researcher is looking for patterns in the data. Accordingly, researchers might code the data by organizing it into conceptual categories. They then would attempt to create themes or concepts. Computers or word processors can be used to help with the data analysis by searching through the notes to identify certain words or phrases that might help to develop themes and concepts. Features of Types of Qualitative Studies In Review Type of Study Description Case Study An in-depth study of one or more individuals, groups, social settings, or events in the hope of revealing things that are true of all of us Archival Study A method that involves describing data that existed before the time of the study Interview A method that involves asking questions in a face-to-face manner; it may be conducted anywhere Focus Group Interview A method that involves interviewing six to ten individuals at the same time Field Studies A method that involves observing everyday activities as they happen in a natural setting Action Research Research conducted by a group of people to identify a problem, attempt to resolve it, and then assess how successful their efforts were Survey Methods Another means of collecting data for descriptive purposes is to use a survey. We will discuss several elements to consider when using surveys, including constructing the survey, administering the survey, and choosing sampling techniques. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 89 Survey Construction We begin our coverage of the survey method by discussing survey construction. For the data collected to be both reliable and valid, the researcher must carefully plan the survey instrument. The type of questions used and the order in which they appear may vary depending on how the survey is ultimately administered (for example, a mail survey versus a telephone survey). Writing the Questions. The first task in designing a survey is to write the survey questions. Questions should be written in clear, simple language to minimize any possible confusion. Take a moment to think about surveys or exam questions you may have encountered where, because of poor wording, you misunderstood what was being asked of you. For example, consider the following questions: How long have you lived in Harborside? How many years have you lived in Harborside? open-ended questions Questions for which subjects formulate their own responses. closed-ended questions Questions for which subjects choose from a limited number of alternatives. partially open-ended questions Closed-ended questions with an open-ended \"Other\" option. In both instances, the researcher is interested in determining the number of years the individual has resided in the area. Notice, however, that the first question does not actually ask this. An individual might answer \"Since I was 8 years old\" (meaningless unless the survey also asks for current age) or \"I moved to Harborside right after I got married.\" In either case, the participant's interpretation of the question is different from the researcher's intent. It is important, therefore, to spend time thinking about the simplest wording that will elicit the specific information of interest to the researcher. Another consideration when writing survey questions is whether to use open-ended, closed-ended, partially open-ended, or rating-scale questions. Table 4.1 provides examples of these types of questions. Open-ended questions ask subjects to formulate their own responses. On written surveys, researchers can control the length of the response to some extent by the amount of room they leave for the respondent to answer the question. A single line encourages a short answer, whereas several lines indicate that a longer response is expected. Closed-ended questions ask the respondent to choose from a limited number of alternatives. Subjects may be asked to choose the one answer that best represents their beliefs or to check as many answers as apply to them. When writing closed-ended questions, researchers must make sure that the alternatives provided include all possible answers. For example, suppose a question asks how many hours of television the respondent watched the previous day and provides the following alternatives: 0-1 hour, 2-3 hours, 4-5 hours, or 6 or more hours. What if an individual watched 1.5 hours? Should this respondent select the first or second alternative? Each participant would have to decide which alternative to choose. This, in turn, would compromise the data collected. In other words, the data would be less reliable and valid. Partially open-ended questions are similar to closed-ended questions, but one alternative is \"Other\" with a Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 90 chapter 4 Table 4.1 Examples of Types of Survey Questions Open-ended Has your college experience been satisfying thus far?_____________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Closed-ended Has your college experience been satisfying thus far? Yes __________ No __________ Partially open-ended With regard to your college experience, which of the following factors do you find satisfying? Academics __________ Relationships __________ Residence halls __________ Residence life __________ Social life __________ Food service __________ Other ___________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ I am very satisfied with my college experience. 1 Strongly Disagree rating scale A numerical scale on which survey respondents indicate the direction and strength of their response. likert rating scale A type of numerical rating scale developed by Renis Likert in 1932. 2 Disagree 3 Neutral 4 Agree 5 Strongly Agree Cengage Learning Likert Rating Scale blank space next to it. If none of the alternatives provided is appropriate, the respondent can mark \"Other\" and then write a short explanation. Finally, researchers may use some sort of rating scale that asks participants to choose a number that represents the direction and strength of their response. One advantage of using a rating scale is that it's easy to convert the data to an ordinal or interval scale of measurement and proceed with statistical analysis. One popular version is the Likert rating scale, named after the researcher who developed the scale in 1932. A Likert rating scale presents a statement rather than a question, and respondents are asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement. The example in Table 4.1 uses a Likert scale with five alternatives. If you want to provide respondents with a neutral alternative, you should use a scale with an odd number of alternatives. If, however, you want to force respondents to lean in one direction or another, you should use an even number of alternatives. Also note that each of the five numerical alternatives has a descriptive word associated with it. Using a descriptor for each numerical alternative is usually best, rather than just anchoring words at the beginning and end of the scale (in other words, Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 91 loaded question A question that includes nonneutral or emotionally laden terms. leading question A question that sways the respondent to answer in a desired manner. double-barreled question A question that asks more than one thing. response bias The tendency to consistently give the same answer to almost all of the items on a survey. just the words Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree at the beginning and end of the scale), because when all numerical alternatives are labeled, we can be assured that all respondents are using the scale consistently. Each type of question has advantages and disadvantages. Open-ended questions allow for a greater variety of responses from participants but are difficult to analyze statistically because the data must be coded or reduced in some manner. Closed-ended questions are easy to analyze statistically, but they seriously limit the responses that participants can give. Many researchers prefer to use a Likert-type scale because it's very easy to analyze statistically. Most psychologists view this scale as interval in nature, although there is some debate, as others see it as an ordinal scale. As you'll see in later chapters, a wide variety of statistical tests can be used with interval data. When researchers write survey items, it's very important that the wording not mislead the respondent. Several types of questions can mislead participants. A loaded question is one that includes nonneutral or emotionally laden terms. Consider this example: \"Do you believe radical extremists should be allowed to burn the American flag?\" The phrase radical extremists loads the question emotionally, conveying the opinion of the person who wrote the question. A leading question is one that sways the respondent to answer in a desired manner. For example: \"Most people agree that conserving energy is important. Do you agree?\" The phrase Most people agree encourages the respondent to agree also. Finally, a double-barreled question asks more than one thing in a single item. Double-barreled questions often include the word and or or. For example, the following question is double-barreled: \"Do you find using a cell phone to be convenient and time saving?\" This question should be divided into two separate items, one addressing the convenience of cell phones and one addressing whether they save time. Finally, when writing a survey, the researcher should also be concerned with participants who employ a particular response set or response bias the tendency to consistently give the same answer to almost all of the items on a survey. This is often referred to as \"yea-saying\" or \"nay-saying.\" In other words, respondents might agree (or disagree) with one or two of the questions, but to make answering the survey easier on themselves, they simply respond yes (or no) to almost all of the questions. One way to minimize participants adopting such a response bias is to word the questions so that a positive (or negative) response to every question would be unlikely. For example, an instrument designed to assess depression might phrase some of the questions so that agreement means the respondent is depressed (\"I frequently feel sad\"), and other questions might have the meaning reversed so that disagreement indicates depression (\"I am happy almost all of the time\"). Although some individuals might legitimately agree to both of these items, when a respondent consistently agrees (or disagrees) with questions phrased in standard and reversed formats, \"yea-saying\" or \"nay-saying\" is a reasonable concern. Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 92 chapter 4 demographic questions Questions that ask for basic information, such as age, gender, ethnicity, or income. Arranging the Questions. Another consideration is how to arrange questions on the survey. Writers of surveys sometimes assume that the questions should be randomized, but this is not the best arrangement to use. Dillman (1978) provides some tips for arranging questions on surveys. First, present related questions in subsets. This arrangement ensures that the general concept being investigated is made obvious to the respondents. It also helps the respondents to focus on one issue at a time. However, this suggestion should not be followed if you do not want the general concept being investigated to be obvious to the respondents. Second, place questions that deal with sensitive topics (such as drug use or sexual experiences) at the end of the subset of questions to which they apply. Respondents will be more likely to answer questions of a sensitive nature if they have already committed themselves to filling out the survey by answering questions of a less sensitive nature. Last, to prevent participants from losing interest in the survey, place demographic questionsquestions that ask for basic information such as age, gender, ethnicity, or incomeat the end of the survey. Although this information is important for the researcher, many respondents view it as boring, so avoid beginning your survey with these items. Administering the Survey In this section we examine three methods of surveying: mail surveys, telephone surveys, and personal interviews, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. mail survey A written survey that is self-administered. sampling bias A tendency for one group to be overrepresented in a sample. Mail Surveys. Mail surveys are written surveys that are self-administered. They can be sent through the traditional mail system or by e-mail. It is especially important that a mail survey be clearly written and self-explanatory because no one is available to answer questions regarding the survey once it has been mailed out. Mail surveys have several advantages. Traditional mail surveys were generally considered to have less sampling bias, a tendency for one group to be overrepresented in a sample, than phone surveys or personal interviews. This trait was considered to be the case because almost everyone has a mailing address and thus can receive a survey, but not everyone has a phone or is available to spend time on a personal interview. However, one mechanism researchers used to employ to obtain mailing addresses was via phone books. This practice now presents a problem with respect to mail surveys because 25% of the U.S. population has unlisted phone numbers and thus will not be included in phone books. In addition, many phone books no longer provide full mailing addresses. One way, however, to counter this problem is by using the U.S. Postal Service DSF (delivery sequence file), an electronic file containing all delivery point addresses serviced by the U.S. Postal Service. It is estimated that the DSF provides up to 95% coverage rates (Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2009). Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 05/06/2017 - RS0000000000000000000000192591 (Marva Harriott) - Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach Descriptive Methods 93 interviewer bias The tendency for the person asking the questions to bias the participants' answers. Mail surveys do eliminate the problem of interviewer bias, that is, the tendency for the person asking the questions (usually the researcher) to bias or influence the participants' answers. An interviewer might bias participants' answers by nodding and smiling more when they answer as expected or frowning when they give unexpected answers. Mail surveys also have the advantage of allowing the researcher to collect data on more sensitive information. Participants who might be unwilling to discuss personal information with someone over the phone or face-to-face might be more willing to answer such questions on a written survey. A mail survey is also usually less expensive than a phone survey or personal interview in which the researcher has to pay workers to phone or canvas neighborhoods. Additionally, the answers provided on a mail survey are sometimes more complete because participants can take as much time as they need to