Unit Assignments
Unit I Project Topic
Throughout this course, you will be working on a research project, in which you will use statistical techniques. You will also be using
Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint to create charts and tables. In each of the Units I through VI, you will have an assignment related to this
research project. Each assignment will be graded on an individual basis and will not be included in the final research project grade.
However, each assignment is a part of the final research project paper and must be submitted via Safe Assign in Unit VII as part of the
final version of your research project paper. You will then receive a final grade on your completed research project paper.
For the Unit I Project Topic, you will write a paper of at least two (2) pages explaining to your professor what you plan to research for
your research project paper. Be sure to choose a topic that pertains to a leadership or organizational behavior issue.
You are required to use at least two resources to support your ideas. One source must be from the CSU Online Library, and the second
source may be the textbook or a reliable source from the Internet. All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced
appropriately.
If you would like more information on how to use the CSU Online Library, please watch the Success Center’s webinar located here.
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Selecting a Research Approach and Reviewing the Literature
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Identify terms used in public administration pertaining to research, such as research methods, theoretical constructs, and research
tools.
2.1 Determine which design best fits specific research based on its strategies, methods, and techniques.
2.2 Analyze the literature related to a design.
3. Distinguish among types of research methods, theories, and tools that are applicable in public administration.
3.1 Identify the three components of a design.
3.2 Explain how important the correct design can be for a successful study.
3.3 Determine a study that will be conducted with Microsoft Excel using various statistical analyses.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 1:
The Selection of a Research Approach
Chapter 2:
Review of the Literature
Unit Lesson
Crafting a good research design takes talent. When you are examining an academic issue and you have a series of research questions or a
hypotheses, it is important that your research design makes sense and that you approach the problem with efficiency. Unfortunately, some
students try to solve more problems than necessary to push the literature forward. Remember that you do not need to solve all of the
problems associated with your research project. Efficiency and focus enables you to complete the project. A research design is like
working a puzzle. First, state the problem. Second, discuss how to research the problem. Third, discuss the literature and what other
scholars have to say about the problem, and look for holes in the research. Finally, discuss how the work will be conducted, how the issue
will be solved in the end, and how the information known about this problem will be moved forward.
If you consider the issues mentioned so far, it will become clearer to you that picking the correct research design is critical. Another
important issue involves analyzing the data that was collected. The data can come from surveys, focus groups, coding observations, and so
on. Once the raw data is collected, remember that you will still need to make sense of the collected data and interpret it for your
audience. This type of analysis will come in a later unit, but this must be kept in mind when choosing a design. The use of both
qualitative and quantitative designs is considered mixed methods. This mixed methods design has become more popular over the years in the
academic community and offers a flexible approach to tackle the research issues.
Throughout Unit I, you will learn that there are many specific tasks that are necessary to achieve an academic level of scholarly work.
This work will be scrutinized by other academics, who will look for quality work based on established rules and research practices.
Chapter 2 should help you understand the importance of this process, which has been established through literature and has been created
from a variety of sources. Chapter 1 discuses research designs and should make it easier to understand when to use a qualitative,
quantitative, or mixed method approach. As you find new areas to explore, you continue to push the literature approach forward. You will
be testing issues that have a great deal of literature written about them, as well as PUA 5304, Quantitative Research Methods 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title
research issues that are new and have yet to be tested. No matter which of these fits your research approach, you will still be required
to use one of these methods.
According to Creswell (2014), there are three components to consider before choosing a design. The first is the “philosophical worldview
proposed in the study” (p. 6). This involves the types of assumptions or beliefs being made by the researcher. According to Creswell, the
main issue involved with knowledge is using data and evidence. This process helps a researcher to assert assumptions with their findings.
Creswell expands on the following four worldviews: post-positivist, constructivist, transformative, and pragmatic. The textbook does an
excellent job of explaining each view and its relationship to crafting the research design.
Another important consideration is to develop an approach or plan. The game plan of the project will guide the researcher in determining
whether quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods will best suit their research. In addition, the researcher will need to test a theory
and examine research questions. For the purposes of this class you will consider a topic that enables you to complete each of the assigned
sections of the class project. This includes an abstract, a problem statement, a literature review, charts and graphs using Microsoft
Excel and analyzing data. You do not have time to complete unique research, so pick a topic that you are interested in and analyze the
data that you can find through a literature review. In addition, it is important to pick a topic that will enable you to create all of the
required sections in your research project paper.
The most important factor in choosing an efficient approach to exploring an academic issue is to find the approach that best explains your
results and helps you to be efficient in conducting the research you chose. There have been many students who did not take the time to
craft a good design, and years later they realize that they have been wasting their time and resources chasing after issues that are not
obtainable. Hard work at the outset of a research project can save you from the agony of being stuck and having to start over. Please
continue to keep this thought in mind as you explore the various approaches with each of these designs.
Another important issue to consider in research is that you only need to look at one part of a major issue. For instance, if you wanted to
look at world peace, you do not need to choose the whole world to examine. One area of the world could be chosen and then one segment of
this area. Moreover, examining one culture or one geographic area, such as a section of a country, may be enough to prove your point and
at least move the literature forward. Choosing too many dimensions or too large of a geographic area can make the study unobtainable.
Later, we will study the art of sampling, and this will make your goal more obtainable. In this course, it is important that you find a
project that can be completed in the first six units of the class. Remember, that your instructor is here to help you with topic ideas, so
reach out you have difficulty. With each unit, you will add to your project, until unit VI when you will provide a draft of your research
project paper.
Upon completion of this unit, you should have a good handle on where your strengths are located and which areas you need to continue
studying. Having a strong footing in the concepts of research design will help you in both an academic and a corporate career. Each of the
concepts you learn will build upon future issues. Each of the items you will learn about can affect each other, and if they are not all
accurate and they do not follow academic rigor, your study will not be accepted. In addition, be sure you have obtained a copy of
Microsoft Office and begin to familiarize yourself with the use of the programs. Throughout the class, you will be introduced to Microsoft
Excel and PowerPoint. Microsoft Excel will help you to conduct statistical analysis and charting, while Microsoft PowerPoint will help you
with presentation.
Reference
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Suggested Reading
Examine the following research articles as examples of the three types of designs. The articles will help you to better understand the
concepts we discussed in Unit I. PUA 5304, Quantitative Research Methods 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title
1. The article below provides a qualitative example:
Auerbach, S. (2007). From moral supporters to struggling advocates: Reconceptualizing parent roles in education through experience of
working-class families of color. Urban Education, 42(3), 250-283. Retrieved from http://uex.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/42/3/250?
ijkey=7ZBTSvg65qEHQ&keytype=ref&siteid=spuex
2. The article below provides a quantitative example:
Niven, D. (2006). A field experiment on the effects of negative campaign mail on voter turnout in a municipal election. Political Research
Quarterly, 59(2), 203-210. Retrieved from http://prq.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/59/2/203?ijkey=zja6H4F0SokUU&keytype=ref&siteid=spprq
3. The article below provides mixed methods example:
Brazier, A., Cooke, K., &Moravan, V. (2008). Using mixed methods for evaluating an integrative approach to cancer care: A case study.
Integrative Cancer Therapies, 7(1), 5-17. Retrieved from http://ict.sagepub.com/content/7/1/5.full.pdf+html?
ijkey=dQZ1eQKTTxTRs&keytype=ref&siteid=spict
Examine the literature reviews within the following research articles:
1. The article below provides a theoretically oriented qualitative example (literature review on pp. 252-256):
Auerbach, S. (2007). From moral supporters to struggling advocates: Reconceptualizing parent roles in education through experience of
working-class families of color. Urban Education, 42(3), 250-283. Retrieved from http://uex.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/42/3/250?
ijkey=7ZBTSvg65qEHQ&keytype=ref&siteid=spuex
2. The article below provides a inductive qualitative example (literature review on pp. 1264-1283):
Plano Clark, V. L., Miller, D. L., Creswell, J. W., McVea, K., McEntarffer, R., Harter, L. M., & Mickelson, W. T. (2002). In conversation:
High school students talk to students about tobacco use and prevention strategies. Qualitative Health Research, 12(9), 1264-1283.
Retrieved from http://qhr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/12/9/1264?ijkey=AE/rXcKMVRung&keytype=ref&siteid=spqhr