Lab Assignment 2: Methods

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to help you design an instrument that will allow you to collect data to answer your research question. We will provide you with feedback that should help you improve your instrument, so we ask that you do not begin collecting data before receiving your feedback and grade.

Due Date

Friday, March 11th, 2016

Submission

All assignments should be submitted to the d2l dropbox by 10:00 pm on the due date.  We encourage you to submit early in case problems arise due to your computer, internet access, or the d2l site.  If you are unable to submit due to one of these problems, you MUST email your TA the assignment by 10:00 pm on the due date.

Only one person in each group needs to submit the assignment and the TAs will only grade one assignment per group. Please be sure to include the names of all group members so that everyone receives credit. Students who submitted the assignment into the dropbox are responsible for distributing the feedback received from TAs to all group members.

Format

Your assignment should be no more than 2-3 double spaced pages.  Please note the 2-3 page limitdoes not include your instrumentor references.  Feel free to use more space to create a well-designed instrument.  You must type all assignments and make full use of spell check/grammar check features.  We will not waste time trying to interpret poor grammar.  All assignments must be in APA format.  We do not require cover sheets, but you must use appropriate section headings and references when appropriate.

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Grading

The assignment is worth 30 points.  You will be graded on the description and appropriateness of your methodological approach, design, sample, and procedure.  We will also be grading on how well your instrument matches your research question and allows you to collect quality data that will help you to answer your research question.  As always, grammar, editing, and the general ease of reading in your assignment are important.

Directions

For this assignment, you will needto draft a plan and instrumentfor data collection.  You should plan on collecting data from 10-15 people if you are doing a survey and 3-6 people if you are doing an interview.  If you plan on making observations, plan a minimum of 3 observations at least 5-10 minutes in length, but feel free to make more or longer observations as well.  Just keep in mind that you will have to code your observations for emerging themes, so it is important to only collect as much information as you think you can handle.

Your assignment must include:

•    Research question and hypothesis, with appropriate revisions from Lab#1

o    Your paper must begin with a brief introduction and your research question

o    Include your hypothesis, as well as its connection to your existing research article

o    Revise the research question and hypothesis if necessary according to your TA’s feedback from Assignment 1

•    Literature review, with appropriate revisions from Lab #1

From your peer-reviewed article:

o    Restate research question and hypothesis

o    Restate sample and describe sample characteristics

o    Restate method and design, corrected if necessary

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o    Restate major findings and how they relate to your research

o    Revise all elements according to your TA’s feedback from Assignment 1

•    Description of your selected research method AND design

o    State whether your method is quantitative, qualitative, or mixed.

?    Be sure to demonstrate correct understanding of this approach.

o    Explain whyyou have chosen this method.

o    State your chosen design (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental, case study, interview, focus group, ethnography).

?    Be sure to demonstrate correct understanding of this design.

o    Explain why this design is appropriate to answering your research question.

•    Description of your preferredsample

o    Describe who you plan to be in your sample

?    Include all relevant participant characteristics (e.g., gender, age, college major, relationship status)

o    Describe where you will locate your sample.

o    Describe how you will recruit people to be included. This is separate from where you will locate them.

o    Explain why this sample is appropriate for answering your research question

o    Explain your reason(s) for being interested in this specific population.

•    Create Your Instrument

Create the data collection instrument you plan on using for your study.  Do not simply describe it in words— you need to include an exact copy of the instrument that you plan to distribute/administer to your participants.

Be sure that all of the items on your instrument will ultimately help you answer your research question.  In addition, pay attention to how your instrument is formatted.  It should be as easy as possible for your participants to answer.

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o    If you are doing a survey, include a copy of the survey you plan to use.

?    Surveys should include 5-15 items.

o    If you are doing interviews, include a list of your planned interview questions.

?    Interviews should include 5-10 questions.

o    If you are doing observations, include an example of what your field notes will look like.

?    Field notes should include a description of the location of the observation, the time of day, the number of people, and what they are doing.  You must include all relevant information from the setting that you think will help address your research question.  Be sure to include your thoughts about your observations.

o    If you are doing an experiment, include your planned procedures and describe how you will measure your variables.

?    Be sure to define your independent and dependent variables.

?    Procedures must include step-by-step instructions for conducting the experiment, including designated groups, planned “treatments” or conditions, and measurement instruments.

•    References

o    Include a revised page for your references in APA format

*Note: Do not complete this assignment using bullet points.  This assignment needs to be conducted in an essay format.  In addition, please attempt to keep your writing organized.  Every paragraph should have a clear purpose.  You may want to think of every black bullet point as its own paragraph if it helps you to keep your writing focused.

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