1. Writing Chapter 3 of the Proposal: The Research Method
The Role of Statistics in Research
Writing Chapter 3 of the Proposal: The Research Method
Martha King, MA, and Melanie Brown, PhD, Dissertation Editors
Faculty: Dr. Bill Disch, Dr. Lou Milanesi, Dr. Nancy Rea, Dr. Daniel Salter, Dr. Carl Sheperis, Dr. Reggie Taylor
Walden University Ph.D. Residency - Minneapolis, MN July 2008

2. Objectives Review research methodologies and designs.
Connect a researchable problem to a clear method.
Choose method to study primary research question.
Discuss how to describe data collection and
analysis strategies.
Recognize ethical responsibilities of researchers.
Organize chapter 3 according to the university rubric
and guidelines for APA form and style.

3. Agenda Review dissertation chapters and method options.
Discuss sections of chapter 3 noted in
the university dissertation rubric.
Read highlights from sample chapters
(quantitative and qualitative).
Writing exercise
Write a chapter 3 outline in groups.
Brief discussion of what a dissertation is and how chapters 3 and 4 fit in to the bigger picture. Importance of a focused research problem connected to research questions and/or hypotheses connected to an appropriate methodology.

4. Overview Dissertation
These chapters Ch. 1: Introduction
form Ch. 2: Literature Review
the proposal Ch. 3: Research Methods
(quantitative, qualitative, mixed method)
Ch. 4: Findings
Ch. 5: Summary, Conclusions,
and Recommendations
Faculty give brief description of each methodology and an example of each (experimental, correlational for quant.; case study, ethnography, phenomenological for qual.) 4

5. Ch. 3 Commonalities Clear introductions to key sections of chapter.
Description and justification of the research design.
Research questions.
Setting and sample.
Data collection and analysis.
Measures for ethical protection of participants.
Faculty provide more detail on how much to include in the description and justification of the research design, particularly how much didactic information, if any, is needed. 5

6. What does each methodology entail?
Overview Methods
Quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method designs:
What does each methodology entail?
Faculty give brief description of each methodology and an example of each (experimental, correlational for quant.; case study, ethnography, phenomenological for qual.) 6

7. Ch. 3 Differences Qualitative Quantitative
Expand or understand a phenomenon Design study driven by induction and exploration rather than by theory Include research questions but no hypotheses Explain processes for coding/categorizing data
Understand relationship bet. two+ quantifiable variables Design study driven by theory rather than by induction or exploration Include a null and an alternative hypothesis for each research question

8. Ch. 3 Quantitative Data collection and analysis.
Clear introduction of key areas.
Description/justification (design derives from problem).
Setting and sample.
Research questions.
Treatment; instrumentation and materials.
Name and type; concepts measured; reliability/validity
Data collection and analysis.
Explanation of descriptive and/or inferential analyses
Pilot study results, if applicable
Ethical protection of participants.
Deconstructing quantitative sample chapter – where can you find these sections in the 3rd chapter? Align with rubric.
Faculty: Where are the pitfalls for writing this chapter? How much didactic information to include in the method justification section?

9. Ch. 3 Qualitative Clear introduction of key areas.
Description/justification (design derives from problem).
Research questions.
Context of study.
Criteria for selecting participants.
Data collection.
How and when the data will be analyzed
Discussion of researcher’s role.
Ethical protection of participants.
Deconstructing qualitative chapter – where can you find these sections in sample chapter 3?

10. Ch. 3 Mixed method Clear introduction of key areas.
Description/justification
(design derives logically from problem).
Elements drawn from quantitative and qualitative
content (previous two slides) as relevant.
Ethical protection of participants.

11. Quantitative study Graduation Rates at Ohio 2-Year Colleges:
The following slides are excerpted from Chapter 3 of a study titled:
Graduation Rates at Ohio 2-Year Colleges:
A Comparison of Adult Students Taking and
Not Taking Developmental Coursework

12. Introduction Introduction
The first section of this chapter includes a description of this quantitative research study. The design was quasi-experimental to test the primary question about the impact of developmental coursework on graduation rates. The next section, focusing on the setting and participants, includes a description of the population, reasons to use a purposive sample, and the criteria for selection of participants. The final portions of this chapter describe cross-tabulations of the nominal data and the analysis process utilizing the likelihood ratio chi-square technique.

13. Introduction
Quantitative research is used when a hypothesis or theory proposes that a relationship exists between variables (Creswell, 2003). The purpose of this study was to examine whether taking developmental coursework had an impact on the graduation rates for adult students. Although demographic information was included to describe the participants, much like qualitative research data, the frequencies of graduates in a particular year represent data that are quantitative and are appropriate for this type of analysis. This study was also designed to test a hypothesis, not develop one.
Rather than true experimental, a quasi-experimental research design was viewed as the most appropriate for this research, because the participants were not randomly distributed within treatment conditions…

14. Research Questions and Hypotheses
The primary research question for this study was: Are there significant differences in the rate of graduation for adult learners who take developmental coursework compared to adults who do not? Additional questions included: Are there significant differences based on gender or race for graduates who took developmental coursework?
Provide information here on the details of the rubric: questions should be few in number, open-ended, and, if they are to be emergent, as in a qualitative study, appropriately guided. 14

15. Research Questions and Hypotheses
Developmental vs. No Developmental Coursework
H0 - There is no significant difference in the graduation rates of adults taking and not taking developmental coursework.
Ha - There is a significant difference in the graduation rates of adults taking and not taking developmental coursework.
Gender
H0 - There is no significant difference in the graduation rates of adults taking developmental coursework, based on gender.
Ha - There is a significant difference in the graduation rates of adults taking developmental coursework, based on gender.
Race
H0 - There is no significant difference in the graduation rates of adults taking developmental coursework, based on race (non-White or White).
Ha - There is a significant difference in the graduation rates of adults taking developmental coursework based on race (non-White or White).

16. Setting, Population, and Sample
Setting of Study
College students in the state of Ohio have the option of attending private or public institutions that provide certifications required for employment, applied degrees in various technologies, associate of arts and sciences degrees, and bachelor, master, or doctoral degrees. According to the Ohio Board of Regents (2006a), there were 638,146 students enrolled in these institutions, with 172,118 of them at community and technical… 16

17. Setting, Population, and Sample
Population of Study
A study population can be defined in two ways (Trochim, 2001). The theoretical population is the one to which the researcher wants to generalize. The accessible population is composed of the individuals to whom the researcher has access. For this study, the theoretical population was adult students, defined as age 26 and over at entry and enrolled full-time in public 2-year colleges in the United States. The accessible population was the group of adult students from the state of Ohio who were enrolled full-time and for the first time in 1999 (n = 840), 2000 (n = 884), or 2001 (n = 894) which produced a total N = 2,618. 17

18. Setting, Population, and Sample
Sample for Study
According to Champion (2002), purposive sampling is used when there are “clear criteria for selecting the participants for the sample group to be studied” (p. 62). Rather than gathering a random sample of the accessible population from all of the 2-year institutions in Ohio, a purposive sampling of students from the 16 schools that used the COMPASS test for placement was employed... 18

19. Treatment
Treatment
The primary focus in this study was graduation rates for adults who take or do not take developmental coursework. Developmental coursework is curriculum that has been designed to prepare students for subsequent college-level courses. The independent variable for this study was whether students took developmental coursework prior to attempting college-level coursework. Hence, for purposes of this research, students who took developmental coursework defined the treatment group. Students not enrolled in developmental coursework constituted the control group. … The researcher will apply for IRB approval for this study before….

20. Instrumentation and Materials
Instruments
A college placement test is used to identify the need for developmental coursework for students attending community colleges with an open access mission. To eliminate the extraneous effect of the variance among placement tests, students completing the COMPASS placement test were targeted for this sample. The COMPASS is a computerized assessment tool distributed by ACT….

21. Data collection and analysis
This study utilized data compiled by the Ohio Board of Regents (OBOR). To obtain this information, a request was made to the OBOR. The de-identified data, as delivered to the researcher, contained information compiled by OBOR and recorded on a CD-ROM in comma-delimited format.
Data Collection and Analysis
This study utilized data compiled by the Ohio Board of Regents (OBOR). In the State of Ohio, each college must complete and submit information to OBOR via designated reports within 30 days of the end of the quarter. To obtain this information, a request was made to the OBOR. The de-identified data as delivered to the researcher, contained information compiled by OBOR and recorded on a CD-ROM in comma-delimited format. 21

22. Data Collection and Analysis
Descriptive and Inferential Analyses
Individual student information of age, gender, and race…was totaled and cross-tabulated across the control and treatment conditions of the independent variable.
Subsequent to these tabulations, an inferential analysis was conducted to test the research questions. For the primary question, the independent variable was having taken or not taken developmental coursework, and the dependent variable was the frequency of student graduation in a year across 5 years. Because both variables are nominal level, a test of independence required a chi-square analysis of the 2 x 5 contingency table.
Data Collection and Analysis
This study utilized data compiled by the Ohio Board of Regents (OBOR). In the State of Ohio, each college must complete and submit information to OBOR via designated reports within 30 days of the end of the quarter. To obtain this information, a request was made to the OBOR. The de-identified data as delivered to the researcher, contained information compiled by OBOR and recorded on a CD-ROM in comma-delimited format. 22

23. Conclusion
This chapter contained an explanation of the research study, research questions and hypotheses, and additional factors relating to the project. After the discussion of the pilot study, including the implications found, the next logical step was to conduct the research study. The next chapters will describe what process was followed for conducting the study and analyzing the results. Then the findings are presented and discussed. Finally, a presentation of the conclusions drawn and recommendations made are included.

24. Qualitative study Exploring the Intrinsic Role of Agency
The following slides are excerpted from ch. 3 of a study titled:
Exploring the Intrinsic Role of Agency
and the Extrinsic Role of Social Expectations
for Adults Who Learn to Read:
A Life History

25. Introduction Introduction
The primary purpose of this qualitative life history study was to explore the roles of agency and social expectations for adults who have learned to read. The secondary purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of adults who did not learn to read in school. This study also explored the potential applications of adult agency behaviors in reading intervention curriculum for adolescents who struggle to read.

26. Introduction
This chapter describes the qualitative research paradigm and life history design for this study of adult non- and limited readers and will discuss the rationale for choosing each in this context. In addition, this chapter describes the methodology for this study, including a description of the participants, how participants were selected, the researcher’s role, and ethical issues. An explanation is included of the data collection tools, how data was collected and analyzed, and threats to data quality.

27. Paradigm and Tradition
Research Design
Paradigm and Tradition
According to Creswell (1998) the qualitative research paradigm should be undertaken based on the following rationales: (a) research questions begin with how and what, (b) the topic requires exploration because of multiple variables and/or a lack of theory, (c) a natural setting is required…Thus, the paradigm of qualitative research was chosen because words are more indicative of the experience of learning in reference to the cultural invention of reading than the numerical data of quantitative research…

28. Research Design Research Questions
What is the lived experience of an adult who does not read proficiently or who has learned to read proficiently as an adult?
What is the role of agency in learning to read as an adult?
What is the role of social expectations in learning to read as an adult?
How are agency and social expectations connected or revealed in the pivotal moments in the narratives of adult non- or limited readers?
Provide information here on the details of the rubric: questions should be few in number, open-ended, and, if they are to be emergent, as in a qualitative study, appropriately guided.

29. Participants/Population
Methodology
Participants/Population
Participants were chosen for this qualitative life history because they had the shared experience of struggling to learn to read… The participants for this qualitative life story were selected by the researcher from a rural central Florida community. A convenience sample of 18 men and women who self-identified as having learned to read as adults was located through (a) referrals from teachers in public school adult education programs, (b) notices sent to community volunteer adult tutoring programs, (c) referrals from the researcher’s professional contacts…
Deconstructing sample quantitative chapter – where can you find these sections in sample chapter 3?

30. Methodology Researcher’s Role
According to Creswell (1998), the researcher is an “instrument of data collection who gathers words or pictures, analyzes them inductively, focuses on the meaning of participants, and describes a process that is expressive and persuasive in language” (p. 14)…As the instrument of investigation, the researcher must recognize and acknowledge the bias that cannot be left outside the research space shared by the story teller.
Researcher’s Role
According to Creswell (1998), the researcher is an “instrument of data collection who gathers words or pictures, analyzes them inductively, focuses on the meaning of participants, and describes a process that is expressive and persuasive in language” (p. 14). Cole and Knowles (2001) stated that the “researcher serves as the central ‘instrument’, the prime viewing lens…a guiding influence in all aspects of a study” (p. 10). As the instrument of investigation, the researcher must recognize and acknowledge the bias that cannot be left outside the research space shared by the story teller.

31. Methodology Data Collection Plan
Data collection occurred in three distinct phases:
prescreening with initial brief interviews, screening with written questionnaire instruments, and inclusion in the study with extended interviews…
Data Analysis Plan
Data analysis included construction of a visual display of information (see Figure 1) based on the three-level ladder of analytical abstraction developed by Carney in 1990 and presented by Miles and Huberman (1994). This data analysis plan was chosen because it allows for the correlation and corroboration of the written instruments with the interview text in a systematic and visual format.

32. Threats to Data Quality
Validity and Reliability
Unlike quantitative research, which is based on calculation and comparison of numbers and generalizations, qualitative life history research requires a check and balance system because it is based upon interpretation of words and pictures...
To ensure validity, this research study of adults who learn to read will adhere to the three ideas presented by Merriam (2002)…
Threats to Data Quality
Qualitative life history research requires a check and balance system, unlike quantitative research because it is based upon interpretation of words and pictures, not calculation and comparison of numbers and generalizations. To ensure validity, this research study of adults who learn to read will adhere to the three ideas presented by Merriam (2002):

33. Ethical Considerations
Measures for Ethical Protection of Participants
It is the researcher’s ethical responsibility to safeguard the story teller by maintaining the understood purpose of the research…
The researcher is also ethically bound to the institution which supports or sanctions the study. No participants were contacted, and no data was collected until the researcher received approval of the dissertation proposal from the researcher’s faculty advisor and dissertation committee members. The researcher will submit an application to the Walden University Institutional Review Board (IRB) to receive permission to begin research before soliciting for participants, arranging interviews, or collecting data.

34. Summary
Chapter 3 has described the methodology used to design this qualitative life history research, including a discussion of the qualitative paradigm and the rationale for the researcher’s choices. A description of the population and participants, the researcher’s role, the data collection tools, data collection plan, and data analysis plans was also incorporated. The researcher discussed threats to data quality, validity and reliability, and ethical considerations in reference to the current research study.

35. Ch. 3 In sum Explains how you will carry out your study.
Presents methods as logically connected to
your research question.
How to begin. Rubric says state the purpose and restate the research questions/hypotheses. Should it be a copy and past job from chapter 1?
Chapters 3 and 4 are different than chapters 1 and 2; each has a unique purpose. Chapter 1 sets the stage: names all the dots and connects them. Presents the overall picture of the study and points to more detail in later chapters. Chapter 2 presents the literature review, which is a synthesis and analysis of research on a given topic. Chapter 3 describes the how. Chapter 4 reports.

36. Ch. 3 Writing exercise Example topic Success in online universities
In quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method groups, write a chapter 3 outline to study this question:
What facilitates successful online learning?
Challenges
Connecting question to a logical method.
Covering all elements in university’s rubric.
Research problem: What do you want to know? What is known already? We know what facilitates success for students in brick and mortar institutions, but there is a gap in understanding of factors associated with success or failure in an online learning environment.
A qualitative study might examine: “What are the experiences of successful Walden doctoral students?”
The methods for such a study might involve gathering a small sample of Walden students who have been recognized or awarded for their dissertation/doctoral work. Success, in this study, would be operationalized as the achievement of an award-winning piece of scholarship. Interviews could be conducted with a small sample of award-winning students to identify key themes in their narratives of what constituted/contributed to their success.
A quantitative study might examine: “What factors significantly predict successful online learning?” (Use adjective significant in statistical sense of the word not the general sense of important)
The methods for such a study might involve administering a survey to a large group of online students. The survey would measure student satisfaction (which would constitute our dependent variable, “success”), along with other possible independent variables, such as time spent studying, level of connection with faculty, age, gender, ethnicity, and SES.
Each approach has its benefits.
Qual. study would get rich detail about HOW online students experience a successful education. BUT…it is limited in its generalizability, its “objectivity,” and it’s focus only on successful students. We might learn more about what constitutes success, but what predicts failure? This study would not examine those things.
Quant. study would help identify key factors associated with successful learning. Very focused, very clear. But…it is limited in its ability to decipher complexities, it cannot uncover HOW those variables are related, and it cannot get at narratives.
What are common problems faculty see with writing up ch. 3? How much, is any, didactic material? How much to say to justify the choice of method. How much detail is needed for a qualitative chapter 3 for description of the setting or description of the data collection. (Stoutmorrill?) Show the scaffold

37. University Writing Center

38. Writing Center Dissertation resources

39. University Research Center

40. University Research Center Dissertation resources