Practical Research

11th edition, Global Edition

Paul D. Leedy & Jeanne Ellis Ormrod

Chapter 4

Planning Your
Research Project

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Research Design

• Design = Overall structure for the study

 The procedures the researcher follows
 The data the researcher collect
 The data analyses the researcher
conducts

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Planning a General Approach

• Think broadly about the problem as

arising out of a particular area
• Are you studying
• People
• Things
• Records
• Thoughts & ideas
• Dynamics & energy

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Planning a General Approach

Think about the kinds of data you need to

address your problem
 Do you need/can you find participants
 Do you have the right equipment and
skills
 Do you know how to interpret the data
and draw conclusions from them

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Research Planning: Selecting a <#>/48

Particular Research Methodology

• Planning
 Determining the general approach to a
study
 May be similar across disciplines
• Methodology
 The techniques one uses to collect and
analyze data
 May be specific to a particular academic
discipline

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The Nature and Role of Data in <#>/48

Research
• Data are pieces of information that help
form a bigger picture
• Data are transient — what is true at
any point in time may not be true at
another point in time

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The Nature and Role of Data in <#>/48

Research
• Data may be primary or secondary
 Primary data are closest to the truth
(the source)
 Secondary data are derived from
primary data
• Distorted by interpretations and
communication

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Planning for Data Collection

• What data are needed

• Where are the data located
• How will the data be obtained
• What limits will be placed on the
nature of acceptable data
• How will the data be interpreted

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Linking Data and Methodology

• Quantitative methods
 Involve collecting numerical data
• Qualitative methods
 Involve collecting textual or image-based
data
• Mixed methods
 Use both quantitative and qualitative
methods in the same study
(Refer pg 98 ebook)

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To Determine an Approach, First <#>/48

Ask Yourself These Questions:

• What is my purpose?
• What is the nature of the process?
• What are the data like/how are they
collected?
• How are data analyzed?
• How are the findings communicated?

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Also Consider These Issues:

• Your comfort with the assumptions of the

qualitative tradition
• The audience for your study
• The nature of the research question
• The extensiveness of the related literature
• The depth of what you want to discover
• The amount of time you have available for
conducting the study

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Also Consider These Issues:

• The extent to which you are willing to

interact with the people in your study
• The extent to which you feel comfortable
working without much structure
• Your ability to organize and draw
inferences from a large body of
information
• Your writing skills

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Select a Research Methodology

• Action research • Ex post facto research

• Case study • Grounded theory
• Content analysis research
• Correlational research • Historical research
• Design-based • Observation study
research • Phenomenological
• Developmental research
research • Quasi-experimental
• Ethnography research
• Experimental • Survey research
research
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Considering the Validity <#>/48

of Your Method
• Validity of the research project is
defined as its
 Accuracy
 Meaningfulness, and
 Credibility

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Internal Validity

• The extent to which the design and

data of a research study allow the
researcher to draw accurate conclusions
about cause-and-effect and other
relationships within the data

Researchers must take precautions to

eliminate other possible explanations for
the results

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Strategies to Increase Internal <#>/48

Validity
• A controlled laboratory study
• A double-blind experiment
• Unobtrusive measures
• Triangulation

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External Validity

• The extent to which:

 results of a research study apply to
situations beyond the study itself
 conclusions can be generalized

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Strategies to Increase External <#>/48

Validity
• Conduct the study in a real-life
setting
• Use a representative sample
• Replicate the study in a different
context

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Increasing Validity in Qualitative <#>/48

Research
• Triangulate
 Compare multiple data sources
• Spend time in the field
• Analyze outliers and contradictory
instances
• Use thick description

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Increasing Validity in Qualitative <#>/48

Research
• Acknowledge and address personal
biases
• Seek respondent validation
 Take conclusions back to participants to
evaluate
• Seek feedback from others

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Measurement

• Limiting the data of any phenomenon—

substantial or insubstantial— so that
those data may be interpreted and,
ultimately, compared to a particular
qualitative or quantitative standard

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Measurement

• Limiting the data of any phenomenon—

substantial or insubstantial— so that
those data may be interpreted and,
ultimately, compared to a particular
qualitative or quantitative standard

 Substantial = have physical substance.

 Insubstantial = exist only as concepts, ideas,
opinions, feelings, or other intangible entities.

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Measurement

• Limiting the data of any phenomenon—

substantial or insubstantial— so that
those data may be interpreted and,
ultimately, compared to a particular
qualitative or quantitative standard

 transformed into new discoveries,

revelations, and enlightenments.

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Measurement

• Limiting the data of any phenomenon—

substantial or insubstantial— so that
those data may be interpreted and,
ultimately, compared to a particular
qualitative or quantitative standard

 norms, averages, conformity to expected

statistical distributions, goodness of fit,
accuracy of description

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Measurement: Example

Measuring interpersonal dynamics in a

small group
• Ask each person: Who do you like most,
who do you like least, and who evokes
neutral feelings
• Allow the researcher to identify patterns
and draw conclusions

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Scales of Measurement

• A scale specifies the categories of

measurement
• Scales ultimately dictate the statistical
procedures (if any) that can be used in
processing numerical data

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Types of measurement scales

(4 types)

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(1) Nominal Scale

• Measures data by assigning names

or dividing into discrete categories
 Boys, girls
 North of Main Street, South of Main
Street
• Statistical procedures
 Mode
 Percentage
 Chi-square test

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(2) Ordinal Scale

• Rank-order data as more/higher or

less/lower
• Think in terms of greater or less than
• Elementary, high school, college, or
graduate education
• Unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled labor
• Statistical procedures = median,
percentile rank, Spearman’s rank-order
correlation

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(3) Interval Scale

• Equal units of measurement

• Zero point established arbitrarily
• Fahrenheit (F) and Celsius (C) scales
• Rating scales, such as surveys,
assumed to fall on interval scales
• Statistical procedures = means,
standard deviations, Pearson product
moment correlations

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(4) Ratio Scale

• Equal measurement units (similar to

interval scale)
• Absolute zero point (0 = total absence
of the quality being measured)
• Distance
• Ratio = can express values in terms of
multiples and fractional parts

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Summary & Comparison

1. Nominal scale: One object is different

from another
2. Ordinal scale: One object is bigger or
better or more of anything than another
3. Interval scale: One object is so many
units (e.g., degrees, inches) more than
another
4. Ratio scale: One object is so many times
as big or bright or tall or heavy as
another
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Validity & Reliability of <#>/48

Measurement
• Validity = the extent to which a
measurement instrument measures
what it is intended to measure
• Reliability = the consistency with which
a measurement instrument yields a
certain result when the entity being
measured hasn’t changed

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Validity of Measurement <#>/48

Instruments
• Face Validity
 Is extent to which an instrument looks
like it measures a characteristic
 Relies on subjective judgment
• Content Validity
 Is extent to which a measurement
instrument is a representative sample of
the content area being measured

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Validity of Measurement <#>/48

Instruments
• Criterion Validity
 The extent to which the results of an
assessment correlate with another,
related measure
• Construct Validity
 The extent to which an instrument
measures a characteristic that cannot be
directly observed but is assumed to
exist (such as intelligence)

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Determining Validity

• Table of specifications
 The researcher constructs a two-
dimensional grid listing the specific topics
and behaviors that reflect achievement in
the domain.
• Multitrait-multimethod approach
 Two or more different characteristics are
each measured using two or more
different approaches. The two measures of
the same characteristic should be highly
related.
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Determining Validity

• Judgment by a panel of experts

 Several experts in a particular area are
asked to scrutinize an instrument to
ascertain its validity for measuring the
characteristic in question

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Reliability

• Reliability is the consistency with which a

measuring instrument yields a certain
result when the entity being measured
hasn’t changed.
• Instruments designed to measure social
and psychological characteristics
(insubstantial phenomena) tend to be
even less reliable than those designed to
measure physical (substantial)
phenomena.
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Determining
Determining the Reliability
the Reliability of aof a <#>/48

Measurement Instrument
Measurement Instrument
• Interrater reliability
 the extent to which two or more individuals
evaluating the same product or
performance give identical judgments
• Test-retest reliability
 the extent to which a single instrument
yields the same results for the same people
on two different occasions

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Determining
Determining the Reliability
the Reliability of aof a <#>/48

Measurement Instrument
Measurement Instrument
• Equivalent forms reliability
 The extent to which two different
versions of the same instrument yield
similar results
• Internal consistency reliability
 The extent to which all of the items
within a single instrument yield similar
results

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Enhancing Reliability and Validity

• Goals: Reduce error, reduce bias

• Strategies for increasing reliability:
 Standardize the procedures
 Establish clear criteria
 Train the researchers well
• Strategies for increasing validity:
 Consult the literature
 Share drafts
 Conduct pilot studies

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The Value of a Pilot Study

Pilot study: a brief exploratory

investigation before the main study to
• Try out particular procedures,
measurement instruments, or methods of
analysis
• Determine the feasibility of the study
• Identify what approaches will and will not
be effective in solving the overall research
problem

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Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues

• Participants must be protected from

harm
 Benefits to participants must outweigh
risks
 Participants should be debriefed

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Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues

• Participation must be voluntary and

informed
 Individuals know what they are being
asked to do
 Individuals can decline without penalty
 Individuals know they can withdraw at
any time without penalty

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Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues

• Participants have a right to privacy

 Data and information about participants
are confidential
• Identifiable data should not be shared
(even in class) without written consent
 Names should be coded to ensure
anonymity

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Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues

• Researchers must be honest

 Data should be trustworthy
 Reports should be complete and
accurate
 Contributors should be credited

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Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues

• Research must be reviewed before data

collection begins
 Institutions maintain an IRB (review
board) and sometimes IACUC
• Scholars and researchers across
disciplines
• Review proposals to assess risks and
ensure that participants’ rights are
honored

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Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues

• Researchers are expected to adhere to

professional code of conduct within
their field
• Visit the homepage of your own
professional organization to learn more

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