Week 13: April 14

Chapter 17 begins like the previous chapters with a brief history of mixed-method designs.  This history is a bit more interesting (I think) than some of the others given the debate surrounding its development and the discussion of the integration of worldviews and methods.  You will likely have more discussion related to philosophical assumptions in your psychology and social foundations courses. Prior to introducing the types of mixed method designs Creswell presents strategies for identifying whether a published study is one that has used a mixed method design.  While there are distinct designs, each of them borrows procedures for data collection and analysis from other quantitative and qualitative research designs previously discussed.  An important decision is deciding which approach takes precedence or whether you will try for a balance between qualitative and quantitative and then also whether you will analyze the data separately or concurrently. The final section of the chapter includes the steps necessary to carry out a mixed method study. These steps are ones you should work through as you are writing Section IV of your Research Proposal if you are choosing a mixed method design for your research.

Lesson Links

Here is a link from the resources page that provide additional information for this week.

• Mixed Method Evaluation research

Chapter 18 provides a brief history of action research and then introduces the two types of action research designs - practical and participatory. I am ssuming the the idea of PRACTICAL research appealed to many of you who likely plan to be practitioners with your Masters degree rather than continue on to obtain your doctoral degree and become a researcher. Studies that you may have read that use an action research design also likely appeal to you because they often have very practical findings that can immediately be applied if you have a similar setting. figure 18.5 on pages 612 and 613 provides an excellent overview of steps in an action research model.  The final section of the chapter includes the steps necessary to carry out an action research study. These steps are ones you should work through as you are writing Section IV of your Research Proposal if you are choosing an action research design for your research.

Lesson Links

Here are a few links from the resources page that provide additional information for this week.

• Links to Action Research Papers
• Action Research Tools
• Action Research International Online Journal
• Educational Action Research
• Action Research Case Studies

Lesson Activities

• If you are using an action research design identify the important elements you will need to include within your Proposal. Such elements might include identify your intent and relate it to your research problem, describe the type of purposeful sampling you will use, describe the types of data you will collect and the procedures you will use to enter and at what level you will be a participant and/or observer, and how you will organize and analyze your data.

As a review, the main elements of your Research Proposal will be:

1. Statement of the Problem
   1. Topic for the study appropriate for your field
   2. The research problem within this topic
   3. A justification for the problem based on past research and practice
   4. Deficiencies or shortcomings of past research or practical knowledge
   5. The importance of addressing the problem for diverse audiences
2. Literature Review (Study-by-Study)
   1. Analysis and synthesis of the primary research that assist in validating and supporting the research problem using a study-by-study approach grouped under broad themes
   2. Summarize major themes and present reasons for a proposed study or the importance of studying a research problem
3. Specifying a Purpose and Research Questions or Hypotheses
   1. A concise statement of the purpose of the study based on the research approach chosen (qualitative or quantitative)
   2. The research questions or hypotheses to be addressed as appropriate for the research approach
4. Methods
   1. Statement of research approach and research design
   2. Setting for your study (what type of access do you have?)
   3. Participants and how selected (sampling)
   4. Instrumentation - Provide necessary operational definitions of variables, identify types of data needed,  and instruments or measures used.  Include actual copy of the survey or instrument as well as evidence of reliability and validity
   5. Summary of data collection procedures
   6. Summary of data analysis techniques that will be employed
5. References
6. Appendices

As you tackle the task of completing your final draft this week and next week, I want to review what should be included in the document you turn in.

The document you turn in should contain the following elements:

Front Matter

Title page

Body of the Paper (everything in the above outline)

Back Matter

References

Appendices

Lesson Activities

• Do not forget to proofread, proofread, proofread. 
• As a final reminder, I have compiled all of the APA tidbits presented over the course of the semester in a single page so you can review and recheck your document to insure you have appropriately applied APA style.
• Turn in the final draft of your research proposal.. Be sure to put it into the dropbox in WebCT.

• Email the Head Librarian
• Email the Assistant Librarian/Media Specialist

Don't Forget to stop by the Circulation Desk on your way out!