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Evaluating Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Quantitative Research Designs

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Evaluating Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Quantitative Research Designs

For this Discussion, you will evaluate quantitative research questions and hypotheses in assigned journal article and consider the alignment of theory, problem, purpose, research questions and hypotheses, and design.

You will also identify the type of quantitative research design the authors used and explain how it was implemented.

Discuss a critique of the research study in which you:

• Evaluate the research questions and hypotheses using the Research Questions and Hypotheses Checklist as a guide

• Identify the type of quantitative research design used and explain how the researchers implemented the design

• Analyze alignment among the theory, problem, purpose, research questions and hypotheses, and design

Be sure to support your Main Issue Post and Response Post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA Style.

Reading Resources

Babbie, E. (2017). Basics of social research (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.Chapter 5, “Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement”

Burkholder, G. J., Cox, K. A., & Crawford, L. M. (2016). The scholar-practitioner’s guide to research design. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Publishing.Chapter 4, “Quantitative Research Designs”

Assigned journal article

Canfield, M. L., Kivisalu, T. M., van der Karr, C., King, C., & Phillips, C. E. (2015). The use of course grades in the assessment of student learning outcomes for general education. Sage Open, 1–13. doi: 10.1177/2158244015615921

Evaluating Research Questions

Research Questions and Hypotheses Checklist

Use the following criteria to evaluate an author’s research questions and/or hypotheses. Look for indications of the following:

• Is the research question(s) a logical extension of the purpose of the study?

• Does the research question(s) reflect the best question to address the problem?

• Does the research question(s) align with the design of the study?

• Does the research question(s) align with the method identified for collecting data? If the study is qualitative, does the research question(s) do as follows?

• Relate the central question to the qualitative approach

• Begin with What or How (not Why)

• Focus on a single phenomenon

• Use exploratory verbs

• Use non-directional language

• Use an open-ended format

• Specify the participants and research site
If the study is quantitative:

• Do the descriptive questions seek to describe responses to major variables?

• Do the inferential questions seek to compare groups or relate variables?

• Do the inferential questions follow from a theory?

• Are the variables positioned consistently from independent/predictor to dependent/outcome in the inferential questions?

• Is a null and/or alternative hypothesis provided as a predictive statement?

• Is the hypothesis consistent with its respective research question?

• Does the question(s) and/or hypothesis specify the participants and research site? If the study is mixed methods, do the research questions and/or hypotheses do the following?

• Include the characteristics of a good qualitative research question (as listed above)

• Include the characteristics of a good quantitative research and/or hypothesis (as listed above)

• Indicate how the researcher will mix or integrate the two approaches of the study

• Specify the participants and research site

• Convey the overall intent of the study that calls for a mixed methods approach

Below is a partial answer to the above homework questions by one of our writers. If you are interested in a custom non plagiarized top quality answer, click order now to place your order.

Evaluating Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Quantitative Research Designs

Canfield, Kivisalu, Van Der Karr, King, and Phillips (2015), present a discussion on the validity of the use of course grading as an effective method of assessing the learning outcomes of students. The research questions used in the study are in line with the purpose of the study. The descriptive questions used in the article seek to describe the responses to the main variables through the assessment of discriminant and convergent validity.

The inferential questions seek to both compare groups and relate inter-group and intra-group variables. These inferential questions follow the multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) of assessment. The research questions used in the study also align with the chosen technique of analysis of the collected data (Babbie, 2017, pp. 426 – 438). In this case, the choice of the multitrait-multimethod aligns with the research questions.

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Research design and sample for nursing clinical issue

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Research design and sample for nursing clinical issue

Research Problems, Designs, and Sample

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcomes (COs).
CO2 Apply research principles to the interpretation of the content of published research studies. (POs 4 and 8)CO4 Evaluate published nursing research for credibility and lab significance related to evidence-based practice. (POs 4 and 8)

This week, we will discuss the research design and sample for your nursing clinical issue. The research design flows from the research question and outlines the plan for the study that will answer the research question. The design identifies the major components of the study.

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It is important to remember that there is no one best design for a research study.
After you review the designs, describe which research design you would expect to find when searching for evidence relevant to your own research question from Week 2. Why? Explain your answer.The most common sampling method is the convenience sample; therefore, many of the studies that you find for evidence use this sampling method. What are the implications for using a convenience sample on the way you interpret and use the findings?

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Research Problems, Designs, and Sample

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Week 3: Research Problems, Designs, and Sample

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcomes (COs).
COs Apply research principles to the interpretation of the content of published research studies. (POs 4 and 8)CO4 Evaluate published nursing research for credibility and lab significance related to evidence-based practice. (POs 4 and 8)

This week, we will discuss the research problems, designs and sample for your nursing clinical issue. The research design flows from the research question and outlines the plan for the study that will answer the research question. The design identifies the major components of the study. It is important to remember that there is no one best design for a research study.

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After you review the designs, describe which research design you would expect to find when searching for evidence relevant to your own research question from Week 2. Why? Explain your answer.The most common sampling method is the convenience sample; therefore, many of the studies that you find for evidence use this sampling method. What are the implications for using a convenience sample on the way you interpret and use the findings?

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Mixed Method Approach: Research Design

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Mixed Method Approach Research Designs

Every work involves the use of specific tool or apparatus that enhances the attainment of the desired objectives. Similarly, in research, there are diverse methods that can be applied to collect data and come up with scientific reality or information about the social reality. In some instances, research work will need to apply combined techniques or more than one technique to increase the chances of getting more reliable information.

One of the prominent research techniques is the use of the Mixed Method Research, (MMR). Mixed method approach, also referred to as the multi-methodology, involves the application of both the quantitative and qualitative techniques in a single study. The application of both techniques can either be concurrent or sequential. The mixed method approach is likely to give a wider dimension of approach to research when applied in psychology-based study.

The current paper describes the mixed method research as an integration of both quantitative and qualitative methods. In addition, the paper explains the type of questions best explained by the mixed method approach. The paper also elaborates the strength and limitation of mixed method approach. Finally, there is the rationale for and against the utility of mixed methods in psychology.

According to Johnson & Onwuegbuzie (2004), the mixed method approach can be used to bridge the rift between quantitative and qualitative techniques. Both techniques though viewed as different, may have closer similarities. For example, both techniques aim to gather empirical evidence or data to address the questions posed. Mixed method approach is therefore an integrated approach that erases the limitations posed by the single method and can be used to answer a question posed on the social phenomenon (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004).

The mixed method approach technique usually uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques in order to create a greater validity that can be derived through the use of varied techniques of data collection. In the mixed method research technique, both the qualitative and quantitative data are collected. Afterwards, the data are mixed together to produce more comprehensive and integrated results regarding the social reality.

The mixed method technique can therefore be viewed as the bringing together of the qualitative and quantitative techniques (Creswell, 2014). Consequently, the mixed method technique can be explained as a convergence of results arising from both the qualitative and the quantitative results. This can be illustrated by the diagram below.

RESULTS

The data collected from both the qualitative and quantitative techniques are then connected together to form integrated research results.

Lastly, the information that is got from the result of carrying out both techniques is then embedded together and used to explain the social phenomenon that was under enquiry.

Any research study usually aims to answer a specific question or identify a gap that has been identified. When applying the mixed method of approach, one question is usually developed and then extended into quantitative and qualitative sub-questions. Once the enquiry has been undertaken, different perspectives of research are got and can therefore be used to explain the social phenomena under the study (Collins & O’cathain, 2009). The questions that are raised and are to be investigated can be answered from a number of perspectives.

In a concurrent mixed study method, both the quantitative and qualitative studies are carried out together and results emanating from the study combined. In a sequential study approach, the qualitative method for instance can be carried out first while the quantitative technique will be used to test a named hypothesis arising from the study so as to enhance generalization of the facts (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016).

One of the advantages of using the mixed method approach is that the researcher can be able to use narratives, words and pictures to be able to explain reality or factual data in social phenomena (Creswell, 2014). For instance, Psychological facts can better be understood when a combination of these concepts will be used to aid in the explanation of the social reality.

From another insightful perspective, the researcher has an ample platform that allows him/her to be able to generate and at the same time test any grounded theory (Burkholder, Cox, & Crawford, 2016). Since the researcher will not be confined to particular tenets of the single method of research, he/she can be able to tackle broader and complete varieties of questions.

This allows the researcher to explore fully and comprehensively the case that he/she is studying to come up with conclusive information on what he/she is studying. In the mixed method approach, therefore, there is the concept of complementarily. Additionally, the mixed method allows the researcher to be able to add insightful facts and methods that can be ignored when a single research technique is applied in carrying out research work especially in psychology.

On the other hand, the mixed method can be considered to be more time-consuming and expensive. From another perspective, a lot of researchers may also find it difficult to handle any conflicting ideas or results arising from the study that uses the mixed method research technique. Furthermore, there are some researchers who may hold methodological predilections, which may make them lean on one method at the expense of the other. In such cases, the researcher may fail to understand the mixed methods as a complete integration of both the qualitative and quantitative methods.

Psychology-based researches require intensive implementation of research techniques that come up with viable results that fully explain a specific social phenomenon. For example, when the mixed method is used in finding out psychological concepts in the social world, the researcher is likely to come up with stronger evidence that will be derived from the convergence and collaboration of ideas from both the qualitative and quantitative techniques, applied together.

When both methods have been applied, the researcher can come up with a complete knowledge that can be effective in explaining and informing psychological practices and theories (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2012). From another insightful perspective, when the mixed method approach is used to investigate a psychological concept, overlapping, though diverse ideas about a social phenomenon can be derived.

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When undertaking a psychological study, the mixed method can enhance complimentarily between the quantitative and qualitative techniques. For instance, the results that can be derived from one method can be verified using the other. For example, the qualitative study can be used to come up with a psychological concept in the social world. Quantitative study can afterwards be undertaken to verify the facts through coming up with a hypothesis following the survey undertaken from the qualitative study (Mertens, 2014). Consequently, when qualitative technique is used as a platform to carry out a survey study, quantitative technique can be used to verify the facts.

Contrarily, the mixed method approach can pose difficulties to the researcher especially where he/she will be required to apply two or more approaches concurrently to study a psychological concept on a certain population. The researcher will be required to go an extra mile to understand how to apply both methods and how to mix them appropriately.

In conclusion, a single method used in carrying out research can produce a variety of weaknesses. The mixed method approach can be used to compensate for the weaknesses that can be prevalent in every single technique. For instance, the use of both the qualitative and quantitative techniques yields results that give a comprehensive outlook about the social phenomenon under enquiry.

References

Burkholder, G. J., Cox, K. A., & Crawford, L. M. (2016).The scholar-practitioner’s guide to research design. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Publishing.

Collins, K. & O’cathain, A. (2009). Introduction: Ten points about mixed methods
research to be considered by the novice researcher. International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 3(1), 2-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/mra.455.3.1.2

Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. Sage Publications.

Edmonds, W. A., & Kennedy, T. D. (2012). An applied reference guide to research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage Publications.

Johnson, R. & Onwuegbuzie, A. (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0013189×033007014

Mertens, D. M. (2014). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage publications.

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Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data

Integrating qualitative and quantitative data

The mixed method, qualitative and quantitative, research design has been viewed as the most complicated process when it comes to research analysis. For this reason, different tactics which are essential have been implemented for a sound approach and the implementation of the rules of the data coming together. However, the mixed method research design is of greater significance due to the following reasons.

Triangulation: When a researcher uses different sources to look for data validation of each of the method’s findings, (Fielding, 2012)
Initiation: The results from either method may bring out new research questions which require being analyzed further, initiating the other study project with multiple sources of data, (Bazeley, and Kemp, 2012)
Expansion: The researcher tends to develop one technique by using the find of the other.
Complimenting: The researcher complement findings from a particular source with the utilization of the various source of data.

Ethical issues and feasibility constraints

When conducting research, the moral deliberation should be at the front position as the researchers get on ant capable future research. It is vital for the researcher to be by the ethical requirements. It means that the researcher has to consider the following ethical issues:

Confidentiality: Companies might opt to be anonymous, and it is okay to employ pseudonyms for the firms and the person in a business enterprise studied.
Permission: The researcher should not assume that they can video/sound record or even take photographs. It is necessary to seek for approval before undertaking the process and also request permission when in need to employ direct quotation and secure the image of the quoted author where appropriate, (Bryman, and Bell, 2015)
Communication: The researcher is mandated to officially write to the person to be involved in the research highlighting the agenda to be discussed, (Mertens, 2014)

Budget and time constraints constrain the feasibility of the study. It is vital for the mixed methods to carefully consider the access of different source of data in line with the significance permission as well as the extra time required to gather and analyze various types of evidence, (Bell, J., 2014). It is usually impractical for a comparatively green student researcher to get the appropriate time and more so resources for such a complicated and time-consuming manner.

Significant barrier to the integration of qualitative and quantitative data

The most important barrier as far as the combination of the qualitative and quantitative data is concerned different audiences, (Glogowska, 2015). After the researchers have used both the methodology to come up with complete results, they at times feel that they end up writing their results from the qualitative and quantitative analysis for diverse audiences. That is, either the scenery of the content is attractive a particular audience or the notion of the readers and vice versa.

The mixed method’s expectation at times means that whichever set of data draws attention to or employed more or less entirely. The opinion of such expectation of the viewers or readers might cause the researcher to be biased on the keeping out one of the research method or make it of less significance while stressing on the other, (Venkatesh, Brown, and Bala, 2013)

Bibliography

Bazeley, P. and Kemp, L., 2012. Mosaics, triangles, and DNA metaphors for integrated analysis in mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(1), pp.55-72.

Bell, J., 2014. Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first-time researchers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.

Fielding, N.G., 2012. Triangulation and mixed methods designs data integration with new research technologies. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(2), pp.124-136.

Glogowska, M., 2015. Paradigms, pragmatism and possibilities: mixed-methods research in speech and language therapy. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, pp.1-10.

Mertens, D.M., 2014. Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage publications.

Venkatesh, V., Brown, S.A. and Bala, H., 2013. Bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide: Guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in information systems. MIS quarterly, 37(1), pp.21-54.

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