QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 1 Sample of the Quantitative , Cheat Sheet of Earth science

Download QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 1 Sample of the Quantitative and more Cheat Sheet Earth science in PDF only on Docsity! QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 1 Sample of the Quantitative Journal Article In the following pages you will find a sample of the full BGS quantitative journal article with each section or chapter as it might look in a completed research paper beginning with the title page and working through each chapter and section of the journal article. *Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Ethical Conduct in Research. This section also provides important information used for preparing the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval request. As you know by now the IRB must approve your research prior to interacting with human subjects or collecting data from human subjects. It is recommended that studies that do not intend to interact with human subjects apply and receive approval from the IRB to prevent unintended harm to others and the loss of the resulting research data. Please be certain to use the BGS specific IRB forms and procedures. All research regardless of whether or not it interacts with humans must apply to and be approved by the IRB. All research involving human interaction must include a signed informed consent form. Subjects under the age of eighteen and others who are not able to sign for themselves are not included in BGS student research. You will need to keep the consent forms and information confidential and separate from the data. Confidentiality means that you may not reveal who participated in your research, unless otherwise directed by an agent of the university, which should come through the IRB, the Dean’s Office, or your instructor. Your instructor or the IRB can ask to review your consent documentation to verify the authenticity of your participants. A common pitfall for students is that they test their data collection instruments with likely subjects or begin to collect data PRIOR to receiving approval to their research by the IRB. These students must destroy this data and it cannot be used in the research study. Violation of this policy might lead to an academic dishonesty hearing and the potential for being dismissed from the university. Full Title of the Paper Your Full Name (as it appears on your transcript) Trinity Washington University I have adhered to University policy regarding academic honesty in completing this assignment Submitted to *Instructor Title and Name on behalf of the faculty of the School of Business and Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the Full Name of the *Degree Program Semester Year *Use the title Dr., or Prof. if the instructor does not have an earned doctorate. Do not use Mr. or Ms. ** For example, Master of Arts in Communication, Master of Science Administration in Federal Programs Management. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 4 List of Tables Page Table 1. Variables and measures ............................................................................................... 16 Table 2. Measures of association............................................................................................... 16 Table 3. Nominal measures of association ................................................................................. 17 Table 4. Ordinal measures of association, -1.0 to 1.0 ................................................................ 17 Table 5. Equivalents of probability, fraction, and percent ......................................................... 17 Table 6. Frequency of gender .................................................................................................... 13 Table 7. Cross tabulations—My future & ECA or OCA? (Volunteer) ........................................ 20 Table 8. Model Summary BA ..................................................................................................... 21 Table 9. Coefficients BA ........................................................................................................... 21 Table 10. ANOVA BA .............................................................................................................. 21 Table 11 Model Summary CVR ................................................................................................. 22 Table 12. Coefficients CVR ..................................................................................................... 22 Table 13. ANOVA CVR ........................................................................................................... 23 Table 14. Chi-Square: My future & ECA or OCA? (Enrichment Program) ............................... 23 List of Figures Page Figure 1. The model of the quantitative theoretical framework .................................................... 8 Figure 2. The theoretical framework of the study. ....................................................................... 9 *Note: you may place the list of tables and the list of figures on one page, but you should choose to put them on separate pages if either list is extensive. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 5 Introduction The introduction is developed in a preamble section, which follows the chapter heading above. The introduction is developed in one to two paragraphs discussing the general context of your research topic. You may recognize this as your background to the study. This is an expansion of your abstract and a concise summation of your argument establishing the relevance and importance of your study. You are writing this for your peers, so it is less verbose in establishing the context to support the problem statement and your purpose and significance. . Since it is a summation of other author and theorists work who informed you, please remember to cite heavily at the end of the paragraphs or as needed in the text. You should plan on one to paragraph of general context regarding your research topic. Then provide one to two paragraphs of more specific context regarding your topic, this might be considered the state of your community briefing. You are preparing your audience to understand and accept the statement of the problem. For example, you might discuss in the general context the history of synthetic marijuana use. Then in the specific context you might discuss the upsurge in synthetic marijuana use. In the discussion of the general and specific contexts you should also include a discussion of your theoretical perspective or the theory you are investigating. The introduction should also include a discussion, which defines key terms that might not be familiar to the peers you are writing for. Then complete your introduction with the following paragraphs, which do not need to be marked with a third level heading unless it is helpful in improving the readability of the section. Statement of the Problem. You will provide one concise paragraph discussing your research problem. Be specific in describing this problem. For example, you might discuss the QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 6 problem of the recent increase in synthetic marijuana use among preteens in Northwest DC and the resulting risks to their health and lifestyle. Remember you have prepared the reader with the preamble above this section. Purpose of the Study. Discuss in one concise paragraph what you will do in the research. This is made obvious in the argument of the Literature Review. This is a brief statement of how you will investigate the research problem. For example, the purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of the use of synthetic marijuana use among preteens which will lead to a prevention and intervention model to be used in community centers citywide. Significance of the Study. Discuss in a sentence or two what the benefit will be of addressing the research problem might be to the population of your study, and or the academic and practitioner communities. For example, Health professionals, educators, staff members, and concerned citizens will have relevant information and an intervention model for use in curbing preteen use of synthetic marijuana. *Subject of Case Study This is an alternate section that applies only to case study research. Students pursuing a case study will present an additional section for the subject of their case study. This section will be titled for the case study. This is a thorough discussion of the subject and not and exposition of the data you will discuss in the findings chapter. If you are pursuing a study with multiple cases you will present a section for each case subject. Theoretical Framework In the quantitative research study this is a Theoretical Framework and at a minimum this should include the dependent variable (constant) and the independent variable (factors that effect the dependent), and should also include the moderating and intervening variables. You will QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 9 education options throughout the District. He wants to see the availability of universal pre-K to all in need, the creation of outstanding traditional public and public charter schools, and access to local higher education opportunities at both the University of the District of Columbia and the Community College of the District of Columbia (Government, 2013). Independent variable three (IV3). Economic Development: According to the Gray (2013) administration, economic development is defined as: Fiscal responsibility in the long term also depends on getting District residents back to work. The District has neighborhoods with unemployment rates approaching 25 percent. Although the District is rich in job opportunities, some of its residents do not benefit from these opportunities because District jobs are often held by non-District residents. In response, the Gray administration has developed a dual track approach that gets residents back to work by attracting new economic development proposals that create jobs and by developing initiatives designed to equip our unemployed and underemployed residents with the skills and resources they need to find good jobs (Jobs and Economic Development, 2013). Moderating Variables: in this study the following moderating variables will be considered: time in residence in the District of Columbia, and political party affiliation. The relationship of the dependent variables to the independent variable is outlined in the model below. Figure 2. The theoretical framework of the study. Dependent Variable DC Congressional Voting Representation and Budget Autonomy IV 1: Econmoic Development IV 2: Education IV 3: Public Safety Moderating Variables: Time in residence, political affiliation QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 10 Delimitations and Limitations. Most research topics cover areas that are far too multitudinous, multifaceted, complex, or inexhaustible to be addressed in a research study of any scope, say nothing of an undergraduate or a graduate level research paper. There are research directions and research questions suggested by your research topic but are not addressed in this research study. Discuss briefly a few of these delimitations to show that you know where your research fits in its scholarly community and that you know what you can accomplish. Also describe what your research design cannot accomplish due to the scope of the project. For example, Due to the scope of this research project you are not able to collect data from the entire recommended population sample, so your study is limited by the number of participants, or that you used a convenience sample. Research Questions List and then discuss each of the general questions that determine what methods you will use and what type of data you will collect. These are indicated by the research problem and bound by your theoretical perspective and your research methodology. These are later made obvious in the argument of the Literature Review. For example, The researcher sets out to understand the impact of voting rights and budget autonomy on residents of the District of Columbia. Specifically, the research will determine the relationship of the moderating variables of public safety, education, economic development, voter engagement, and voter disenfranchisement on Congressional voting representation and budget autonomy. Research question one (RQ1): How are attitudes towards education, public safety and economic development impacted significantly by the lack of Congressional voting representation and budget autonomy? QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 11 Null hypothesis one (H01): Attitudes towards education, public safety and economic development are not impacted significantly by the lack of Congressional voting representation and budget autonomy. Alternate hypothesis one (H1): Attitudes towards education, public safety and economic development are impacted significantly by the lack of Congressional voting representation and budget autonomy. Research question two (RQ2): Are residents of the District engaged in the political process despite the lack of Congressional voting representation and budget autonomy? Null hypothesis two (H02): Residents of the District are engaged in the political process despite the lack of Congressional voting representation and budget autonomy. Alternate hypothesis two (H2): Residents of the District are not engaged in the political process despite the lack of Congressional voting representation and budget autonomy. *Population, Sample, or Data Source *Please note that it is important to distinguish and understand prior to your Research Design (or Research Strategy) section there is a difference between studies involving human intervention and those that rely on secondary forms of data. To start a human intervention study, after the preamble you would begin with the sections: Setting, and Population. Studies using secondary data you would start with Data Source (or Sources) after the preamble and then move to the Research Design section. A study involving both human participants and secondary data QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 14 retrieved in a list of brief annotated bibliographies. Or you might use a publicly available data set. The data might be from a data set found as a result of a search of the department of Labor statistics site or the ICPSR site. Name the research study, state why this data was developed and its purpose. Discuss the data set, the information, and the variables that will be used from that data set in your research study. Research Design Discuss in narrative form the detailed step by step process of how you will conduct the entire research study (the collection of your data). Think of this as the operator’s manual for your experiment that you might share with others so they can be assured that it is replicable and of the rigor of your experiment. Give a step by step how to description that another would follow to replicate your methodology. You might start by making a bulleted list in another document, and then narrate that list here in this section. It needs to have enough good detail to eliminate assumptions or the need to ask questions without becoming so granular in detail that no one will read it. It is a balancing act between too much information and not enough information. Cite the textbooks and research articles, which inform you. Creswell’s Research Design, 3 rd or 4 th ed. have great discussions of quantitative research methods and useful checklists. Additionally, language from Remler and Van Ryzin, Research in Practice, can be helpful. Strategy and measurement. Discuss the strategy of tests you will run in your statistical analysis program and the expected measurements to show significance, probability, strength of association, etcetera. Cite statistics texts, such as Szafran’s Answering Questions with Statistics, or research texts from your review of related research in the Literature Review. For example in a standard social sciences study a specific range of measures of significance and association are expected in tests (tables) you might run on the data. In some cases it might be appropriate to QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 15 develop and test a predictive model of variables, which effect the dependent variable. In these instances you might run an ANOVA. Narrate the list the range of significance and/ or association and show them in tables. In social science research you would be expected to run tests (results in the form of tables) for: Descriptives (frequency and descriptive tables), measures of association (Cross Tabs, Correlation, Chi-square), testing the hypothesis (one sample t- test, paired sample t- test), and tests for prediction. Any of these might look at values such as mean, difference of mean, degrees of freedom, f, Pearson’s Movement Correlation Coefficient (PMCC) (or Pearson’s r), significance (p), slope (b), beta (β), multiple correlation coefficient (R), or the coefficient of determination (R 2 ), and many more. Please be prepared to discuss why you are using these statistics and what their values mean. These lists are not fully inclusive of the tests you should run and statistics you should calculate, so work with your faculty to determine in advance the appropriate tests to run. Be certain to discuss what the measurements indicate. For example, it is important to know what indicates a strong association, or a positive correlation. This shows that you know in advance what results you are expecting in your data (not that you know the exact results, but have a reasonable expectation). For example: Measures of association. Measures of association are a single statistic, which provides a value for the relationship (covariation) between two variables. Additionally, ordinal measures of association are able to indicate the strength of the relationship and the direction of the relationship (Szafran, 2012, p. 196). Pearson’s correlation (PMCC) is a test of the strength of association between two variables in the model. PMCC shows strong positive correlation at values of 0.5 to 1.0, and strong negative correlation at values of -1.0 to -0.5. Then follow with medium correlation, weak correlation, and no correlation. You QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 16 should also offer information regarding the difference between a positive and a negative correlation. Significance (2-tailed) is another test of the strength of association between two variables in the model. Significance (2-tailed) shows strong positive correlation at values of 0.05 to 0.0, and strong negative correlation at values of 0.0 to -0.05. Then follow with medium correlation, weak correlation, and no correlation. You should also offer information regarding the difference between a positive and a negative correlation. When compared with the PMCC in the Coefficients (a) table a researcher can determine from two independent tests of the strength of association and indicates variables to investigate through further inferential analysis. Then follow with the next test and its measures… *Tables of information you might find useful (in APA format) Table 2. Variables and measures Pair of variables Type of measure of association Nominal & nominal Nominal measure of association Nominal & ordinal Nominal measure of association Nominal & interval/ratio Nominal measure of association Ordinal & ordinal Ordinal measure of association Ordinal & interval/ratio Ordinal measure of association Source: Szafran instructor’s power points, chapter 8, slide 4 Table 3. Measures of association If the absolute value of a measure of association is: The association will be described as: .000 No relationship .001 to .199 Weak .200 to .399 Moderate .400 to .599 Strong .600 to .999 Very strong QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 19 you have arranged the setting to ensure the appropriate level of quiet, intimacy, and privacy, and so on. Results As in the previous chapters the results begins with a brief and concise Preamble, a paragraph describing what will be covered or accomplished in this chapter. In the results section the researcher will describe and define (analyze) the data collected, and only the data collected without assigning importance, value, or meaning. The major difference in a journal article is that you will not present all forms of data analyzed. You will present the tests and results that indicate whether each hypothesis is proved, and whether or not it is correlation or t-tests, or ANOVA. You must be precise in which data you present and keep it interesting and relevant. The following examples are presented for your reference. Cross tabulations. Table 7 represents standardized test scores of students who participated in extracurricular activities and the standardized test scores of students who did not participate in extracurricular activities? Of students who participated in volunteer, 16 of 16 indicated (YES) that standardized test was substantially important; 0 of 16 indicated that standardized test were important, and 0 of 16 standardized tests were not important. Of students who did not participate in volunteer, 23 of 28 indicated (YES) that standardized test was substantially important; 4 of 28 indicated that standardized test were important, and 1 of 28 standardized test were not important. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 20 Table 7. Cross tabulations—My future & ECA or OCA? (Volunteer) I have participated in the following ECA or OCA? (Volunteer) Total Y es No My grades in high school and college matter for my future. Strongly Agree Count 1 6 21 37 Expected Count 1 3.5 23.5 37.0 Resid- ual 2 .5 -2.5 Somewhat Agree Count 0 2 2 Expected Count . 7 1.3 2.0 Resid- ual - .7 .7 Agree Count 0 4 4 Expected Count 1 .5 2.5 4.0 Resid- ual - 1.5 1.5 Somewhat Disagree Count 0 1 1 Expected Count . 4 .6 1.0 Resid- ual - .4 .4 Total Count 1 6 28 44 Expected Count 1 6.0 28.0 44.0 Regression analysis. Tables 8, 9, and 10 reveals that attitudes towards public safety is statistically significant with respect to the lack of budget autonomy,. The tables also reveal the predictors of budget autonomy being the economy with respect to CVR and public safety with respect to budget autonomy. Since the significance is <.05, the data is considered to be statistically significant where p values equal .182, and .176. Statistical significance is also experienced with the attitudes of the educational impact where significance is moderate at .451 and .468. Tables 11, 12, and 13 reveal that attitudes towards education, public safety and economic development are statistically significant with respect to the lack of Congressional voting representation. The tables also reveal the predictor of CVR QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 21 is public safety with respect to CVR. Since the significance is <.05, the data is considered to be statistically significant where p values equal .032, .195 and .181 for education public safety and the economy. Table 8. Model Summary BA Model R R Square Adjusted R square Std. Error of Estimate 1 .447 .200 -.043 7.550 Table 9. Coefficients BA Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) 29.419 10.716 2.745 .012 Education CVR -.159 .208 -.183 -.767 .451 Education BA .164 .223 .188 .738 .468 Public Safety CVR .566 .411 .522 1.375 .182 Public Safety BA -.582 .417 -.472 - 1.397 .176 Economy BA .065 .344 .059 .189 .852 Congressional Voting .197 .170 .268 1.158 .259 Economy CVR -.062 .317 -.057 -.196 .846 Table 10. ANOVA BA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Regression 327.724 7 46.818 .821 .580b QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 24 Note: it is not enough to show a numerical result and say it is strong or weak association. Narrate what it might infer. What do scholars in your literature say about this? What might you infer from these associations based on your mastery of the literature review? Don’t hesitate to go to the library journal data bases and search based on criteria from these associated variables. Discussion As in the previous chapters the discussion begins with a brief Preamble, a paragraph describing what will be covered or accomplished in this chapter. Use this to provide a brief preview of what will be covered in this chapter. This is the chapter that all the work is for. Here you will use the competencies of synthesis and evaluation to develop connections between what is known and what emerges from the research project to create new understandings or new knowledge. You will show that you have a mastery of the topic, a command of the data collected through the project, and have resolved, answered, or addressed the research question(s). This is a tall order and requires a great amount of reflection and creative thought. Allow yourself the time and space for this to happen. It is a shame to accomplish all of this work only to restate what is obvious while missing the gems hidden in your analysis. The discussion of the significant data from the previous chapter, Findings, will provide the basis of the material for the researcher in addition to knowledge expressed through or inferred by the Literature Review. You as the researcher will determine value and meaning to data based on the expertise gained through the Literature Review and in analyzing the collected data. On occasion, the data will suggest concepts that were not discussed previously in the Literature Review and the researcher will include a concise literature review on these emergent QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 25 concepts as a subsection in this chapter. It is important that the researcher limit the discussion to the materials from the Literature Review and the Findings. This information provides the evidence upon which we make evidence-based conclusions, and this is after all the goal of scientific methodology and empirical research. Then the discussion chapter includes the following sections: Research question one: Discuss your findings or results in relation to your each of research questions in order of the questions. Present each research question as a third level heading with related discussion following it. Hypothesis one: Then discuss that research question in terms of what you prove with each research hypothesis, which would include findings significant to the questions and what it means to the research. Indicate whether the null or the alternate (research) hypothesis was proved and what statistics prove this. Be sure to include results significant to the research question and what it means to the research study. Research question two: and so on… Hypothesis two: and so on… Conclusions. Now that you have thoroughly discussed of the significant data, reflect on what most important that has emerged from this empirical study, and what can you infer from it. This is the pinnacle of the research and it should reveal more than the obvious. It should express your ability to synthesize the information you have gathered and then evaluate it to find new a understanding or new knowledge of the research topic, and it should show that you have addressed or resolved the research problem. After all that is the point of the research project. Recommendations. Future Research, Theory, or Practice. Knowing what you now know as evidenced in the conclusions, what recommendations would you make practice (i.e., QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PAPER 26 hiring practices, leadership development, educating youth regarding risky behaviors and HIV infection). You might consider these as ancillary benefits of your research (beyond the research significance stated in the introduction). Discuss them briefly here to indicate how others might make best use of your work. Summary The summary at the end of an article is much more robust and detailed than in many forms of writing. You will be expected to review the purpose of your research study by revisiting the statement of the problem, the significance, and the research questions. Then review significant findings, significant conclusions, and implications or recommendations. This often takes at least three to four paragraphs. So do not short change your paper as you cross the finish line.