In two to three pages, answer the questions below in paragraph form.
Use the APA or AMA format for the in-text citations and the references. No title page needed, but be sure to put your name at the top of the first page.
• What is the objective/purpose of the study you will be proposing?
• What is your research question?
• Which research approach is best suited for answering your research question -quantitative, or qualitative, or mixed methods? Explain the rationale for the chosen method. Use the literature to support your ideas.
• Will you be conducting a cross-sectional or longitudinal study? Explain. What are the strengths of this type of study? Use the literature to support your ideas.
• Discuss the population of interest and how you plan on selecting your study sample? What is the rationale for your population of interest? Use the literature to support your ideas.
• What is the unit of analysis?
• Discuss how you plan on collecting your data – will it be primary data or will it be secondary data? Where is the data coming from – the data source? What collection tool will you use (e.g., survey questionnaire, interview guide, focus group guide, etc.)?
• Which are your key concepts and constructs. If you are planning on quantitative study, make the constructs measurable. Therefore, discuss the variables of interest? Which is the dependent variable and which is the independent variable? How the dependent and independent variables measured? What are the covariates? Any other types of variable to consider? Use the literature to support your ideas.
• Are there any foreseeable ethical issues with your design? Explain. Which ones can you resolve and how? Which ones can you not resolve and why? What ethical consideration must you take into account (e.g., informed consent, deidentifying data, securing the data)? Explain how this will be done. Go back to what you learned in lesson 2 (Ethics) and in the CITI Program.
• Do you anticipate any limitations to your study? E.g., measurement bias, issues of validity and/or reliability, small sample size, selection bias, etc. Explain.
Important tip: To do well, incorporate the terminology above and provide well-structured explanations, which are based on the readings from the texts and web links. For example, do not just say there is bias and nothing more. You need to be clear about the type of bias and how it can impact the results of the study.
