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Assignment_2 xLab_Assignment_1_Research_Proposal Assignment_202 x

Lab Assignment 2: Methods

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to help you design an instrument that will allow you to collect data to answer your research question. We will provide you with feedback that should help you improve your instrument, so we ask that you do
not
begin collecting data before receiving your feedback and grade.

Due Date

Friday, March 14th, 2014

Submission

All assignments should be submitted to the d2l dropbox by 10:00 pm on the due date. We encourage you to submit early in case problems arise due to your computer, internet access, or the d2l site. If you are unable to submit due to one of these problems, you MUST email your TA the assignment by 10:00 pm on the due date.

Only one person in each group needs to submit the assignment and the TAs will only grade one assignment per group. Please be sure to include the names of all group members so that everyone receives credit.

Format

Your assignment should be no more than 1-2 double spaced pages. Please note the 1-2 pages does not include your instrument. Feel free to use more space to create a well-designed instrument. You must type all assignments and make full use of spell check/grammar check features. We will not waste time trying to interpret poor grammar. All assignments must be in APA format. We do not require cover sheets, but you must use appropriate section headings and references when appropriate.

Grading

The assignment is worth 25 points. You will be graded on the description and appropriateness of your methodological approach, design, sample, and procedure. We will also be grading on how well your instrument matches your research question and allows you to collect quality data that will help you to answer your research question. As always, grammar, editing, and the general ease of reading your assignment are important.

Directions

For this assignment, you will be asked to prepare for data collection. You should plan on collecting data from 10-15 people if you are doing a survey and 3-6 people if you are doing an interview. If you plan on making observations, plan a minimum of 3 observations at least 5-10 minutes in length, but feel free to make more or longer observations as well. Just keep in mind that you will have to code your observations for emerging themes, so it is important to only collect as much information as you think you can handle.

Your assignment must include:

· Revised research question and hypothesis

· Your paper must begin with your research question and hypothesis.

· Revise the research question and hypothesis if necessary according to your TA’s feedback.

· Please note: You are not resubmitting your entire Assignment 2. We are only asking you to revise your research question and hypothesis if necessary.

· Description of your methodological approach and design

· State whether your method is quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.

· Be sure to demonstrate correct understanding of this approach.

· Explain why you have chosen this method.

· Indicate your chosen design (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental, case study, interview, focus group, ethnography).

· Be sure to demonstrate correct understanding of this design.

· Identify your independent and dependent variables.

· Explain why this design is appropriate to answering your research question.

· Description of your sample

· Describe who will be in your sample (e.g., gender, age, race/ethnicity, profession)

· Describe where you will locate your sample.

· Describe how you will recruit people to be included. This is separate from where you will locate them.

· Explain why this sample is appropriate to answering your research question and tell us why you are interested in this specific population.

· Create Your Instrument

· Create the instrument you plan on using for your study. Do not simply describe it. Be sure that it will elicit quality data that will help you answer your research question. In addition, pay attention to how your instrument is formatted. It should be well organized and easily interpreted.

· If you are doing a survey, include the survey you will be using.

· Surveys should include 5-15 items.

· If you are doing interviews, include your interview questions.

· Interviews should include 5-10 questions.

· If you are doing observations, include an example of what your field notes will look like.

· Field notes should include a description of the location of the observation, the time of day, the number of people, and what they are doing. You must include all relevant information from the setting that you think will help address your research question. Be sure to include your thoughts about your observations.

· If you are doing an experiment, include the procedure and describe how you will measure your variables.

· Be sure to define your independent and dependent variables.

· Procedures must include step-by-step instructions for conducting the experiment.

*Note: Do not complete this assignment using bullet points. This assignment needs to be conducted in an essay format. In addition, please attempt to keep your writing organized. Every paragraph should have a clear purpose. You may want to think of every black bullet point as its own paragraph if it helps you to keep your writing focused.

Lab Assignment 1: Research Proposal

Student’s name: LI JIANQIAO

Institutional Affiliation

I. Literature Review

Li’s groundbreaking 2006 study of cyberbullying in schools identified significant differences between genders with respect to behavior as either bullies or victims. The primary focus of the study examined gender differences in cyberbullying experiences, although the researchers also sought to explore gender differences in perception of school climate. Li identifies three specific questions that guided his research:

1. Do male and female students have different experiences in relation to cyberbullying?

2. Are there gender differences in student beliefs about adults’ prevention of cyverbullying?

3. When cyberbullying occurs, do male and female students behave differently in terms of informing adults? (Li 2006: 6).

The study, which employs a quantitative, survey-based methodology, was conducted using a random convenience sample from “three middle schools in a large city in Canada.” 130 males and 134 females completed the questionnaire. Approximately 6% were ESL students. Three-quarters of respondents were white, 6.4% Asian, and approximately 18 percent were black, hispanic, aboriginal or from other ethnic groups. Li notes that 90% of respondents reported that they either had average or above average grades, with only a few indicating that they received lower marks. The anonymous survey contained two sections: one seeking to establish demographic information about respondents, and the other focusing on gender and behavior.

The study found that males were more likely than females to bully either in person or via electronic means, while “female cyberbully victims were more likely to inform adults than their male counterparts.”

For me, one of Li’s most interesting observations is that this result contradicts the theory that “females prefer to use electronic communication mediums […] to bully others.”

The strength of the study arguably lies in its straightforwardness: Li formulated highly specific and well-thought-out research questions that allowed him to conduct an extremely focused study. That said, the study is also limited by its specificity: the sample population constitutes a very limited age range, all respondents came from urban cities. Furthermore, the voluntary nature of the survey may have skewed the results somewhat; it is not difficult to imagine that victims and bullies would elect to respond in different proportions.

II. Research Question

One seeming weakness in the bullying literature is that researchers seeking to examine the scope of the problem often employ their own definitions of bullying, rather than seeking to define this activity as relevant stakeholders (e.g., students) might. In order to explore this issue–and perhaps supplement Li’s findings–I would like to explore gender differences in cyberbullying at the high school level. To this end, I would like to ask two questions. First, do males and females have different experiences in relation to cyberbullying at our school? Second, how do males and females define cyberbullying at our school?

Exploring these questions will require two different methodologies. The first would be best served with a quantitative survey, much like Li’s. The second question, however, is more difficult to pin down: it would be best served by conducting brief, qualitative interviews with a select group of survey respondents.

References

Li, Q. (2006). Cyberbullying in schools a research of gender differences. School psychology international, 27(2), 157-170.

Order Description

Order code: 81144182

Pages: 2 Double spaced

Sources: 1

Style: APA

Lab Assignment 2: Methods

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to help you design an instrument that will allow you to collect data to answer your research question. We will provide you with feedback that should help you improve your instrument, so we ask that you do
not
begin collecting data before receiving your feedback and grade.

Due Date

Friday, March 14th, 2014

Submission

All assignments should be submitted to the d2l dropbox by 10:00 pm on the due date. We encourage you to submit early in case problems arise due to your computer, internet access, or the d2l site. If you are unable to submit due to one of these problems, you MUST email your TA the assignment by 10:00 pm on the due date.

Only one person in each group needs to submit the assignment and the TAs will only grade one assignment per group. Please be sure to include the names of all group members so that everyone receives credit.

Format

Your assignment should be no more than 1-2 double spaced pages. Please note the 1-2 pages does not include your instrument. Feel free to use more space to create a well-designed instrument. You must type all assignments and make full use of spell check/grammar check features. We will not waste time trying to interpret poor grammar. All assignments must be in APA format. We do not require cover sheets, but you must use appropriate section headings and references when appropriate.

Grading

The assignment is worth 25 points. You will be graded on the description and appropriateness of your methodological approach, design, sample, and procedure. We will also be grading on how well your instrument matches your research question and allows you to collect quality data that will help you to answer your research question. As always, grammar, editing, and the general ease of reading your assignment are important.

Directions

For this assignment, you will be asked to prepare for data collection. You should plan on collecting data from 10-15 people if you are doing a survey and 3-6 people if you are doing an interview. If you plan on making observations, plan a minimum of 3 observations at least 5-10 minutes in length, but feel free to make more or longer observations as well. Just keep in mind that you will have to code your observations for emerging themes, so it is important to only collect as much information as you think you can handle.

Your assignment must include:

· Revised research question and hypothesis

· Your paper must begin with your research question and hypothesis.

· Revise the research question and hypothesis if necessary according to your TA’s feedback.

· Please note: You are not resubmitting your entire Assignment 2. We are only asking you to revise your research question and hypothesis if necessary.

· Description of your methodological approach and design

· State whether your method is quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.

· Be sure to demonstrate correct understanding of this approach.

· Explain why you have chosen this method.

· Indicate your chosen design (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental, case study, interview, focus group, ethnography).

· Be sure to demonstrate correct understanding of this design.

· Identify your independent and dependent variables.

· Explain why this design is appropriate to answering your research question.

· Description of your sample

· Describe who will be in your sample (e.g., gender, age, race/ethnicity, profession)

· Describe where you will locate your sample.

· Describe how you will recruit people to be included. This is separate from where you will locate them.

· Explain why this sample is appropriate to answering your research question and tell us why you are interested in this specific population.

· Create Your Instrument

· Create the instrument you plan on using for your study. Do not simply describe it. Be sure that it will elicit quality data that will help you answer your research question. In addition, pay attention to how your instrument is formatted. It should be well organized and easily interpreted.

· If you are doing a survey, include the survey you will be using.

· Surveys should include 5-15 items.

· If you are doing interviews, include your interview questions.

· Interviews should include 5-10 questions.

· If you are doing observations, include an example of what your field notes will look like.

· Field notes should include a description of the location of the observation, the time of day, the number of people, and what they are doing. You must include all relevant information from the setting that you think will help address your research question. Be sure to include your thoughts about your observations.

· If you are doing an experiment, include the procedure and describe how you will measure your variables.

· Be sure to define your independent and dependent variables.

· Procedures must include step-by-step instructions for conducting the experiment.

*Note: Do not complete this assignment using bullet points. This assignment needs to be conducted in an essay format. In addition, please attempt to keep your writing organized. Every paragraph should have a clear purpose. You may want to think of every black bullet point as its own paragraph if it helps you to keep your writing focused.