In your research proposal, you should clearly identify the research design, available measurement tools, and the procedures for collecting data. After selecting a research problem, formulating hypotheses, conducting a preliminary literature review, and describing your population and sample, you must specify your studys measures and data collection procedures. Additionally, create a suitable cover letter and a survey instrument to be included in the appendices. The assignment should be presented in a proposal format, with the cover letter and survey attached as appendices.
Methods Plan Sections
I.Survey Description/Reliability/Validity – Explain the origins of your survey questions. Where did the questions come from, what are you asking, and how are they structured? Why are you asking these specific types of questions? Additionally, detail how you plan to assess the validity and reliability of your survey instruments. Choose one or more tests for both reliability and validity. If you’re using an existing instrument, summarize what you’ve learned about its reliability and validity from prior studies (e.g., articles from your literature review). This section should be about one page long and divided into three subsections.
II.Research Design and Internal Validity – Identify and describe the research design you’ll use in the study (e.g., correlational or causal-comparative) and explain why it was chosen. Clearly outline potential threats to internal validity (e.g., subject characteristics, location, instrumentation, history, subject attitude, implementation) and discuss how you’ll mitigate these threats. Explain why each threat’s a specific concern in your study and how you plan to address it. This section should be at least three-quarters of a page.
III.Data Collection Procedures and Triangulation – Provide a detailed description of your data collection methods, such as interviews, surveys (mail, email, telephone), or other techniques. Justify your chosen methods and explain the procedures you’ll follow to contact participants, highlighting the pros and cons of your collection method. Also, describe how you will use triangulation in your study to ensure data reliability. This section should be at least three-quarters of a page.
IV.Ethical Dilemmas – Identify any potential ethical issues in conducting your study and discuss how to address them. Consider possible harm to participants, confidentiality concerns, deception, emotional harm, stress, or other ethical challenges. This section should be at least one-third of a page.
V.Cover Letter (attachment, not a subheading)
1.Develop an appropriate cover letter written to your theoretical participants that will reference the collection procedures you have determined. This letter must include, but is not limited to the following:
a.Letterhead, date, name and address, greeting, signature and title;
b.What the study is about and why it is useful;
c.Why the recipient is important and why they should complete your questionnaire;
d.A promise of confidentiality or anonymity and an explanation of a numbering system if used; and,
e.Assurance that the information will be used, if appropriate, and a thank you.
VI.Survey (attachment, not a subheading)
1.Develop a Survey Instrument/Data Collection Form: Create a survey with 25 questions that utilize various question formats and measurement scales (refer to the lecture slides for guidance). Your survey should cover three categories:
oDemographics
oQuestions related to your independent variable
oQuestions related to your dependent variable (although these should not be labeled as such in the survey)