Steps for Creating Methodology

Part 1. Using Figure 1.2 in Ch. 1 of Exploring Research, create a flowchart using Microsoft® Word or a similar program that helps you identify what research design to use for your research question.

You are graded on identifying the specific elements of your research at each “yes” on the flowchart and demonstrating one clear and appropriate method

***Attached you will find a sample flowchart and chapter 1***

Part 2

Answer three discussion questions using 175 words for each question.

Discussion 1: Identify a research question and explain how you would study it with a true experiment, a quasi-experiment, and a qualitative study. Which method would be most appropriate to the question? Why?

Discussion 2: Can you ever “prove” a hypothesis to be correct? Hypotheses are rejected or we fail to reject them. We have a certain level of confidence in our inferences, based on the power of our statistical analysis and the p-value (the probability that we are or are not making a Type I or Type II error). We can never be 100% confident. There is always a probability in social science research that we have made an error. Each formula for each statistical analysis includes a measure for standard error. We must address that as a potential for error in our inferences and state it as such.

Discussion 3: You wrote, “A True experiment that I can use to study my research question would be to assign participants to groups (teens who use social media for more than 4 hours a day and those who use social media for less than 4 hours a day ) and assess the impact of increased social media use of self-esteem.”

Do you believe that increased use of social media will have a negative effect on self-esteem? How would you ethically set that up, knowing that “assigning” individuals to “more” use could negatively affect their self-esteem? As a researcher, how would you alleviate any potential “damage” to your participants? As a parent, I would have a hard time signing that consent, to allow you to damage my adolescent’s self-esteem.