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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Running head: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology
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Research Methodology
I)Multiple choice questions
1. Research aligned with this worldview focuses on asymmetrical power relationships and inequities, while linking political and social action to confront social oppression at all levels.
a. postpositivism
b. constructivism
c. transformative
d. pragmatism
Answer: c 
2. Which of the following is true of a pragmatic research approach?
a. Researchers look for complexity of views related to how individuals construct meaning.
b. The focus is on answering philosophical questions.
c. Sensitivity to individual power structures is paramount.
d. Truth is what works at the time and all available approaches to understand the problem can be used.
Answer: b
3. Which of the following is the main focus of constructivism?
a. participant’s views of a situation
b. determining proper research methods
c. finding the truth
d. cause and effect
Answer: a
4. Which of the following is not a characteristic of post-positivist research?
a. reductionism
b. a set of logically related steps
c. belief in multiple perspectives
d. focus on objective meanings
Answer: a

5. Which of the following represents a quantitative research design?
a. narrative research
b. survey research
c. ethnography
d. phenomenological research
Answer: d

6. When conducting a literature review, how many sources should you have during an initial search?
a. 10
b. 30
c. 50
d. 70
Answer: a
7. Which type of literature should be prioritized when you are beginning your study and want to establish a broad synthesis of the literature?
a. journal articles
b. encyclopedias
c. conference papers
d. books
Answer: a 
8. Which type of literature varies the most in quality and should be lower in priority?
a. conference papers
b. research monographs
c. encyclopedias
d. dissertations
Answer: c
9. Which suggestion is useful tip when designing a visual literature map?
a. Include citations to provide evidence of major concepts.
b. Avoid using circles or flowcharts for clarity.
c. Include at least 75 studies.
d. Focus only on quantitative research articles.
Answer: a
10. What is an alternate name for an independent variable?
a. criterion variable
b. treatment variable
c. moderating variable
d. control variable
Answer: d
11. Identify the independent variable in a quantitative study studying the effects of a GRE preparation course on GRE scores for Black and Latino male and female students.
a. race/ethnicity
b. GRE score
c. GRE preparation course
d. sex/gender
Answer: c
12. Identify the dependent variable in a quantitative study studying the effects of a GRE preparation course on GRE scores for Black and Latino male and female students.
a. race/ethnicity
b. GRE score
c. GRE preparation course
d. sex/gender
Answer: b
13. Which theoretical perspective would be most appropriate for studying the experiences of migrant farm workers in the United States?
a. feminist perspectives
b. queer theory
c. racialized discourses
d. disability theories
Answer: c
14. Identify the possible mediating variable in a quantitative study exploring the effects of pre-college advising for high school seniors.
a. presence of high school counselor
b. participant gender
c. participant socioeconomic status
d. participant race/ethnicity
Answer: a

2) True/False
1. A researcher’s background, ideas, and experiences become central to the research process in both qualitative and quantitative research.
True 
2. Qualitative research develops theory, while quantitative research tests theory.
True 
3. The experience of homelessness would be a great topic to study using a phenomenological research design.
False
4. Exploratory sequential mixed methods uses broad quantitative data in the initial phase to then explore the views of the participants in the second phase.
False
5. Postpositive research is also known as the scientific method.
False 
6. Literature reviews are typically shorter for a research proposal, approximately 20–30 pages in length.
True
7. Conference papers and proceedings are not appropriate sources of literature for a literature review.
False
8. The Chicago Manual of Style is the most popular style manual used in field of education and psychology.
False 

9. When abstracting a study, you should identify the methodological and technical strengths and weaknesses.
True
10. Quantitative studies should incorporate a review of the literature at the beginning of the study to provide direction for the research study; whereas qualitative studies should incorporate a review of the literature at the end to compare and contrast with the themes and categories of the study.
True
11. Definition of terms appear in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods proposals to ensure the researcher’s precision of meaning.
True
12. Marxism is an example of a theoretical perspective that could be used in qualitative research.
True
13. A priori theoretical perspectives are used in both qualitative and quantitative studies.
True
14. Micro-level theories provide theories that are bounded by time, place, and participant groups.
True
15. A moderating variable does not affect the strength of the relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
False
16. A visual diagram of research hypotheses must be included in quantitative reports.
True
3) Short answer questions
1. Creswell (2017) advances 3 research approaches. Identify the 3 approaches and briefly explain how to distinguish them from each other.
The three approaches to research consist of deductive, inductive, and adductive. To begin with, deductive approach is associated with developing hypothesis grounded on existing theory. Inductive research starts with the observations as well as theories are proposed towards the end of the research process. Adductive method is a form of logical inference that starts with an observation or even set of observations then seeks to determine the simplest and most likely explanation.   
2. Identify the three components do researchers need to think about in planning a study and provide an example of each component.
i.) Learning objectives, for example to determine the concepts that are vital in a study
ii.) Activities, for example researchers should come up with fun and interactive events that are applied to real-world situations
iii,) Tools to check for understanding, for example researchers must determine what the readers will comprehend after reading the study at hand. 
3. Under which conditions might a qualitative research approach be more useful than a quantitative approach?
A qualitative approach is best when you are exploring a subject about which you don't know much in advance or, for the opposite reason, when one wants to grasp the meanings, motives, reasons, and patterns, to mention a few usually unnoticed in standardized approaches, like those one would get with a survey.
4. Why should researchers draft a working title early in the development of their projects?
Researchers should choose a title in the early stage of development of a project because it reads as well as offers considerable information about the project. Drafting a working title in the early stages goes a long way in streamlining the process of gathering materials for the research. Furthermore, it helps the researcher to gather materials that are only related to the working title and therefore enables the researcher to avoid irrelevant research material.
5. Creswell (2018) argues that the question is not can a research topic be researched, but should a research topic be researched. Assess and explain why and how a topic for research is chosen: How does the researcher understand if the topic can and should be researched?
The researcher understands whether a topic can and should be researched when the problem presented is the main organizing precept guiding the analysis of the project. In particular, the problem at hand provides an occasion for writing as well as a focus that directs what the researcher wants to say. 
6. In your own words, articulate the purpose of the review of literature and the forms that it can take?
The major purpose of literature review is to offer a critical written account of the current state of research on a selected topic. Some of the forms of literature review include argumentative, integrative, historical, methodological, systematic, and theoretical review. 
7. Describe the 7 steps in conducting a literature review.
The first step in conducting a literature review is to choose topic. In this case, the scholar must understand what the literature review covers in details. Specifically, the topic must be brief, precise, and interesting. Secondly, the researcher must decide on the area of research. In this case, a scholar must decide forehand what segments he or she is going to study and ensure that he or she acquires sources in the areas to be studied. The third step is searching for the Literature. At this point, scholars should perform an extensive bibliographic search of articles as well as books in the study area. What is more, the scholar should read abstracts online as well as download the articles that pertain to the area of research. The fourth step includes determining relevant excerpts in the selected books and journals. In this case, the researcher is required to skim the contents of every source and look for adequate information for the study. The fifth step is coding the literature. The investigator should cut out every determined excerpt out. In particular, this makes it easy for the scholar to locate specific information when required. The sixth step involves creating conceptual schema. In this case, the author should name every coded theme for easy location. Lastly, begin to write the literature review. At this point, the scholar should locate the excerpts that were set aside to be used in the writing of the literature review.        
Start to write the literature review 
8. Describe the different ways in which qualitative researchers may use and place theories in their research.
It is important to comprehend that theories such as interactionism, phenomenology, and critical theory can be used to help design a research question, guide the selection of relevant data, interpret the data, and propose explanations of causes or influences. Notably, the theories play a vital role in providing complex and comprehensive conceptual understandings of things that cannot be pinned down: how societies work, how organisations operate, why people interact in certain ways. 
9. Provide an example of a quantitative study you might design, indicating the research topic, the independent variable, and the dependent variable.
Topic: The effective of gun violence on American children
Independent variable: gun violence
Dependent variable: American children 
10. Explain how a transformative framework is used for theory in mixed methods research.
It is important to note that transformative framework is applied in mixed methods research to assess the inclusion of an advocacy perspective in the aforementioned methods. It is noteworthy that transformative framework includes an individual’s worldview as well as implicit value assumptions that are important in mixed methods of study.