- Now that you have decided specifically what you are going to study and identified what you need to know, you need to decide how you are going to answer those questions. What are you going to measure? Here, you identify the variables that will be used to measure the problem and what each of those variables means. How are you going to measure those variables? What are the advantages or disadvantages of one measurement versus another?
Part 1: Select a research design. In chapter 5 of your textbook, you are presented with basic information about several types of research design. What type are you going to use? Why? Describe how you are going to use this design to answer your research questions.
Part 2: Design and include a simple survey as one of your data collection types and include both open-ended and closed response questions.
Part 3: Once you have identified your research design, you will begin to build a codebook in which you specify your variables. You will need to identify your Independent Variable and Dependent Variables. In the codebook, you will identify each variable, define what possible measurement outcomes mean for that variable, and identify the variable as continuous, nominal, ordinal/ratio or scale.
Part 4: Include your answers to the IRB Application questions A-G.- Provide a brief summary of the proposed research (hypothesis and research design).
- Describe the source(s) of subjects and the selection criteria. Specifically, how did you obtain the potential subjects and how will you contact them?
- Informed Consent: Describe the consent process and attach all consent documents (for our purposes you will simply be describing the consent process).
- Procedures: Provide a step-by-step description of each procedure, including frequency, duration, and location of each procedure.
- How will confidentiality of the data be maintained?
- Describe all known anticipated risks to the subject including side effects, risk of placebo, risks of normal treatment delay.
- Describe the anticipated benefits to subjects, and the importance of the knowledge that may reasonably be expected to result.