CHAPTER 3 Checklist Items Pg /NA Comment History Introduction Restate study purpose as described in chapter 1. Preview major sections of the chapter. Qualitative/Quantitative Comments Make sure when previewing the major sections of the chapter, all sections are aligned with the dissertation checklist and rubric. Make sure the introductory paragraph includes the Purpose of the Study as stated in Chapter 1 – see the notes section below

Note: That you need a fully developed literature review of your method and design for depth and breadth of scholarship. Use reference books by authors specific to your research method and design.

Note on use of Creswell: Although Creswell is one of your texts; his work is avoided as a reference in your prospectus, proposal and dissertation. Creswell is a generalist not a specialist in research method and design – He is like a Google search. It I is a university wide initiative to avoid the use of Creswell in your dissertation work
Research Design and Rationale – Qualitative Restate research questions exactly as described in chapter 1. State and define central concept(s) / phenomenon (a) of the study. Identify the research tradition. Provide rationale for the chosen tradition. Research Design and Rationale – Quantitative Concisely state the study variables (independent, dependent, covariate, mediating, and/or moderating variables, as appropriate. Identify the research design and its connection to the research questions. Explain any time and resource constraints consistent with the design choice. Describe how design choice is consistent with research designs needed to advance knowledge in the discipline. If conducting an intervention study, defend the choice of intervention. Qualitative/Quantitative Comments Begin Chapter 3 by restating the problem, purpose and describe how the selected research design is supported by the problem and purpose. This chapter is generally about 20 pages long in quantitative studies and about 30-40 pages long in qualitative studies.

Qualitative: The student should use seminal authors to help justify the selection of the research design in this section. For example, in conducting a case study, use the work of Yin or Stake. In conducting grounding theory, use the work of Glaser or Strauss. In conducting a phenomenological study, use the work of Glaser & Strauss, Moustakas, Stake, Van Manen, and Yin.

Glaser, B.G. & Strauss, A.L. (1999). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Hawthorne: NY: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.

Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Van Manen, M. (2014). Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, Inc.

Yin, R.K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Role of the Researcher – Qualitative Define and explain your role as observer, participant, or observer-participant. Reveal any personal and professional relationships researcher may have with participants, with emphasis on supervisory or instructor relationships involving power over the participants. State how any researcher biases and / or power relationships are or will be managed. Other ethical issues as applicable (these could include doing a study within one’s own work environment, conflict of interest or power differentials, and justification for use of incentives) and the plan for addressing these issues. Qualitative Comments Method – Qualitative Participant Selection Logic – Qualitative Identify the population (if appropriate). Identify and justify the sampling strategy. State the criterion/a on which participant selection is based. Establish how participants are known to meet the criterion/a. State number of participants / cases and the rationale for that number. Explain specific procedures for how participants will be identified, contacted, and recruited. Describe the relationship between saturation and sample size. Qualitative Comments Justify the sample size and explain the geographical region where the study takes place. Explain how the participants in the study are protected from any harm or ill effects.

Note: Specifically describe how data saturation will be reached as it relates to sample size. How will data saturation be recognized? What will be done once data saturation is reached?
Instrumentation – Qualitative Identify each data collection instrument and source (observation sheet, interview protocol, focus group protocol, video-tape, audio-tape, artifacts, archived data, and other kinds of data collection instruments). Identify source for each data collection instrument (published or researcher produced). If historical or legal documents are used as a source of data, demonstrate the reputability of the sources and justify why they represent the best source of data. Establish sufficiency of data collection instruments to answer research questions. Qualitative Comments For published data collection instruments – Qualitative Who developed the instrument and what is the date of publication? Where and with which participant group has it been used previously? How appropriate is it for current study (that is, context and cultural specificity of protocols/instrumentation) and whether modifications will be or were needed? Describe how content validity will be or was established. Address any context- and culture-specific issues specific to the population while developing the instrument. Qualitative Comments For researcher-developed instruments – Qualitative Basis for instrument development (Literature sources, other bases (such as pilot study). Describe how content validity will be / was established. Establish sufficiency of data collection instruments to answer the research questions. Qualitative Comments Procedures For Pilot Studies (as appropriate) – Qualitative Include all procedures for recruitment, participation, and data collection associated with the pilot study and the main study. Describe the relationship of the pilot study to the main study (e.g., what is the purpose of the pilot study?) Include the IRB approval number (completed dissertation). Qualitative Comments Procedures For Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection (for students collecting their own data) – Qualitative For each data collection instrument and research question, provide details of data collection. · From where data will be collected?

· Who will collect the data?

· Frequency of data collection events.

· Duration of data collection events.

· How data will be recorded?

· Follow-up plan if recruitment results in too few participants.
Explain how participants exit the study (for example, debriefing procedures). Describe any follow-up procedures (such as requirements to return for follow-up interviews). Qualitative Comments To be in alignment with presenting the results by research question in Chapter 4, align the data collection by research question in this section. Justify the number of participants. In addition to identifying the student as the primary data collection instrument, identify the data collection instrument/process (i.e., informal interview, semi structured interviews, phenomenological in-depth interviews, focus groups, company/archival documents, etc.). Clarify how the student will use data collection instrument/technique (the process/protocol).

Identify how the student will enhance the credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the data collection instrument/process (i.e., member checking, transcript review, field test, etc.). Identify where in appendices the instrument (i.e., interview protocol, focus group protocol, interview questions, etc.) is (are) located. Ensure Table of Contents lists appendices.

Describe the technique used to collect data such as an online/paper survey, interview, observation, site visit, video recording (think recipe card—step-by-step-process and describe richly). Describe advantages and disadvantages of data collection technique. As applicable, describes the process for conducting a pilot study after IRB approval. Identify how the student will use member checking of the data interpretation or transcript review (if applicable).

Describe the systems used for keeping track of data, emerging understandings such as research logs, reflective journals, and cataloging/labeling systems. Remind readers all raw data will be maintained in a locked container for 5 years.
Data Analysis Plan – Qualitative For each type of data collected identify: § Connection of data to a specific research question.

§ Type of and procedure for coding.

§ Any software used for analysis.

§ Manner of treatment of discrepant cases.
Qualitative Comments Conducting qualitative data analysis can be challenging in placing raw data into logical, meaningful categories, coding and generating themes. NVivo is a great tool to use for qualitative data analysis. Here is a link to a free tutorial on how to use NVivo http://www.qsrinternational.com/support_tutorials.aspx. Students may opt to use other tools for qualitative data analysis.

Identify the appropriate data analysis process for the research design (i.e., one of the four types of triangulation for case study; modified van Kaam, van Maanen, etc. for phenomenology). Provide a logical and sequential process for the data analysis. Detail the student’s conceptual plan or software (i.e., NVivo, Atlasti, Ethnograph, Excel, etc.) for coding, mind-mapping, and identifying themes. Identify how the student will focus on the key themes; correlate the key themes with the literature (including new studies published since writing the proposal) and the theoretical/conceptual framework.
Issues of Trustworthiness – Qualitative Credibility (internal validity): Describe appropriate strategies to establish credibility, such as triangulation, prolonged contact, member checks, saturation, reflexivity, and peer review. Transferability (external validity): Describe appropriate strategies to establish transferability, such as thick description and variation in participant selection. Dependability (the qualitative counterpart to reliability): Describe appropriate strategies to establish dependability, such as audit trails and triangulation. Confirmability (the qualitative counterpart to objectivity): Describe appropriate strategies to establish confirmability, such as reflexivity. Intra- and intercoder reliability (where applicable). Methodology

Qualitative Comments
A key difference from quantitative research is the reliability and validity headings. The analogous criteria for qualitative studies are credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. These criteria are not measurable and need to be established using qualitative methods such as member checking (Marshall and Rossman have a good definition) and triangulation (Data triangulation, investigator triangulation, theoretical triangulation, and methodological triangulation). See Norman Denzin’s work on triangulation). Please review more detailed information on qualitative validity at: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualval.php

Denzin, N. (2002). Interpretive Interactionism (Second Edition, Series: Applied Social Research Methods Series – Volume 16). London: Sage

Marshall C. & Rossman, G. (2006). Designing Qualitative Research [20 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 9(3), Art. 13, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0803137.

Method – Quantitative

(needs to be described in sufficient depth so that other researchers can replicate the study)
Population – Quantitative Define the target population. State target population size (if known) or approximate/estimated size. Quantitative Comments Sampling and Sampling Procedures – Quantitative Identify and justify the type of sampling strategy. Explain specific procedures for how the sample will be drawn. Describe the sampling frame (inclusion and exclusion criteria). Use a power analysis to determine sample size and include: · Justification for the effect size, alpha level, and power level chosen. · Cite the source for calculating or the tool used to calculate the sample size. Quantitative Comments Procedures For Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection (for students collecting their own data) – Quantitative Thoroughly describe recruiting procedures and particular demographic information that will be collected. Describe how participants will be provided informed consent. Describe how data are collected. Explain how participants exit the study (for example, debriefing procedures, etc.). Describe any follow-up procedures (such as requirements to return for follow-up interviews, treatments, etc.). Quantitative Comments Additional Information if Conducting a Pilot Study (Quantitative): Describe the relationship of the pilot study to the main study (for example, what is the purpose of the pilot study?). Quantitative Comments Additional Information if Conducting an Intervention – Quantitative Describe clearly and thoroughly the nature of the treatment, intervention, or experimental manipulation, how it will be designed and administered, and by whom and to whom it will be administered. Quantitative Comments For Students Using Archival Data – Quantitative Include all procedures for recruitment, participation, and data collection associated with the main study. Describe the procedure for gaining access to the data set. Describe necessary permissions to gain access to the data (with permission letters located in an appendix). If historical or legal documents are used as sources of data, demonstrate the reputability of the sources and justify why they represent the best sources of data. Quantitative Comments Instrumentation and Operationalization of Constructs – Quantitative For published instruments provide: · Name of developer(s) and year of publication. · Appropriateness to the current study. · Permission from developer to use the instrument (permission letter should be included in an appendix). · Published reliability and validity values relevant to their use in the study. · Where and/or with what populations the instrument was previously used and how validity/reliability are/were established in the study sample. For all researcher instruments provide: · Basis for development (literature sources or other bases for development, such as a pilot study). · Plan to provide evidence for reliability (for example, internal consistency and test/retest). · Plan to provide evidence for validity (for example, predictive and construct validity). · Establish sufficiency of instrumentation to answer research questions. Quantitative Comments Describe threats to external validity (for example, testing reactivity, interaction effects of selection and experimental variables, specificity of variables, reactive effects of experimental arrangements, and multiple-treatment interference, as appropriate to the study) and how the student will address the threats to external validity.

Describe threats to internal validity (for example, history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, statistical regression, experimental mortality, and selection-maturation interaction, as appropriate to the study) and how the student will address the threats to internal validity.

Discuss threats to statistical conclusion validity[1] (factors that affect the Type I error rate) and how the student will address the threats to statistical conclusion validity.

Describe the extent to which, and rationale for justifying if, and if so why, research findings can be generalized to larger populations (external validity) and applied to different settings.
For intervention studies or those involving manipulation of an independent variable (Quantitative): Identify materials/programs applied as treatment or manipulation. Provide information on the developer of the materials and/or programs. If published, state where, how, and with which populations the instrument was previously used. If researcher-developed materials, state the basis for development and how the materials were developed. Provide evidence that another agency will sponsor intervention studies (such as clinical interventions).

Operationalization

For each variable describe:
Its operational definition. How each variable is measured or manipulated. How the variable/scale score is calculated, what the scores represent, and an example item. Data Analysis Plan Identify software used for analyses. Provide explanation of data cleaning and screening procedures as appropriate to the study. Restate the research questions and hypotheses here as written in chapter 1. Describe in detail the analysis plan including the elements below including: · Statistical tests that will be used to test the hypothesis(es). · Procedures used to account for multiple statistical tests, as appropriate. · Rationale for inclusion of potential covariates and/or confounding variables. · How results will be interpreted (key parameter estimates, confidence intervals and/or probability values, odds ratios, etc.). Quantitative Comments Describe and defend, in detail, the statistical analyses that the student will conduct (i.e. multiple regression, two-way ANOVA, etc.). Describe and defends, in detail, why other statistical analyses are not appropriate. Provide explanation of data cleaning and screening procedures as appropriate to the study. Provide explanation for addressing missing data. Identify and explain the assumptions pertaining to the statistical analyses. Identify the process for testing/assessing the assumptions. Identify appropriate actions to be taken take if the assumptions are violated.

Describe how the student will interpret inferential results (i.e. key parameter estimates, effect sizes, confidence intervals, probability values, odds ratios, etc.). Identify statistical software and version that the student will use in the data analysis process (i.e. SPSS, Excel, R, etc.).
Threats to Validity – Quantitative Describe threats to external validity (for example, testing reactivity, interaction effects of selection and experimental variables, specificity of variables, reactive effects of experimental arrangements, and multiple-treatment interference, as appropriate to the study) and how they will be and/or were addressed. Describe threats to internal validity (for example, history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, statistical regression, experimental mortality, and selection-maturation interaction, as appropriate to the study) and how they will be and/or were addressed. Describe any threats to construct or statistical conclusion validity. Methodology

Quantitative Comments
When determining an instrument to use, it is better to select a survey that has been tested for validity and reliability versus developing one from scratch. Remember, questionnaires and surveys are NOT the same. Surveys are used for quantitative research and questionnaires are used for qualitative research. Both questionnaires and surveys can be used in Mixed-method research.

Describes the extent to which, and rationale for justifying if, and if so why, research findings can be generalized to larger populations (external validity) and applied to different settings.

Ethical Procedures
Agreements to gain access to participants or data (include actual documents in the IRB application). Describe the treatment of human participants including the following (include actual documents in the Institutional Review Board (IRB) application): · Institutional permissions, including IRB approvals that are needed (proposal) or were obtained (for the completed dissertation, include relevant IRB approval numbers). · Ethical concerns related to recruitment materials and processes and a plan to address them. · Ethical concerns related to data collection/intervention activities (these could include participants refusing participation or early withdrawal from the study and response to any predicable adverse events) and a plan to address them. Describe treatment of data (including archival data), including issues of: · Whether data are anonymous or confidential and any concerns related to each. · Protections for confidential data (data storage procedures, data dissemination, who will have access to the data, and when data will be destroyed). Other ethical issues as applicable (these issues could include doing a study within one’s own work environment; conflict of interest or power differentials; and justification for use of incentives). Quantitative Comments Summary Qualitative: Summary of main points of the chapter. Quantitative: Summary of design and methodology of the method of inquiry. Transition to chapter 4. Qualitative/Quantitative Comments Before IRB approval, the paper is written in future tense and after IRB approval, the paper is changed to past tense. The paper is written in predominantly active voice without slang, jargon, colloquialisms, euphemisms, and anthropomorphisms.
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