Research foundation week 3 discuss

My program of study is:is domestic and gender violence in the society.

Internal validity refers to the design of the study and confidence that it was the independent variable(s) that produced changes in the dependent variable. (See Chapter 8 in Creswell and Creswell (2018) for a list of common threats to internal validity).

So if a researcher wanted to compare the effect of meditation versus no meditation on measured levels of anxiety, but some people in the no meditation group were actually meditating, then that is a threat to internal validity. If the researcher found no difference in measured levels of anxiety between the two groups then he/she might erroneously conclude there is no effect of meditation on anxiety when in fact both groups included meditators and it wasn’t possible to tell if meditation affected feelings of anxiety.

Random samples always provide a better representation of a population than other sampling methods because bias is minimized and a true representation of the population is more likely. (Sampling is discussed in Chapter 8 in Creswell and Creswell (2018)).

External validity refers to the confidence in generalizing findings from a sample to the larger population, from the setting of the study to other settings, or from the present to past or future situations. So, for example, a study conducted just in men would face a threat to external validity if the researcher wanted to generalize the study results to men and women. (External validity is discussed in Chapter 8 in Creswell and Creswell (2018)).

An experimental design involves randomizing subjects to one or more groups and measuring differences between them after an intervention. Details on quantitative research designs is provided in the attached PDF Quantitative Research Design Concepts.

• Read this week’s Learning Resources. Pay particular attention to the required elements of different quantitative designs, and reflect on examples of when you would use each. In addition, consider different quantitative sampling strategies and data collection methods.
• Review your Weeks 1 and 2 Discussions on a quantitative research problem, purpose, research question, and theoretical/conceptual framework.
• Identify an appropriate and specific quantitative research design, sampling strategy, and data collection method that aligns to your research problem, purpose, research question, and theoretical/conceptual framework.
• Alignment of scenario elements is important. See the Examples of Aligned and Misaligned Scenarios document, which can be downloaded from the Week 3 Learning Resources area of the classroom.
• Discussion posts are pass/fail but have minimum criteria to pass. See the Discussion Rubric to ensure you understand the pass/fail criteria.

By Day 3

This week is only about the quantitative scenario. Repost, or build on or refine as needed, your Week 1 and Week 2 Discussion of your quantitative scenario using the following headings and according to the italicized instructions given for each element:

Program of Study: Identify your specific program of study and, if applicable, your concentration area.

Social Problem: Briefly describe the social problem or phenomenon of interest. Typically, this can be done in 3 or fewer sentences.

Quantitative Research Problem: Complete the following sentence: The scholarly community does not know…

Quantitative Research Purpose: Typically, this is a 1-sentence statement addressed by completing the following sentence: The purpose of this quantitative study is…

Quantitative Research Question: Typically, this is a 1-sentence question unless you have more than one research question.

Theory or Conceptual Framework: Identify a specific psychological or sociological theory or specific aspects of a conceptual framework that guides the scenario. Briefly describe how the specific theory or conceptual framework guides your research question and will aid in interpretation of results.

Quantitative Research Design: Identify a specific quantitative research design. Do not use broad terms, such as survey design, cohort design, longitudinal design, causal-comparative design, cross-sectional design, and so on. Briefly describe how the selected design fits your scenario. If you have the Campbell and Stanley (2015) textbook, use it to inform your response.

Quantitative Sampling Strategy: Be specific.

Quantitative Data Collection Method: Be specific.

Note: Use proper APA format. If helpful, support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Please follow this sample.

Program of Study: Teaching Psychology

Social Problem: There is currently a lack of knowledge of the use of essential oils for counselor self-care, in particular stress management.

Quantitative Research Problem: The scholarly community does not know the extent to which stress levels will differ between those counselors who use essential oils compared to those counselors who do not use essential oils to manage their stress levels.

Quantitative Research Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative study is to determine the extent of difference between stress levels in those counselors who use essential oils to manage their stress versus those counselors who do not.

Quantitative Research Question: What is the extent of difference between stress levels in those counselors who use essential oils to manage their stress versus those who do not?

Theory or Conceptual Framework: The theory that guides this scenario is called The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. I will use this framework to guide my research question because it is based on the core assumption that a person who is faced with a stressful event will make a coping effort, defined as, “actual strategies used to mediate primary and secondary appraisals.” (Utwente, p.50). Using this theoretical framework, relaxation techniques are used for improving a person’s mood, in my specific study the relaxation techniques being used are essential oils. I will assess whether the counselors who use the relaxation technique of essential oils find it to be an effective coping strategy for stress reduction compared to those counselors who do not use essential oils for stress reduction. (Utwente, 2017).

Quantitative Research Design: The quantitative research design that I will use is a quasi-experimental design, more specifically, a Nonequivalent (pre-test and post-test) Control Group Design. This is one of the favorite methods use by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (University of Twente, 2017). In this design, “the experimental Group A and the control Group B are selected without random assignment. Both groups take a pretest and posttest. Only the experimental group receives the treatment.” (Creswell & Creswell, p.168). The experimental Group A is the group that I will give the essential oils intervention to, and the Control Group B will not take the essential oils as an intervention to manage their stress. The pre-test will measure both Group A and Group B’s stress levels as well as asking what they use to manage their stress, and what is the most effective intervention for reducing stress. The same survey will be given post-treatment (for Group A using essential oils, and Group B no essential oils).

Quantitative Sampling Strategy: I would use a convenience sample, in which, “respondents are chosen based on their convenience and availability”. (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). To do this, I would send an email out to mental health counselors (ideally Walden students and alumni), and those that responded and are willing to be in my research study, are the ones who would be included. If I am able to have access to a Walden list of students and alumni, then I would proceed with my single-stage sampling procedure, since I would have access to student’s names. (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).

Quantitative Data Collection Method: Internet survey administered online. This method will be used due to its benefits of convenience for the survey taker, a busy mental health counselor, lower cost to design and administer, and expedited data collection. (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). I would create the survey questions myself and I would use a survey making instrument that would collect the data on the website for me, to reduce my data entry errors and to speed up the data collection and data entry part of the process. (Craswell & Craswell, 2018).

References

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

University of Twente. (2017). Communication

attach you will find more instruction