Create a Mini-Correlational Design Proposal

Instructions

This assignment has two parts. The first part is a review of NCU dissertations to help you understand what will be expected of you as you move into the dissertation phase of your work. The second part allows you to practice with a basic correlational design.

Part 1 (3 points):

For each of the three NCU dissertations listed in the Resources for this week, identify in one sentence each the problem, purpose, research questions, methodology and design, and finally why the methodology and design selected are appropriate to answer the research questions presented.

Part 2 (7 points):

Now that you have reviewed several correlational designs, it is time to practice creating your own mini-correlational study. For this assignment, you will survey five people you know to practice working with quantitative data.

Think of a problem you see in your daily life (it does not have to be related to Education for this exercise) that can be addressed using correlational research. You will create a problem statement, purpose statement, research questions, and hypotheses that can best be addressed using correlational research. You will then demonstrate your ability to run a correlation with the data you collect. Keep this practice exercise very simple, as the main idea is to grasp the big picture concept of correlation rather than to create a complex study.

For example, a problem in daily life you may notice that when you or your colleagues sit too long during the day energy levels suffer in the evening. Your purpose could be to determine if sitting too long during the day is related to low energy during the evening. Your research question could be: How does the amount of time sitting during the day relate to evening energy level?

You may reach out to family members, friends, and colleagues—either through work or by posting in the ID CoP—but abstain from referring to this as data collection or research, which would then require informed consent and an IRB review.

In this example, your hypothesis might be the more hours a person spends sitting a day, the lower their reported energy level will be in the evening. Your approach would then be to survey five friends, family members, or colleagues and ask them: (x) how many hours did you sit at your desk yesterday? And (y) on a scale of 1-10, what was your energy level last night? You could then calculate Pearson’s r for your data set to determine how your variables are correlated. As a reminder, you should have a basic idea of how to calculate Pearson’s r from your prior course work; so please, refer to that information. This is also covered in chapter 3 of your textbook.

For your practice, correlational study, include the following parts:

1. One sentence statement of the problem (1 point)
2. One sentence statement of the purpose (1 point)
3. Research question (1 point)
4. Hypothesis (1 point) 2 hypotheses (one null and one alternative) for each research question
5. Calculation of Pearson’s r (1 point)
6. One- to two-sentence summary of your findings (1 point)
7. One-paragraph reflection on how you might use correlational designs in your future research in Education (1 point)

Length: 1 -2 pages in total, not including title page

References: No references required, though any sources used should be cited and referenced in APA format

Your assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Upload your document and click the Submit to Dropbox button.

previous assignment

Here is the original paper content, in which I was assigned an “F”. The main reason for that score was lack of 2 hypotheses (one null and one alternative) for each research question that is mentioned in the instruction sheet and some other writing inconsistencies.

A Mini Correlational Design Proposal

Week 2 – Assignment: Design a Mini Correlational Design Proposal

Part 1

Using the article by Carol T. Edwards (2017)

Problem Statement

Student persistence in online institutions and institutions that offer online classes was lower than that of a traditional institution with online course offerings.

Purpose

The intent of the study was to find out if the inclusion of interactive technologies in the curriculum influenced student engagement and persistence rates at an online institution in the United States.

Research Questions

RQ1. To what extent did the use or non-use of interactive technology influence student engagement, and was there a correlation between the persistence rates of students and student engagement?

RQ2. Was there a significant difference between the persistence rates of students in courses that used interactive technology and classes that did not use interactive technology, and was there a correlation between the persistence rates of students and the use of interactive technology in the courses?

Methodology and Design

Methodology: Quantitative

Design: Correlational

Why the Methodology and Design selected are appropriate to answer the research questions presented?

The methods and design allowed the researcher to collect numerical data from the participants, analyze and verify the data while yielding the highest level of objectivity for the study.

Using the article by Angela Tucker (2018)

Problem Statement

There was an absence of training and support to assist middle and secondary school teachers against violence perpetrated upon them by students enrolled in the four largest school districts in Colorado.

Purpose

The purpose is to determine whether or not teacher violence training reduced teacher stress and contributed to a reduction in the attrition of teachers in the middle and secondary classrooms in Colorado schools.

Research Questions

Q1.hat is the  Wrelationship between teacher violence training and teacher stress?

Q2. What is the relationship between teacher violence training and teacher attrition?

Methodology and Design:

Method: Online questionnaire survey

Design: Correlational

Why the Methodology and Design chose are necessary to answer the research questions presented?

The quantitative approach provided the researcher with a collection of large amounts of numerical data that used mathematically based methods. The correlational design allowed the assignment of the relationship between two or more variables without manipulation.

Using the article by Ashlin Walker (2017)

Problem Statement

Teacher experience, education level, and turnover can have both positive and negative effects on student achievement.

Purpose

The reason for this study was to examine whether relationships exist between U. S. public school fourth-grade teacher experience, education level, turnover, and student achievement.

Research Question

RQ1. Are U. S. fourth-grade public school teachers with experience, education level, and turnover predictors of public school fourth-grade student achievement on NAEP mathematics assessments?

Methodology and Design

Methodology: Quantitative

Design: Quantitative

Why the Methodology and Design selected are appropriate to answer the research questions presented?

Choosing the quantitative design happened because numeric values were necessary to identify if teacher experience, education level, and years at current school are predictors of fourth-grade student achievement scores earned on the NAEP math assessment. The quantitative method allowed for an examination of variables observed at a given time without manipulation. Also, numeric archival data was collected to identify any relationships that existed between teacher experience, education level, and years at current school and student achievement.

Part 2

Problem Statement

RN’s taking a national certification exam are not passing the test.

Purpose

The purpose of the analysis is to determine whether or not the number of hours studying is related to a passing score on the exam.

Research Question

Does studying for an exam assist in achieving a passing score on a national certification exam?

Hypothesis

The number of hours that a student studies for a certification exam is positively related to the score they will receive on the review.

Calculation of Pearson’s r

The calculation of Pearson’s r = .10 What this tells us is that .10 is close to the positive of 1.0 and that it appears to be a positive correlation. It seems that there is a definite connection between the number of hours studying for an exam and the exam scores.

Using correlational designs in future research in education

In education, I could use a correlational design to look at relationships between two or more variables. It as a preliminary way to gather information about a topic. An example is studying a correlation between skin breakdown in the operating room and length of time on the surgical table. In this study, there are two variables: skin breakdown and duration of surgery. The assumption can be made that there is a correlation with skin breakdown and length of the procedure in the operating room. This statement could mean that people who have surgery for short periods will not get pressure ulcers. Another comment about skin breakdown in the operating room can say that patients undergoing surgery lasting for extended periods will have some skin breakdown. Correlational research looks for variables that seem to interact with each other so that when you see one variable changing, you can predict how the other variable will change. This design would work for a skin study in the operating room.

Using correlational research to gather information about a topic when experimentation is not possible is fitting for this particular purpose. It is unethical to handle patients in the operating room for testing purposes. Still, a correlational research study assists the researcher in gathering statistical information that can predict the outcome of an event. Correlational research is an appropriate tool to collect statistical information about maintaining intact skin in surgery patients during the time a patient is on the operating table.

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