Dissertation Chapter 3: Quantitative Method

Introduction
Restate study purpose as described in chapter 1.
Preview major sections of the chapter.
Research Design and Rationale
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.
Methodology
Population
Define the target population.
State target population size (if known) or approximate/estimated size.
Sampling and Sampling Procedures
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.
Procedures For Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection (for students collecting their data)
Thoroughly describe recruiting procedures and detailed 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.).
Instrumentation and Operationalization of Constructs
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 with what populations the instrument was previously used and how validity and 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.
Data Analysis Plan
Identify software used for analyses.
Provide an 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:
·   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 confounding variables.
·   How results will be interpreted (e.g., key parameter estimates, confidence intervals, and probability values, odds ratios).
Threats to Validity
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 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 addressed.
Describe any threats to construct or statistical conclusion validity.
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 (completed dissertation); include relevant IRB approval numbers in the final dissertation.
Ethical concerns related to recruitment materials and processes and a plan to address them.
Ethical concerns related to data collection and intervention activities (these could include participants refusing participation or early withdrawal from the study and response to any predictable adverse events) and a plan to address them.
Describe the 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 could include doing a study within one’s work environment, conflict of interest or power differentials, and justification for using incentives).
Describe the 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 could include doing a study within one’s work environment, conflict of interest or power differentials, and justification for using incentives).
Summary
Summary of design and methodology of the method of inquiry.
Transition to chapter 4.