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problems and questions. It has been described as a self-critical and systematic method of
inquiry grounded in empirical data. Considering that research is a self-critical and objective Conclusion -300-350
Data set
way of gathering information and generating knowledge, different studies require researchers People within the data
Use the Alldata matrix file. Demographic info + everything
to carefully examine methodology, analysis, interpretation and presentation utilised Data gathering – coz school does not actually close!
IV:
DV:
(Wellington & Szczerbinski, 2007). For this paper, the task was to peruse information provided
8 more demographic variables to look at!
What does high score mean? Low score?
(e.g. notes between the researcher and her adviser and statistical data) to scrutinise and make Break up data to 8 variables and then each category within
Use a split file
decisions on the best way to approach a simulated research project.
Commented [th2]: Research in the Social Sciences covers
The sections below provide a description of the research process and the findings of the study. a broad range of issues and attempts to find answers to a
multitude of problems and questions. It has been described
as a self-critical and systematic method of inquiry grounded
Key concepts integral to the research method are described, including the hypothesis and in empirical data. Considering that research is a self-critical
and objective way of gathering information and generating
research questions drawn as well as the design. It is followed by an examination of the survey knowledge, different studies require researchers to carefully
examine methodology, analysis, interpretation and
presentation utilised (Wellington & Szczerbinski, 2007). This
instrument. Analysis of the data was also explained. The paper concludes with a discussion of study looked at the impact of a school closure on the
community. It examined the factors that affected cohesion
the findings, possible ways the research design could have been improved, validity and levels and discussed ___. The researcher was required to
scrutinize the research question and data collected in order
to make a decision on the best way to approach her
reliability issues, and a summary of the research carried out. research.
Based on the readings provided, two approaches to Social
Research emerged as possible ways to answer the research
Method question. Qualitative and quantitative research are
traditional frameworks from which researchers can provide
systematic and objective ways to appor Both approaches
In the Social Sciences, it is recognised that research contributes to bodies of knowledge have distinctive features that lend itself particularly well to
certain types of research. As emphasised by Wellington &
Szczerbinski (2007), “the choice of the method should
by using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to “explain causes and effects, always be dictated by the nature of the problem” (p. 26).
For the purpose of this study, the researcher will focus on
correlations, or why things are the way they are” (Leavy, 2017, p. 5). Within these the quantitative method. A description of ___________
will be provided.
methodologies, researchers select from different techniques that is governed by its purpose . For the purpose of this study, the researcher focused on
the quantitative method
(Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011) and “the nature of the problem” (Wellington & 1.What is the impact of the Kingston school closure on
the cimmunities perception? Neleifs? Feelings of
cohesion?
Szczerbinski, 2007, p. 26). The aim of this section is to describe the methodological approach 2.What factors affect the levels of cohesion
...
used in this study starting with a look into the research purpose. Commented [th3]: It is followed by an examination of
data collection procedures, including the method of sampling
and details on the survey instrument. There is a discussion of
validity and reliability issues and some of the problems
which were encountered during data collection.
the possibility of their school closing by examining community attitudes within the construct
experience (changes in public services) that may result in either a sense of community
The question at the centre of this study was “What is the impact of the decision-making process
to close the school on the sense of alienation of the Kingston community?” Specifically, it
asked: “Has the community’s sense of alienation changed since the decision to close Kingston
H0: The community’s sense of alienation has not changed since the decision to close Kingston
Ha: The community’s sense of alienation has changed since the decision to close the Secondary
Measurement of community attitudes over time was required by the research question as it
aimed to investigate whether changing provisions in their town influenced the publics’ sense
of alienation. This study did not involve a manipulation of variables through experimental
research. Instead, it was mainly concerned with studying relationships between variables in
Design
designs have key features that make it suitable for this study. It is used to gather subjective
(e.g. attitudes and beliefs) and objective data (e.g. demographics) that can be statistically Commented [th5]: Describe the research method used
and describe two possible ways to improve
the research design
analysed for generalizability (Leavy, 2017; Vogt, Gardner & Haeffelle, 2012). It has options
to measure changes in variables over time through panel, cohort or cross-sectional approaches
(Vogt et al., 2012). Adhering to this design, a random sample of 185 residents from Kingston
were invited to take part in the study. Of the 185 surveys posted, a panel of 104 respondents
agreed to participate. Data was collected from the same panel over a spaced period through
questionnaires sent by post. The instrument had two sections for demographic information as
The survey panel design is well-suited to the study as the researcher wanted to record changes
to a subjective internal state (i.e. feelings of alienation) at different points in time as well as to
Measure
A self-administered questionnaire designed purposely for this study was selected to be the main
method of data collection. In survey research, questionnaires or survey instruments are the
primary methods of data collection (Cohen, et al., 2011; Leavy, 2017). They are well-suited to
survey research because they allow researchers to collect, analyse numerical data and answer
The questionnaire was developed by the researcher to provide a thorough exploration of two
separate dimensions of alienation. As mentioned above, it has two parts. The first part asked
for demographic details such as occupation, home location and whether the respondent is a
parent of a child in Kingston School. The second part sought to measure community attitudes,
specifically alienation. Participants were asked to rate their response to ten closed-type
questions on a five-point Likert scale. A lower total score on the scale indicates a less
favourable response while a higher score indicates a more favourable response. It was
administered as a pre-test prior to the intended closure and as a post-test following the closure
A draft of the survey instrument was trialled on fourteen university students prior to
dissemination to determine its reliability and validity. According to Babbie (2013, as cited in
Leavy, 2017, p. 113), instruments need to be evaluated so that researchers can ensure that they
are valid or “measure what it’s supposed to measure” and reliable (i.e. results are consistent
and dependable). There are several ways to ensure validity and reliability, however the
Face Validity. It is recommended that for survey instruments to have face validity,
researchers need to select items that are “logically related to the overall concept being
measured” (Gray, Williamson & Karp, 2007, p. 378). Based on the definition of alienation, it
appears that the items are indicators of two dimensions in the construct at face value. Items
such as, “You can’t trust anybody any more” and “The wealthy members of the community
don’t care what happens”, for example, seem to be indicative of the sense of fragmentation,
coefficients to increase consistency between items. This allows researchers to omit items with
the lowest alpha, signifying that the item itself “is not a good measure of what the scale itself
measures”. Higher alpha scores indicate satisfactory reliability (Howitt & Cramer, 2014, p.
296). During the trial study for the Alienation Scale, the researcher completed an analysis using
PSPP software’s Cronbach’s Alpha function. Howitt & Cramer (2014) suggest that 0.7 is an
accepted alpha coefficient however, for this study, a value of 0.8 was utilised. The initial
analysis showed an alpha of .86 with items four and eight as the weakest. These items were
removed to get a higher alpha reliability. Thus, the final questionnaire used for the study is a
to close the school within the construct of alienation. Demographic information was collected
along with a scale used to measure alienation. This section presents the results of the descriptive
statistics and paired sample t-test from the scale. It then discusses the response to the research
Descriptive statistics used to analyse demographic data in this study included the mean, mode,
Main Analysis
A paired sample t-test was undertaken for the researchers’ pre and post-total data to examine
whether attitudes had changed between the administration of the pre-test and post-test
questionnaires. According to Cohen et al., (2011), t-tests fall under inferential statistics. They
are typically more valued by researchers for their ability to infer or predict outcomes from
measures used. Results show a value of P< 0.00 with the level of significance set at 0.05. The
null hypothesis is therefore rejected and the alternative accepted. There is a significant
Discussion
The concluding section of this paper provides a summary of the study and the
conclusion. It contains a brief overview of the study, findings derived from the data analysis in
The purpose of this simulated quantitative pre-test/post-test survey panel study was to examine
the impact of changes in provisions of rural services. It specifically looked at the decision-
making process that went about regarding a possible school closure and how this affected
community attitudes. It addressed the questions: 1) What is the impact of the decision-making
process to close the school on the sense of alienation of the Kingston community? and 2) Has
the community’s sense of alienation changed since the decision to close Kingston Secondary
School was made? Descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests were used to analyse data
sets.
Findings
Results produced by the pre-test and post-test Alienation questionnaire support the alternative
hypothesis, which is: The community’s sense of alienation has changed since the decision to
close the Secondary school was made. The study has illustrated that community attitudes were
modified after the announced closure of part of Kingston school. The demographic profile
showed , however, showed that this sample of children sat within average scores for receptive
vocabulary. Returning to the research question on the efficacy of such an intervention for 4
year olds with limited emergent literacy knowledge, the findings suggest that an
Limitations
The findings of this study could have the potential to add to a dearth in recent literature
with regards to alienation and how this could adversely affect rural communities. However,
there are limitations that need to be considered, particularly with instrumentation, sampling
and population and the research design, which may influence the generalisability of the study.
were strengthened because it was piloted prior to administration. This allowed the research to
adjust her instrument using statistical software. Two items were eliminated to increase the
alpha coefficient to 0.92. In addition to the pilot test, the researcher also used further readings
on the construct and interviewed three stakeholders to refine the items. However, there are
Validity could have been improved if the researcher had correlated her instrument with a well-
assessment (face validity) (Cohen, et al., 2011). Another technique to enhance her instruments’ Commented [th7]: The use of Likert scales to is a
technique that has bee
inally, saving the most widely used format for survey
validity would have been to conduct the trial on a group of individuals with similar questions for last, we come to the Likert scale, named after
its creator. It employs the familiar pattern of a statement
characteristics to the population she is studying rather than her university friends. followed by a series of options, such as strongly agree,
agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. Likert scales
are especially good for assessing degree of agreement with
Research design. Self-administered pre-test/post-test survey panel designs have or support for a belief, policy, or practice. In terms of
measurement, 17 they are popular because it is easy to
sum responses to individual items to make scales. Vogt et al
limitations to do with the time interval between testing and the participants’ response when A limitation when using Likert scales is the inability for
respondents to express any further comments about the issue
under investigation and the information received tends to
self-reporting. Repeated testing could have caused ‘time-in sample bias’; participants may have offer description rather than any deep explanation and
insight around the respondents chosen emotion (Munn &
become sensitized to the instrument and that could account for the changes in the pre or post Drever, 1996). Another limitation is the researcher’s
incapability to assess whether respondents are truthful in
their responses, or deliberately falsifying their answers.
survey data. They might have also over-reported or under-reported to give socially acceptable
answers. In between testing, statistical regression could have occurred due to questionnaire
In conclusion, it has been found that the pre-test/ post-test survey panel design is an
appropriate framework to guide the study as it allowed the researcher to collect data at different
points of . The survey instrument is a valid and reliable measure of the construct being studied
but its validity could be strengthened further by evaluating concurrently. Descriptive statistics
and the paired sample t- test enabled the researcher to illustrate how a community’s attitude
References
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education. Retrieved from
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Howitt, D., & Cramer, D. (2014). Introduction to research methods in psychology. Retrieved
from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Gray, P. S., Williamson, J. B., & Karp, D. A. (2007). The research imagination: an introduction
Leavy, P. (2017). Research design: quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Punch, K. F. (2003). Essential Resource Books for Social Research: Survey research London,
Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to use what research design.
Wellington, J., & Szczerbinski, M. (2007). Research methods for the social sciences. Retrieved
from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com