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| To the Reader | |
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| Preliminaries | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| How to Use This Book | |
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| The Impact of Research | |
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| Planning and Control | |
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| The Research Process | |
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| Research Ethics | |
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| Ethical Practices | |
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| The Research Proposal | |
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| PERT/CPM | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Determine the Variables and Operational Definitions | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| How Research Problems Originate | |
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| The Decision to Conduct Research | |
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| Research Problems | |
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| Identify and Label the Variables | |
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| Types of Variables | |
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| Determine and State the Operational Definitions | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Determine the Research Questions or Hypotheses | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| State the Expected Relationship Between Variables | |
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| Decide Whether to Use Hypothesis Testing or Research Questions | |
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| Hypothesis Testing | |
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| If You Use a Population | |
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| State the Preliminary Hypothesis or Research Question | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Hypothesis Testing | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Research Hypotheses | |
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| Null Hypotheses | |
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| Directional and Nondirectional Hypotheses | |
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| Decide Whether to State Directional or Nondirectional Hypotheses | |
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| Select the Significance Level | |
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| Statistical and Practical Significance | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Levels of Measurement, Validity and Reliability | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Levels of Measurement | |
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| Validity and Reliability | |
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| Validity Estimates | |
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| Reliability Estimates | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Review the Related Information | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| List the Variables, Population and Theories | |
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| Determine Sources of Desired Information | |
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| Determine the Location of the Information | |
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| Determine How to Retrieve the Information | |
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| Conduct the Review of Information Available | |
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| Read the Literature | |
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| Record the Information | |
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| Synthesize the Information and Determine the Next Steps | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Determine the Sampling Method and Procedures | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Define the Population | |
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| Determine the Sampling Unit | |
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| Determine the Sampling Frame | |
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| Determine the Sampling Method | |
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| Random Sampling Methods | |
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| Nonrandom Sampling Methods | |
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| Cluster Sampling | |
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| Concepts Related to Sample Size | |
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| Determine the Sample Size | |
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| List the Sampling Procedures | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Select the Research Design | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Selecting the Type of Research Design | |
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| Experimental Design | |
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| Control Mechanisms | |
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| Internal and External Validity of Experimental Designs | |
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| True Experimental Designs | |
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| Extensions of the True Experimental Designs | |
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| Quasi-Experimental Designs | |
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| Nonexperimental Designs | |
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| Historical Designs | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Determine the Data Collection Methods | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| The Interviewing Method | |
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| Instrument Administration | |
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| Observation | |
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| Examination of Documents, Materials and Artifacts | |
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| Unobtrusive Measures | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Determine the Instruments to Measure the Variables | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Instruments | |
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| Select or Design an Instrument | |
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| Selecting an Existing Instrument | |
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| Designing an Instrument | |
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| General Categories of Instruments | |
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| Performance Measures | |
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| Measures of Attitudes, Opinions, Beliefs and Values | |
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| Measures of Interests, Intelligence and Personality | |
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| Demographic Measures | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Designing Questionnaires or Interview Schedules | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Reminders | |
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| List the Variables | |
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| Consider Demographic Variables | |
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| Specify the Characteristics of the Respondents | |
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| Select Mail, Telephone or Personal Approach | |
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| Increasing Response Rates of Mailed Questionnaires | |
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| Determine the Amount of Structure | |
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| Determine the Response Format | |
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| Multiple-Choice Responses | |
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| Dichotomous Response Format | |
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| Open-Ended Response Format | |
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| Write the Items | |
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| Check the Items for Invalidating Factors | |
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| Write the Introduction and Ending | |
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| Determine Placement of the Items | |
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| Complete the Questionnaire Preparation | |
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| Train the Questionnaire Administrator or Interviewer | |
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| Conduct a Pilot Test | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Other Types of Instruments | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Independent and Nonindependent Responses | |
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| Rating Scales | |
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| Summated Rating (Likert-Type) Scales | |
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| Thurstone Equal Appearing Interval Scale | |
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| The Semantic Differential | |
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| The Single Anchor Scale | |
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| Multidimensional Scaling | |
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| Guttman Scalogram Analysis | |
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| Rank Order Methods | |
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| The Constant Sum Method | |
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| The Q Technique | |
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| Paired Comparison Method | |
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| Checklists | |
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| The Delphi Method | |
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| Projective Techniques | |
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| Content Analysis | |
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| Observation Instruments | |
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| Instruments for Existing Documents, Materials and Artifacts | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Select the Statistical Test | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Descriptive and Inferential Statistics | |
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| Statistics and Parameters | |
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| Parametric and Nonparametric Tests | |
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| The Normal Distribution | |
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| The Critical Value | |
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| Degrees of Freedom | |
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| Determine the Statistical Purpose | |
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| Significance of Group Differences | |
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| Degree of Association Among Variables | |
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| Select the Statistical Procedure | |
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| The Chi-square Test of Independence | |
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| t-Test for Two Independent Groups | |
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| Analysis of Variance | |
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| The Scheffe Test after an ANOVA | |
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| Bivariate Regression: The Pearson Product-moment Correlation | |
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| Prediction: The Regression Coefficient | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Multivariate Techniques | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Two-Way Analysis of Variance | |
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| Multiple Regression | |
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| Other Multivariate Techniques | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Data Handling and Reduction | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Preparation for Data Handling | |
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| Plan for Editing the Data | |
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| Plan for Data Reduction and Summaries | |
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| Frequency Distributions | |
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| Measures of Central Tendency | |
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| Measures of Variability | |
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| Contingency Tables and Cross Tabulations | |
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| Using a Computer | |
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| Where You Are Now | |
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| Complete the Pilot Study, the Proposal, the Research and the Report | |
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| Steps to Take After Reading This Chapter | |
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| Conduct the Pilot Study | |
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| How to Conduct a Pilot Study | |
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| Complete the Proposal | |
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| Submit the Proposal to the Sponsor | |
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| Conduct the Research | |
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| Write the Research Report | |
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| Sections Which Are Included in Most Research Reports | |
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| Suggestions for Writing the Report | |
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| Graphs and Charts | |
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| Personal Presentation of the Research Report | |
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| Post Research Blues | |
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| Where You Are Now | |