Topic

Research Methods Literature Review

Instructions

Visit the Research Methods research guide in the Ashford University Library and search the databases for a minimum of one peer-reviewed journal article published within the last 10 years about each of the research designs you selected. The articles must not be research studies using the designs. Instead, they must be about how to conduct a study using the design. Examples of acceptable articles for this assignment are listed at the Suggested Articles tab in the Research Methods research guide.

In your paper, briefly outline the topic you selected for your Final Research Proposal in Week One and apply the scientific method by suggesting both a specific research question and a hypothesis for the topic. Evaluate your chosen peer-reviewed articles summarizing each and explaining how the research design described could be useful for designing original research on your topic. Compare and contrast the paradigms or worldviews inherent in the methodology associated with each research design. Apply professional standards and situate yourself as a researcher by identifying which of these approaches best fits with your worldview.

The Research Methods Literature Review

Answer Preview

Non-experimental research

One of the research design considered under the category of non-experimental research is survey research. Survey research entails the consideration of the phenomena under study by looking at the perspectives and experiences of individuals, such that the research questions are resolved through the analysis and interpretation of the responses given by the participants. In this regard, it is important that the collected data measures the ideas and concepts that are important to and of interest in the study. Survey research may be executed using structured questionnaires, interviews, or even observations. Alderman and Salem (2010) in their article write that survey research is useful in helping the researcher to obtain accurate and representative information, which can be reproduced if the research design applied is appropriate. The article also indicates that survey research aids in the description of phenomena, which makes it highly suitable in a situation where the researcher wants to understand the perceptions, views, experiences, and perspectives of the participants, with the aim of formulating a generalizable concept about the larger population.

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