Lecturer: Dr. Adote Anum , Dept. of Psychology Contact Information: aanum@ug.edu.gh College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017
Session Overview • In this Session, we focus on three important issues in research; Questionnaire/Instrument development, Referencing or citations and Report Writing. • If you remember our discussion on Reliability and Validity, you will remember that they were about measurement issues. Without a good questionnaire the study will neither be reliable or valid and without these there is no internal validity. We will discuss briefly how to develop questionnaires that will be useful in data collection. • We will also discuss how to reference in psychological research reports and write research report using the APA format
Session Outline The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: • Topic One: Introduction to Instrument/Questionnaire Development • Topic Two: References in Psychological Research • Topic Three: Report Writing
Reading List • Refer to students to relevant text/chapter or reading materials you will make available on Sakai
Topic One INTRODUCTION TO QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT
Questionnaires in Psychological Research • Much of the data in psychological research is gathered using questionnaires or interviews. • The validity of the results depends on the quality of these instruments. – Good questionnaires are difficult to construct; bad questionnaires are difficult to analyze.
Questionnaires in Psychological Research Difficult to design for several reasons: – Each question must provide a valid and reliable measure. – The questions must clearly communicate the research intention to the survey respondent. – The questions must be assembled into a logical, clear instrument that flows naturally and will keep the respondent sufficiently interested to continue to cooperate.
Objectives in Survey research Goal is to collect information that is: • Valid : measures the variable or construct that is supposed to be measured • Reliable: measures the variable or construct in a consistent or reproducible manner • Unbiased: measures the variable or construct in a way that does not systematically under- or overestimate the true value • Discriminating: can distinguish adequately between respondents for whom the underlying level of the quantity or concept is different
Define the aims of the study • Write out the problem and primary and secondary aims using one sentence per aim. Formulate a plan for the statistical analysis of each aim. • Make sure to define the target population in your aim(s).
Define Variables/Constructs to be Studied • Write a detailed list of the information to be collected and the concepts to be measured in the study. Are you trying to identify: – Attitudes – Needs – Behavior – Demographics – Some combination of these concepts • Translate these concepts into variables that can be measured . • Define the role of each variable in the statistical analysis: – Predictor – Confounder – Outcome
Review the literature • Review current literature to identify related surveys and data collection instruments that have measured concepts similar to those related to your study’s aims. • Saves development time and allows for comparison with other studies if used appropriately. • Proceed with caution if using only a subset of an existing questionnaire as this may change the meaning of the scores. Contact the authors of the questionnaire to determine if a smaller version of the instrument exists that has also been validated.
Double-Barreled questions BAD GOOD • Should senior citizens be • Should senior citizens be given more money for given more money for recreation centers and food recreation centers? assistance programs? • Should senior citizens be given more money for food assistance programs?
Negative wording BAD GOOD • The city should not approve • The city should approve the the proposed women’s proposed women’s shelter. shelter.
Yea-saying and nay-saying • The members of my • I feel isolated from family and I spend a others. lot of time together. • I feel I am very close • I spend most of my to my group of time with my friends. friends.
Constructing responses • Use of closed-ended or open-ended? – Advantages and – Disadvantages
Finalizing the questionnaire • Formatting – neatly typed and free of errors – group questions by topic – use scales consistently – sequence • interesting questions first • sensitive questions in the middle • demographic questions last
Finalizing • Refining – give to small group – ask to ‘think aloud’ – help to improve questionnaire
Topic Two REFERENCES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Referencing Research • Why do you think we should cite in research? • Always cite (i.e. give a reference) to other related work or facts/opinions that you quote • If you don’t, you are ‘stealing’ someone’s ideas.
What is APA Style? • The American Psychological Association (APA) citation style is the most commonly used format for manuscripts in the social sciences. • APA regulates: • Stylistics • In-text citations • References
Reference List • In the back of the report, on a separate page titled References, list all the sources cited and quoted in the report. • In psychology we list references alphabetically, by first author’s name. • Only author’s last name and initials are provided – e.g., Amponsah, B. (2002).
Reference List • The title of a journal article is not capitalized (except the first word and any word after a colon) or italicized; the full name of the journal is italicized and uppercase/lowercase • The volume number IS italicized – Lowrie, T., & Diezmann, C. M. (2009). National numeracy tests: A graphic tells a thousand words. Australian Journal of Education, 53, 141-158.
Reference List • The name of a book is italicized and not capitalized (except the first word and any word after a colon) – Moir, A., & Jessel, D. (1991). Brain sex: The real difference between men and women . London: Mandarin.
Topic Three REPORT WRITING
Report Writing in Psychology
Report • A report is a prepared account of – What the research was about – How it was carried out – The findings from the research • This is presented in formal and organized format backed with statistical evidence. • There are several types of report but we focus on academic reports following a specific format
APA Format • Six main Sections headline APA format – Abstract – Introduction – Literature Review – Methodology – Results or Findings – Discussion
APA Report Format • Introduction – What is the purpose of the research? – What are the major findings in the general area of study/discipline? – What are the specific aims explored in the research and what specific questions will the research answer? • Literature Review – Extensive examination & summary of scientific literature of previous studies that have examined related issues in the area of study. – Related gaps in the literature which might be corrected in the research
APA Report Format • Methodology – Participants – Sampling techniques – Measurement of variables – Design of study employed – Ethical issues relevant to the study – Procedure – Data analyses
APA Report Format • Results – Description of how data was analyzed and the which results were obtained for each aim or objective stated – Use of Tables and charts to emphasize results • Discussion – Interpretation of results/findings from a contextual perspective – The interpretation should be an explanation of what may have accounted for the results obtained in the study
APA Report Format • Abstract – Describes the problem and the solution in a few sentences. – Remember the 2 rules: • Keep it short • State problem and solution • References • Appendices – Any information that may be relevant but does not fit into the main body of the report, e.g., questionnaire
References • XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Thank You
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