Hmpyc80 Research Methodology

Even though codes of ethics are written down, they are not known as rules, but it is given to set the boundaries of what is and is not an acceptable way to conduct research

Prepare a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you interpret the statistical significance of a study.

Refer as needed to the material in Chapters 12 and 13 of the textbook. Keep the following tips in mind as you research data, as well as organize, analyze, interpret, and illustrate these data:

Methodological Issues Article Review. Read the following articles, which can be accessed through the ProQuest database in the Ashford University Library:

According to Rayner (2011, p. 258), epistemological structures reflects academic values, beliefs and idea of knowledge. They are used by researchers to interpret and re-interpret domain discipline. Knowledge acquisition can be sourced through perception, introspection, reason, testimony and memory (Steup, 2005). Old school researchers think of epistemology as the science of testing hypothesis. This traditional way proposes that researchers known as empiricist should first collect information then propose hypothesis, and then test the hypothesis objectively using statistical data. However, epistemology is about different ways of inquiring into the nature of the physical and the social worlds. And the result of the debates between the different led to the above mentioned views of social science research: positivism and social construction-ism (Easterby-Smith, 2012, p. 22).

There are three basic principles to consider when evaluating the ethics of a study: 1) respect for persons, 2) beneficence, and 3) justice (Houser, J., 2012, pg. 54-56). To apply these

Research methodology and methodological approaches that is, the structured process of conducting research and the overall concepts and theories which underpin research respectively (Bryman, 2008), occupy a central position in the research process as they are both shaped by and translate the researcher’s epistemological position. Epistemology then refers to a researcher’s philosophical stance about the nature, derivation and scope of knowledge (Gilbert, 2008). These positions are seldom ‘spelt out’ but rather understood in the matter of research methodology and approach (Sarantakos, 2005).

The purpose of the assignment is to review basic hypothesis testing and regression techniques. There is an appendix in your textbook, Appendix C: Using Excel to Conduct Analysis, which may help you with running regressions in Microsoft Excel. You may also wish to use a basic statistics text for guidance if needed. I have also provided you with a table with the t distribution.

Table 2*. Correlations of the key study variables, with means (M) and standard deviations (SD).

The analysis included t-tests (Studies III & IV), Pearson correlation, multiple regression (Studies I & III), and repeated measures ANOVAs (Study IV).

Positivism is a theoretical point of view which concentrates on social facts, scientific methods and quantitative data. The research methods that are commonly used by positivists are questionnaires, structured interviews, structured non-participant observation and official statistics. These methods are used as they are objective and reliable. One sociological study that used positivist methods was Durkheim’s Suicide Study. Durkheim used official statistics to study suicide and demonstrate society as a science with its own distinct subject matter.

Research paradigms are ‘the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques, and so on shared by members of a given community’ (Kuhn, 1970, p.175). The three most common paradigms are positivism, constructivism or interpretivism and pragmatism. Each of these can be categorised further by examining their: ontology, epistemology and methodology. Fundamentally, ontology is the nature of reality, epistemology describes the relationship the investigator has with their version of reality, and methodology is the various techniques and tools used to analysis their research.

The social science paradigm also known as Post positivism consists of testing hypothesis and research questions that are developed through reasoning. This is done through measurements and observation. Social scientists aspire to science and they seek to study human behaviour, interaction and thought in an organized way; which we can then measure, generalize and replicate. Like any research, post-positivism needs to be backed up by evidence. When a social science research sets out a research project, it is their goal to find evidence that can either agree or disagree with the hypothesis or theories. Post positivism, compared to positivism allows more interaction with the participants of the research project and seeks to highlight the relationship between universal properties between the variables. The best way to understand post positivism is by comparing it to positivism and the interpretive paradigm. Compared to positivism, post positivism is more tolerant for value-based information, however is not focused on qualitative information like the interpretive paradigm, instead the research is mainly focused on quantitative data.

The objective of this chapter is to describe the procedures used in the analysis of the data and present the main findings. It also presents the different tests performed to help choose the appropriate model for the study. The chapter concludes by providing thorough statistical interpretation of the findings.

In terms of independent variables, by referring to the Appendix, figure 1 reveals the summary of the sample; it also