Research Theory, Design, and Methods
This is a PhD. level public administration course named Research Theory, Design, and Methods. This is a discussion question. Please answer as if it is your own. This assignment will be turned in to turnitin, a software that detects plagiarism. Please use references no older than 5 years old and use in APA format. Please try to use at least 2 of the references below. Please include reference page in APA format. Please cite all work used. Please paraphrase more. The assignment is due June 10, 2014 by 3 PM EST.
This research course provides students with core knowledge and skills for understanding, analyzing, and designing research at the graduate level. Students explore the philosophy of science, the importance of theory in research, and research processes. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method research designs and methods are introduced. Ethical and social change implications of conducting research, producing knowledge, and engaging in scholarship are emphasized. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing elements of simple research plans.
Discussion 1-Week 2
Analyzing Ethical Scenarios
Writers need to anticipate and address any ethical dilemmas that may arise in their research.
Creswell, in the quote above, speaks about writers, but the same guidance also applies to researchers. The very nature of gathering data from and interacting with research subjects may reveal ethical issues—some anticipated, some not. Your challenge as a researcher is to engage with and attend to those issues. In this Discussion, you will analyze an ethical dilemma and determine how best to address it.
For this Discussion, you will be assigned to a scenario found in the course text, On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research. You are responsible for answering the questions that follow your assigned scenario. This text is available either as a free download from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192 (users will need to provide personal information to access it, and this web site may not always be available) or for purchase from the Walden Online Bookstore.
Students with last names of M through Z will respond to Scenario 2: Is It Plagiarism? This scenario is found on p. 18 of the online course text, On Being a Scientist.
Note: Be sure to read the Respond requirements carefully because they do not follow the usual guidelines.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review your assigned scenario from the online course text, On Being a Scientist.
Review the “Ethical Issues to Anticipate” section (pp. 87–92) in the course text, Research Design.
Address the questions that follow each scenario in the online Course Text.
With these thoughts in mind:
A 2- to 3-paragraph analysis of your assigned ethical dilemma. Answer all questions associated with your assigned ethical dilemma.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the reading(S) and/or media segment(s) and use APA format.
This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of this week’s assigned Learning Resources. To access select media resources, please use the media player below.
Course Text: Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches
Chapter 4, “Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations,”
read “Ethical Issues to Anticipate” section (pp. 87–92)
In this portion of Chapter 4, used in the Discussions, Creswell points out potential ethical issues.
Course Text: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
“Guidelines to Reduce Bias in Language” (pp. 61–76)
These guidelines provide methods to help you avoid using biased language in your writing.
Course Text: National Academy Press. (2009). On being a scientist: Responsible conduct in research (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Available for free from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192 (users will need to provide personal information to access it, and this web site may not always be available) or available for purchase from the Walden Online Bookstore.
Read the Introduction through the Appendix
This brief reading for the Discussions exposes students to various ethical situations related to research that arise. For Discussion 1, you will be working with one of the scenarios on either p. 18 (“Is It Plagiarism?”) or p. 56 (“A Conflict of Commitment”).
Video: Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Doctoral research: Skills. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 9 minutes.
Click here to download a transcript of this video segment.
Experienced researchers discuss the skills that every researcher should have.
Online Training Course: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research: “Protecting Human Research Participants”
Available at http://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php
You will be taking this training course for this week’s Application.
Ethical Standards and Diversity Standards by Discipline:
Web Site: Ethical Standards of the American Educational Research Association
Web Site: Ethical Standards for the Academy of Management
Web Site: American Nurses Code of Ethics for Nurses-Provisions
Web Site: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
Web Site: American Counseling Association Ethics and Professional Standards
Web Site: American Public Health Association (APHA)
Course Text: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
“Writing Style” (sections 3.05 – 3.11)
“Grammar” (sections 3.18 – 3.23)
“Punctuation” (sections 4.01 – 4.11)
“Quotations” (chapter 6 – Section 6.10)
“Citing References in Text” (Sections 6.11 – 6.21)
“Reference List” (Sections 6.22 – 6.32, Chapter 7)
Web Site: Walden Center for Research Support: “Institutional Review Board for Ethical Standards in Research”
Materials necessary for the Institutional Review Board for Ethical Standards, or IRB, are located here. This is an important setting for establishing ethical practices as a researcher and designing an ethical study.
Web Site: Center for Research Support: “Office of Student Research Support”
Text: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Chapter 1, “Content and Organization of a Manuscript” (pp. 3–29)
See the Suggested Bibliography for recommended books.
Babbie, E. R. (2006). The practice of social research (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
Edelman, M. (1981). The symbolic uses of politics. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Geertz, C. (1977). The interpretation of culture. New York: Basic Books.
Geertz, C. (1985). Local knowledge. New York: Basic Books.
Hart, C. (1999). Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science imagination. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hoover, K. R., & Donovan, T. (2003). The elements of social scientific thinking (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kanji. G. K. (2006). 100 statistical tests (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kuhn, T. (2006). The structure of scientific revolutions. (3rd ed.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Marczyk, G., DeMatteo, D., & Festinger, D. (2005). Essentials of research design and methodology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Maslow, A. (1966). The psychology of science. New York: Harper & Row.
Moses. J. W., & Knutsen, T. (2007). Ways of knowing: Competing methodologies in social and political research. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
Trochim, W. & Donnelley, J. P. (2006). The research methods knowledge base (3rd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog.
Turner, V. (1975). Drama, fields, and metaphors. New York: Cornell University Press.
Wolcott, H. F. (2001). Writing up qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand oaks, CA: Sage.
Wright Mills, C. (1959). The sociological imagination. New York: Oxford University Press.
Required Textbooks and Materials
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
National Academy Press. (2009). On being a scientist: Responsible conduct in research (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
NOTE: The On Being a Scientist textbook is required for Week 2 assignments. The text is available for free from the following web-site. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12192 Be advised that users are asked to provide personal information to access the free download and that Walden cannot guarantee that this web site will always be available.
The On Being a Scientist textbook is also available for purchase from the Walden Online Bookstore.
Reynolds, P. D. (2007). A primer in theory construction (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Reynolds, P. D. (2007). A primer in theory construction. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
NOTE: Either version of the Reynolds textbook listed above is acceptable for this course.
Note: It is recommended that you keep the Creswell and Reynolds textbooks and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association after this course concludes, as they will be used in RSCH 6200/8200 and RSCH 6300/8300.
Other Required Materials
Most journal articles are available online through the Walden Library databases, unless linked directly in the classroom. The Course Reading List contains all of the required Walden Library resources for this course. Please click on the following link to access the applicable list for your course:
RSCH 6100 Course Reading List
RSCH 7100 Course Reading List
RSCH 8100 Course Reading List
The following required video segments and their respective transcripts are located in the Learning Resources areas in the online classroom as indicated in the Weekly Course Schedule at the end of this syllabus. The video segments can be streamed from within the course by using the media player located on the Resources pages of applicable weeks.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Doctoral research: Advice. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Doctoral research: Skills. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009c). Doctoral research: Social change. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009d). Introduction to research design. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009e). Literature reviews. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009f). Mixed methods: An example. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009g). Purposes of research. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009h). Quantitative methods: An example. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009i). Qualitative methods: Two examples. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009j). Theory. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Additional resources to support and enhance your learning of a topic are listed in each Learning Resources area. Not every week will have Optional Resources.