Research Design

by John Creswell

Worldviews (aka methodologies)

Postpositivist (6-7)
Social Constructivist (8-9)
Advocacy/Participatory (9-10)
Pragmatic (10-11)

Strategies of Inquiry
(aka methodologies)
Qualitative (e.g. ethnography)
Quantitative
Mixed Method

Methods
ways to gather data

Literature Review
Secondary/library research conducted to
situate current study
Important questions:
Can it be researched?
Should it be researched?
Is there any interest in this?

Independent & Dependent Variables

situation + independent variable = dependent
variable
SO...
adults over 25 + drink green tea = better
performance on memory test

Intervening Variables
situation + independent variable + intervening
variable = dependent variable
adults over 25 + drink green tea + steeped tea
for 15 minutes = better performance on
memory test

Moderating Variables
situation + independent variable + intervening
variable = dependent variable
[+moderating variables]
adults over 25 + drink green tea + steeped tea
for 15 minutes = better performance on
memory test
[age x ounces consumed daily]

Control Variables
situation + independent variable = dependent
variable
adults over 25 + drink green tea = better
performance on memory test
situation + control variable = dependent
variable
adults over 25 + drink no green tea = no
change in performance on memory test

Confounding Variable
situation + independent variable [+
confounding variable] = dependent variable

adults over 25 + drink green tea [+ daily

crossword] = better performance on memory
test

Purpose Statement
coveys overall intent of study (111);
include methodology, method, site,
participants, definitions (112-113)

Research Questions
central question of project
what or how are generally qualitative
questions
Quintessential ethnography question:
What is happening here?
nondirectional (no cause, impact, influence,
etc.)

Hypotheses
predictions
null, directional, nondirectional (134-135)

Sampling Terms
cross-sectional (146)
longitudinal (146)
population (148)
sampling
single-stage or cluster sampling (148)
random sample
convenience sample (148)
stratification (148)
random table list & sample size formula (149)

Validity (Experimental)
Does the instrument measure what you want
it to measure? [Think SATs: are they apt
indicators of a student's potential for
college?]
threats to validity (162-165)

Reliability (Experimental)
Consistency of scores internally (on the same
instrument), over time, and in the
administration and scoring
Key for Writing Studies: interrater reliability:
will different readers score a piece of writing
the same over time?

Experiments
True experiment (uses random sampling) vs.
Quasi experiment (does not use random
sampling) (155)
pre-experiment (no control group) (158)

Backyard Research
Studying the researcher's own organization,
friends, work, family, etc. (177)
In Writing Studies, this is a researcher studying
his/her own classroom (teacher research) or
own institution (happens a lot in dissertations
and theses)

Methods for qualitative research

observations
interviews
documents
audio/visual artifacts
(182)

Coding
breaking data into pieces and assigning each
piece at least one label (code)

Qualitative Reliability Strategies

check transcripts for accuracy
check for code drift
intercoder agreement (190-91)

Qualitative Validity Strategies

triangulation
member checking
rich, thick description
disclosure of bias
include discrepant information
stay in field long enough
peer debriefing
external auditor (191-92)