The Tools of Research

This is a two part assignment. The first part is to answer the two questions listed below and second part is to review four peers paper and follow the response guidelines. Please answer and label the questions accordingly. This is a critical thinking, graduate level essay.

Part I: These are two separate questions therefore please do not combine the two questions together. For example: Q1, Q2, with in-text citation from course reading material listed below as references. 1. Two additional references are required. 2. In-text citation on every paragraph. 3. Please label all subheading. 4. APA formatting and style. My professor reviews my paper and will provide feedback and he usually requires for addition clarification in regards to what have been written. Therefore, I will forward to you the question(s) from my professor. Please answer the question(s) accordingly. Per class requirement, all papers must be submitted to Smarthinking for review before I can submit it in therefore please revise the paper according to Smarthinking suggestion.

Text:

Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2013): Practical research: planning and design. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson. ISBN: 9780132693240.

Part II- Peer Review-

Response Guidelines: Please follow the direction for each response guidelines under Q1 and Q2. In-text citation require.
In-text citation from readings
Read the introduction to Unit 3, "The Tools of Research." This will provide basic explanations and examples of the key components of quantitative and qualitative research.
Use your Leedy and Ormrod text to complete the following:
• Read Chapter 1, "The Nature and Tools of Research," beginning with page 7 at the heading "Tools for Research" through page 25. This reading covers some of the tangible tools researchers use, such as libraries and computers, as well as "cognitive tools," such as critical thinking and logic.
• Read Chapter 11, "Strategies for Analyzing Quantitative Data," pages 270–308. This chapter reviews the types of quantitative data, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics.

Use the Internet to complete the following:
• Read Percy and Kostere’s 2008 Qualitative Research Approaches in Psychology. This document provides an overview of qualitative methods and the major qualitative approaches. Data collection and data analyses are covered under each approach. You may find it helpful to refer to this article throughout this course.

• On Trochim’s Research Methods Knowledge Base Web site, read the following pages. This information contains more information on qualitative phenomena, data collection, and analysis:
o Qualitative Measures.
o The Qualitative Debate.
o Qualitative Data.
o Inferential Statistics. There are several links to specific kinds of statistical tests on this page that you might find useful for understanding the data analyses reported in various quantitative research articles.
o Qualitative Methods.
• Also on the Research Methods Knowledge Base Web site, read the following pages for further information on quantitative variables, levels of measurement, hypotheses, and hypothesis testing. Additionally, you will learn about the relationship between qualitative and quantitative data, and other cognitive tools.
o Variables.
o Levels of Measurement.
o Hypotheses.
o Types of Data.
o Deduction and Induction.
Readings for Discussion
Use the library to locate two articles from the professional psychological literature, one that uses quantitative methods and one that uses qualitative methods. The Search by Methodology guide will show you some techniques for searching by methodology within the library’s article databases:
Record the persistent link for each article found within the library databases. The persistent link is different from the URL in the browser window. Use this guide to learn where to locate your articles’ persistent links: Persistent Links and DOIs.
Read each article in preparation for this unit’s discussions.
Use Finding Articles for Your Discussion Post to learn how to locate articles within the library databases. This guide will walk you through the basic steps of accessing the library databases and creating a search strategy to find articles
Text:

Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2013): Practical research: planning and design. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson. ISBN: 9780132693240.

Q1- Quantitative Tools

Make sure the quantitative article that you selected in this unit’s Studies, the Readings for Discussion section, will allow you to thoroughly address all of the points required for this discussion, then complete the following:
• Identify and describe the constructs, operational definitions, and variables included in the research. Do not just list terms. Include a description of how the researcher defined these.
• Identify the measure or measures used to quantify the data, the scale of measurement for each measure, and the statistics used to analyze the data.
• Describe the cognitive tool used to interpret the data (deductive logic, inductive reasoning, scientific method, or critical thinking).
• Discuss the usefulness of the operational definitions for the constructs in this study. How could they have been defined differently? Were the operational definitions sufficient to allow the researcher to answer the research question? Make sure to justify your answer.
• Explain the importance of operational definitions to scientific merit.
• List the persistent link for the article in your response. Refer to the Persistent Links and DOIs guide (linked in Resources) to learn how to locate this information in the library databases.

Part II- Response Guidelines

After reviewing the discussion postings, choose two peers to respond to:
• Follow the persistent link to the article being discussed.
• Using the language of research, explain how you agree or disagree with your peer’s evaluation, offering your own suggestions for improving the research design.

Q2- Qualitative Tools
Make sure the qualitative article that you selected in this unit’s Studies, the Readings for Discussion section, will allow you to thoroughly address all of the points required for this discussion, then complete the following:
• Identify and describe the level of analysis and key phenomena in the research.
• Describe and evaluate the data-collection method or methods. Was the data-collection method appropriate to allow the researcher to answer the research question? Why or why not?
• Describe and evaluate the data-analysis procedure or procedures. Was the data-analysis procedure appropriate to allow the researcher to answer the research question?
• Explain the importance of appropriate data-collection and data-analyses procedures to scientific merit.
• List the persistent link for the article in your response. Refer to the Persistent Links and DOIs guide (linked in Resources) to learn how to locate this information in the library databases.

Part II- Response Guidelines
After reviewing the discussion postings, choose one peer to respond to:
• Follow the persistent link to the article being discussed.
• Using the language of research, explain how you agree or disagree with your peer’s evaluation, offering your own suggestions for improving the research design.