Friday, November 11, 2016

Chapter 3: Additional Information, quantitative

There are three special cases that are listed in the quantitative checklist that we will examine today: a pilot study, conducting an intervention, and archival data. I am a fan of pilot studies, but you do need to explain why you are doing one and who will be participating in it. Pilot studies are typically done to give you an opportunity to practice your procedures, check the clarity of the measure, and to determine how long the full study will take (so you can report that in your consent form).

Doing an intervention, which means introducing any new training, treatment, or information to your participants is a very tricky proposition at Walden. Even something as simple as having a control group may come under the intervention rules. So if you have been thinking along these lines, I caution you to write to the IRB today (irb@waldenu.edu) and talk to them about it. You, as the researcher, will not be allowed to do the intervention. So, some other group or institution will have to sponsor it. You are only allowed to collect the data on it. After you talk to the IRB about this, if it still makes sense to do an intervention, you will need to clearly describe what will be done and who will do it. Also, clearly indicate your role and what you will and will not be doing with it.

Archival (or secondary) data, using already collected data in your dissertation, is a great method to use. You will need to relate all the information about how the original study was done, including recruitment and data collection. Then you will need to describe the procedure used to access the data, including any permission letters you needed (include them in the appendix). If you are using historical or legal documents (this is uncommon), describe how you know they are accurate and why they are the best possible sources to use.

Next time we will switch to qualitative and mixed methods studies and look at Chapter 3: Participant Selection. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

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