Approaches to Research Design and Data Analysis
Approaches to Research Design and Data Analysis
Discussion Questions
1 Scholarly research must be “aligned.” What does it mean that research is
aligned? Use the GCU Library to locate an empirical study on the topic
you are interested in researching. Give the APA-formatted citation for the
article along with the Permalink. Is the study you selected aligned? Why
or why not?
2 From the bibliography for your prospectus, select five research
studies that are most directly related to your own topic.
Identify the research design for each of those studies. State which
of the GCU Core Research Designs is used in each study. To what
extent do the research studies you identified influence the
selection of the research design of your intended dissertation study?
Why?
3 It is not unusual for researchers to use a convenience sample for their study.
For example, if you would like to see if there is a correlation between the
time parents spend working with their children on homework and the
children's school grades, you may consider recruiting your friends and
relatives to participate in your study because it will be easier to obtain their
permission for data collection. What might be some of the limitations of this
sampling approach?
