You may be saying the MRF
stands for “Man, Research Frustrating.” For those struggling with Capella’s
BMGT8032: Survey of research methods, or for other dissertation students
working on their proposal, here are a few thoughts.
Research questions 1.6.
Your research questions need to have clear measures, you have to be able to get
in touch with the participants, and they have to be stated in statistical
language. If you don’t have these three things, you don’t have
answerable research questions.
Sample size 2.2. Sample
size is a tricky thing, and maybe the order of writing has something to do with
this. Capella has this section as 2.2, which talks about the sample—fair
enough. However, since the preponderance of dissertations use a power
analysis, and the power analysis is different based on the statistics used, the
sample size justification (section 2.2) should go after, not before, the data
analysis plan 2.5. The best thing to do is to make sure you have the
correct analysis, then use G-power (which is free) or go to our membership
website page basic-membership for a write-up ($29).
Measurement 2.3: First of
all, this will become part of your dissertation, so make sure that you have
constructs that are measurable. If you are the first person to measure a
particular construct, expect a few extra months to pilot test the instrument,
then you still have to assess the reliability and validity of the new
instrument. Don’t reinvent the wheel—find a reliable and valid instrument
that exists. Worst case, adapt a reliable and valid instrument, and use a
change cross-walk in the appendix to show how your adaptation is different.
Data analysis plan 2.5.
The data plan is comprised of three components: which analyses are appropriate
to assess your research questions, what are the assumptions of the selected
analyses, and a justification of why the analyses were select. The
appropriate analysis is selected based on the way the research question is
phrased (i.e., “difference” questions presume ANOVA type analyses) and the
level of measurement of the variables (i.e., ANOVAs presume an interval or
ratio level dependent variable and a nominal level independent variable).
The assumptions of an analysis can be found on our website (www.StatisticsSolutions.com) or
elsewhere on the web. And finally, the justification of the analysis
combines the above two points by simply stating that given the research
question phrasing and the level of measurement, this particular statistical
test is appropriate.
The dissertation proposal is a critical step towards completing your dissertation, and graduation.Many schools such as Capella University and University of Phoenix have very detailed dissertation proposal forms that must be filled out to get the ball rolling.For example, at Capella’s Harold Abel School of Psychology they have a “Methodology Review Form (MRF).”While we hope that other dissertation students benefit by this writing, I will take sections of Capella’s MRF to discuss the aspects of dissertation proposal “Methodology Review Form (MRF).”
Capella’s Methodology Review Form is essentially a research methods form.For a great book on research methods, I strongly recommend reading John W. Creswell’s (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (Sage Publications).In it, Creswell talks about the purpose statement, the research question (MRF: Chapter 1 – Section F) and hypotheses (Chap. 1, Sec. F; Chap. 3, Sec. E, F), quantitative and qualitative methods.His section on Research Design (MRF: Chapter 1, Section E) is a terrific read and a great source to site.
Dissertation Proposal Topic
With all of the research ideas, how is a learner to pick one?You can look at articles that you’ve read and see if there is a twist to that topic.For example, did the research look at the data by ethnic group or socioeconomic status?Did the researchers do a pre-test and a post-test? Is there an interesting intervention that you can test?In short, you don’t have to change the world with your dissertation, just add to the body of knowledge, even in a small way. Find a topic that’s able to be tested.The variables involved in the research should be easily measured.Once you have a topic, you can begin a literature review, which may include how many students hire a dissertation consultant and the length of time students take to complete their dissertation proposal.
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 1.1: Research Problem (Chapter 1, Sec. A and B)
Maybe the best way to talk about the research problem is to give a research example.I want to know if hiring a dissertation consultant (yes vs. no) affects the time spent (in months) in the dissertation proposal process.A researcher studied the impact of hiring a dissertation consultant on the time (in months) in completing their dissertation proposal.The research problem is simply stated, “Does hiring a dissertation consultant impact the time (in months) a learner spends to complete their Capella dissertation proposal.”
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 1.2 Purpose of the Research (Chapter 1, Sec. C)
In this section, you can state that the purpose of the study is to examine whether, and the extent to which, hiring a proposal consultant (yes vs. no) impacts the amount of time on the dissertation proposal writing approval process.
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 1.3: Significance of the Problem.
(Chapter 1 – Section D)
In this section, the learner should talk about the significance of the research problem.Does it matter how long the dissertation writing process takes?Why would this be important?It could be important to the student because another semester in school could cost thousands of dollars, or impact promotion at their current job.The time it takes to complete the dissertation could impact the student’s quality of life.The time for the dissertation could impact whether the student finishes at all and could indicate good or poor support for Capella, and certainly impact the referrals that Capella receives from the student learners.
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 1.4: Research Question
(Chapter 1 – Section F)
It may seem repetitive, but in this section, I believe you just rewrite the research question. The review form wants you to list subquestions if you have them.
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 2.1: Research Design
(Chapter 1, Section E)
In the research design section, you want to describe your research as a Pre-experimental design, quasi-experimental design, an Experimental Design, or a Single participant design.
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 2.2:Approach (Chapter 1, Section E)
In this section state the research design of your study.Capella lists designs such as experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental/descriptive. From Creswell’s text (p.168), the design seems to be a Pre-experimental design, Post-test only with non-equivalent groups.This research design is consistent with the research problem because the researcher is comparing group A (those with the intervention, i.e., obtaining a statistical consultant) with group B (a comparison group without the intervention of a statistical consultant).
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 2.3: Methodological Model (Chapter 1, Sec. E)
This is the section to state the particular quantitative model.For example, the simplest statistical method would be an independent sample t-test. The t-test is the appropriate statistic when examining the differences on a ratio-level dependent variable (i.e., the length of time to complete the dissertation proposal in months) by a categorical-level independent variables (i.e., whether statistical or proposal consulting services were obtained, yes or no).
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 4.4: Sample Size (Chapter 3, Section C)
In this section, the researcher is to state how many participants are needed (i.e., the desired sample size).Researchers call this a power analysis or statistical power.For each type of statistical test, there is a different sample size required.For example, for a correlation evaluated at the .05 level alpha, with a statistical power of .80 and a large effect size, 28 participants are desired, while for an ANOVA with two levels of the independent variables at the .05 level alpha, with a statistical power of .80 and a medium effect size, 128 participants are desired.
Sample size calculations do not have to be an ominous task.Just realize that different statistical tests require different sample size calculations.We be glad to assist with the sample size for your proposal.
Capella’s Methodology Review Form 6.5 Statistical Analysis
(Chap. Three, Sec. G)
In this section, describe for the reader the specific statistics you will use in your research.For example, if you are looking for differences on some dependent variable (e.g., time to complete the dissertation proposal) by an independent variable (hiring a dissertation consultant vs. not hiring a dissertation consultant), a t-test would be the appropriate statistic.If your research question seeks to examine whether hiring a dissertation consultant (yes vs. no) predicts the time taken to complete the dissertation proposal, a liner regression is the appropriate statistic.If you want to examine the relationship between time for the proposal and dissertation consultancy (yes vs. no), a point-biserial correlation is the appropriate statistic.
I founded a dissertation research and statistic consulting company, Statistics Solutions, Inc. (www.StatisticsSolutions.com, 877-437-8622) 16 years ago; I have a full staff of competent statisticians to address your dissertation proposal and statistical analyses needs.If you like what you read, bookmark the blog and pass it along to your colleagues in your community.I hope this helps you move forward in your academic career, and most importantly, move forward in life.ENJOY!
