Module 3

METHODOLOGIES & PROCEDURES

QUALITATIVE & QUANTITATIVE DESIGNS

LECTURER: DR. KOFI NKRUMAH-YOUNG

Week 7

Issues to be considered in the research design

 Chapter 3 Methodology and
Procedures
Introduction
Project design
Population and Sample
Instrumentation
Data Collection Procedures
Schedule of Activities
Proposed Method for analyzing data (Inc.
guaranteeing validity and reliability
Ethical Considerations
Conclusion
 Reliability

Reliability
 Extent to which findings replicable
 The consistency with which a measuring
instrument yields a certain result when
the entity being measured has not
changed.
 Leady & Omrod 2010 p. 29

 Detail description on all areas in the

design chapter
 Reliability Cont’d
Reliability can be ensured if sufficient
detail is given in the Chapter where the
Design of the research is given
Detailed description of the
methodology, methods, and other
techniques
Plan of activities
Schedules of dates of the different
activities
 Validity

Does the study have sufficient controls

to ensure that the conclusions are truly
warranted by the data?
Can we use what we observed in the
research to make generalisations about
the world beyond that specific
situation?
 Methods of validating quantitative studies

Internal validity: “the extent to which

its design and the data it yields allow
the researcher to draw accurate
conclusions about cause-and-effect and
to their relationships within the data”.
External validity: “the extent to which
its results apply to situations beyond
the study itself”
(Leady & Ormrod 2010 p.28)
 Internal validity in quantitative research

A controlled lab study – an experiment is

conducted in a lab setting so that
environmental conditions can be carefully
regulated
Double-blind experiment – two or more
different methods are compared with neither
the participants nor the people
administering the methods know what the
hypothesis is or which method is expected to
be more effective.
 Internal validity in quantitative research cont’d

Unobtrusive measure- people are

observed in such a way that they do not
know that their actions are being
recorded
Triangulation- multiple sources of data
are collected with the hope that they
will all converge to support a particular
theory
 External validity in quantitative research

Real-life setting
Representative sample
Replication in a different context
 Validity in qualitative research

Extensive time in field

Negative case analysis: the researcher
actively looks for cases that contradicts
the existing hypothesis then revises the
explanation or theory until all cases
have been accounted for
 Validity in qualitative research Cont’d
Thick description: there is sufficient (thick) detail
that readers can draw their own conclusions from
the data presented
Feedback from others: seek opinion of colleagues in
the field to determine whether they agree or
disagree that the researcher has made appropriate
interpretations and draw valid conclusions from the
data
Respondent validation: researcher takes his or her
conclusions back to the participants and ask if they
agree with the conclusion
Triangulation
 Ethics

Protection from harm

Informed consent
Rights to privacy
Honesty with professional colleagues
Internal review board
 Sampling

Evidence from a portion of the

whole in the expectation and hope
that what is found in that portion
applies equally to the rest of the
‘population” (Densco 2006 p. 11)
 Probability Sampling
Random sampling – selection of people or
event at random
Stratified Random sampling – taking equal
portion from each layer of the overall
population – pg 202
Proportions stratified sampling – selecting
the sample in proportion to the sector size - p.
203
Cluster Sampling – dividing the area into
smaller units (cluster) and selecting the
sample from each cluster – p. 203 -204
 Non-probability sampling
Research has no way of forecasting or
guaranteeing that each element of the
population will be represented in the sample
Convenience sampling (Accidental
sampling) – taking people that are readily
available.
Quota sampling – selecting respondents in
the same proportions that they are found in
the general population – p. 206
Purposive sampling – persons chosen are
for a particular purpose
Formula for Calculating Sample Size

Source: extension.psu.edu/evaluation/pdf/TS60.pdf
 Calculating sample size

Full paper How to determine a Sample Size at

extension.psu.edu/evaluation/pdf/TS60.pdf
Sample table in the appendices of the paper
Sample calculators on the web e.g.
http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm
Sampling in qualitative research p. 144 - 145
Materials taken from a variety of sources –
objects, text, audiovisual, electronic record
Process of selecting the materials to be used is
called sampling
How to identify the sample depends on the
research question
Theoretical sampling – choosing data sources
that are most apt to help develop theory
Discriminant sampling returning to those data
sources that are most apt to help validate the
theory
 Outline of Chapter 3

Introduction
Research Design (& methodology)
Population & Sampling/site & participants selection
Instrument Measurement
Data Collection Procedures/schedule of activities
Processing and analysis of data, presentation of data
Schedule of activities
Testing for reliability and validity
Ethical considerations
Conclusion
 Chapter 3 - The Research Design

Introduction
Research Design & Methodology
Methodology Chosen
Explanation of the methodology

Knowledge shown of other

methodologies
Reason methodology chosen was best
given the others
 The Research Design Cont’d

Population and Sampling

Description of the population that will
be the focus of the study
Estimate of the size of the population

Description of the sampling technique

that will be used
Rationale for the sample size selected
 The Research Design Cont’d

Instrumentation
 Identification of the techniques to be used
in the collection of the data
 Description of each method used

 Presentation of the instrument that would

be used to collect the data
 Rationale for the choice of instrument

 Data collection procedures

 Data analysis techniques

 The Research Design Cont’d

Schedule of activities
Testing for reliability and validity
Ethical considerations
Conclusion
 Activity

Discuss your research design using

the various headings suggested for
a research design chapter