Assignment

Part 1: Reviewing Related Literature

The Discussion in this unit will allow you to post information about an article related to your research hypothesis. You will select one article related to your study. You should use the document, Evaluating a Research Article and a Review of Literature in the Course Resources section of the course as a guide to help you decide whether to use the article or not. Once you have decided to use an article for this Discussion, answer the following questions about that article:

• What is the research question being asked and how does it relate to your study?
• What are the results of the study and how does that impact your study?
• What is your Research Hypothesis, based on your research question and review of literature?

Part 2: Methodology

In this Discussion, you will begin putting together your Methodology section. In your post, you should include the following information:

• State your research hypothesis.
• Who are your participants and how will you select them?
• What are your independent and dependent variables?
• How do you operationally define your independent and dependent variables?
• What data will you collect on these variables and how will you collect those data?

Part 3: Ethics in Research Design

The Discussion this week allows you to dialogue with others in the class on their interpretations and understanding of the ethical responsibilities of the researcher for the protection of human subject participants. Please use the following questions as a beginning point for a dialogue on ethical research:

• Based on your reading of the Belmont Report, your previous NIH Certification training and your textbook, what do you see as the most important ethical responsibilities of the educational researcher?

• Why are the principles of the Belmont Report necessary?

• What types of risk are important to consider in educational research?

• If a research project is poorly designed, could the risk to the participant outweigh the benefit?

• Why are some groups considered vulnerable populations, and what does it mean to be a vulnerable population in terms of research?

Now, apply what you have learned to your own educational research proposal.

• What ethical issues will you need to address when planning and conducting your proposed educational research study? Why do you think these are ethical issues?

• How will you demonstrate that all ethical standards will be followed in your study?