African-American Single Parent Households & Juvenile Delinquency

• Three Abbreviated Research Plans
"I'm a nurse as well, so I come into this with a health perspective looking at research from a holistic perspective, recognizing that if we're examining any phenomena within health, that we have to look at it from many angles, that it isn't always just cause and effect."
—Dr. Debra Rose Wilson, "Mixed Methods: Examples," Research Theory, Design, and Methods
In this week's video segment, Dr. Wilson details a study that called for a mixed methods approach and the ways in which her profession in general draws from different strategies and approaches. By incorporating quantitative and qualitative approaches in an abbreviated mixed methods research plan this week, you too will gain a broader understanding of the range of research possibilities.
This Week: Submit Draft of an Abbreviated Mixed Methods Research Plan
To prepare for this Application, first focus on the following instructions:
• Review Chapter 10 in the course text, Research Design, the "Trustworthiness" and "Threats to Internal Validity" handouts, and the "Mixed Methods: Examples" media segment.

• Review the article "On Becoming a Pragmatic Researcher: The Importance of Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies."

• Consult Table 10.1 (p. 205) in the course text, Research Design, to guide you in polishing your abbreviated mixed methods research plan.

Next, ask yourself the following questions:
• What are your research questions? To what extent can you test them? How would you justify the viability of your questions?

• What are your hypotheses? How would you test them?

• Why would this design be the most appropriate for answering the research questions? Conversely, why would quantitative or qualitative on their own not be appropriate?

o For a mixed methods design, which design is the primary one? Why is that appropriate?

• What approach would you select for this study (experimental, survey, ethnography, grounded theory, etc.)? Why is that approach the most appropriate one for answering the research questions?

• What theoretical framework or perspective would you use?

• What is your target population? How would you identify and recruit participants? What factors would contribute to determining appropriate sample size? You will not need to calculate sample size for this assignment.

• If appropriate for your plan, what instruments might you need?

• What data collection procedures might you use? Why would those be the most appropriate methods to use? How would that data help to answer your research question(s)/hypotheses?

• How would you ensure quality and reliability of data?

• What are threats to validity? How might you mitigate them?

• How might you analyze the data?

• What are the ethical considerations related to the plan?
The assignment:
• Craft a 2- to 3-page paper in which you do the following:

•
o Provide an introduction.

o Provide a purpose statement.

o Provide viable research questions/hypotheses.
o Generate a written research plan that addresses the above questions.

This week in the optional Workshop Discussion, consider posting the following information for feedback from your colleagues:
• A draft of your abbreviated mixed methods research plan