RSCH 8250 Research Method

Research Method

Name:

Course:

Instructor:

Date due:

Research Method

Research questions play a very important role in the proposal writing exercise because they help one to stay focused on the topic of study. There is a tendency for many people to digress and get ted by very interesting but totally relevant topic when writing a proposal (Durrheim, 1999). Thus the role of research questions is to provide direction in a writing process. Their role is like that of a compass or a landmark.

In a quantitative study research questions are meant to test a claim. It also seeks to find out about the relationships among Independent and dependent variables (Creswell, 2009). The research question and the responses as collected by the researcher help to provide the direction and of the paper. In quantitative research the relationship among various variables is important.

This research proposal is interested in the marked increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections in general but specifically the human papillomavirus (HPV). According Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2013) HPV is the most commonly sexually transmitted disease and in some cases it leads to cervical cancer among women. Underlining the fact the health beliefs of parents play a great role in determining whether their children get a HPV vaccine initiation.

Research questions

To what extend do the political and health beliefs of the parents influence HPV vaccination programs in middle schools and high schools?

How successful have been the HPV vaccination initiation programs for teenagers and in middle schools and high schools?

What factors contributes to the spread of human papilloma virus?

What ways and measures can be taken to prevent and control human papilloma virus?

According to Trochim (2006) a survey is a way of gathering or collecting data in the research process to quantify thoughts, opinions and attitudes. Surveys can be categorized into questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires are surveys in written form, conveyed through mail, electronically or through the regular mode. One of the ways of conducting surveys is through the internet (Ahern, 2005).

The advantage with the use of internet as a way of conducting research is the convenience that it affords the respondents and the privacy especially on sensitive and private matters such as sexual health. Internet-based research methods include internet polling, web-based surveys.

On the other hand, interviews can be face to face or through telephone calls (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias,2008). Questionnaires and personal interviews mechanisms once proved to be very valuable in data collection but in this internet age however these survey can be inefficient and archaic(Ahem,2005).

The web-based survey helps to cut costs that are associated with mailing survey instruments and at the same time the response rate is higher for email and other web-based surveys (Couper, 2000). In instances wherein expense is limited, coupled with a geographically dispersed sampling population, the conduct of personal interviews may not be the best way of conducting a survey and that is how an interned based survey can be important.

Appropriate Research Design

The selection of a research design largely depends on the goals and the corresponding research question that has to be answered (Ridenour, Newman, and DeMarco 2003). In choosing the most appropriate research design, the validity and practicality of research design must also be considered (Ridenour, Newman, and DeMarco 2003). Since my research proposal aims to unravel the relationship between political beliefs and the implementation of HPV vaccination programs in middle schools and high schools, I deem it appropriate to conduct my proposed study in a natural and real-life social setting. Survey questionnaires will be utilized in my study. Meanwhile, controlled variables would not be needed. Taking into account all these factors, a cross-sectional design will be most the appropriate.

The research question between independent variable which is political and health beliefs and the implementation of HPV vaccination programs in middle schools and high schools and dependent variable is political beliefs and attitudes are not preventing HPV vaccination programs in middle schools and high schools.

References

Ahern, N. R. (2005). Using the internet to conduct research. In Nurse Researcher, 13(2), 55–70.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/STI Estimates-Fact-Sheet-Feb-2013.pdf

Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed methods approaches (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Couper. 2000. ‘Web survey: A review of issues and approaches’. Public Opinion quarterly 64:464-94

Durrheim, K (1999) Quantitative analysis: Research methods, applied methods for social sciences. Cape Town

Frankfort-Nachmias, C., and Nachmias, D. (2008). Research methods in the social sciences (7th ed.). New York: Worth.

Trochim, W. (2006). Survey research. Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survey.php

Place an Order

Plagiarism Free!

Scroll to Top