Unit 3 – Discussion Board RDMA

In this Unit, you will learn important information about writing a research question and understanding the differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches. You will also learn how to write a hypothesis reserved only for quantitative research. If you do qualitative research, you will need to write a problem statement for this assignment. Also, this week, you will learn how to write survey and interview questions. When writing survey questions in qualitative format, you will need to ensure you do not have yes or no responses or other one-word responses. Your questions must allow the participant to respond close to a complete sentence. Your qualitative questions for an interview will need to follow the same format. If you plan to have a quantitative research project, you will need to make sure you have closed-ended questions such as yes or no or other one-word answers on a scale of 1-5. Quantitative research projects do not have an interview component, so you will only focus on surveys.

For this assignment, you will write a hypothesis (quantitative) or a problem statement (qualitative). Also, you will need to write a research question which is the overarching question you are trying to answer for your project in this course. Then you are to write your survey questions or interview questions.

Qualitative Student Example:

Determine your research method (i.e., qualitative or quantitative), and write one research question regarding that topic in preparation for the assignments in Units 3–4.

For my Unit 4 Individual Project, I will use the qualitative method to find out what community colleges could do to help mitigate the loss of faculty.

My question will be, “What could community colleges do to help keep faculty from leaving?”

Based on your chosen research method, write your hypothesis or statement of the problem for your research question.

There is a problem in community colleges. Despite providing assistants for faculty, we are still seeing a decline in teachers staying in community colleges; even though assistance has been provided to help accommodate for change, a substantial number of teachers are still leaving the profession. This problem has negatively impacted students and enrollment because some classes might not be offered due to the lack of professors that could teach that class. A possible cause of this problem is maybe not enough assistants. Perhaps a study that investigates teachers by qualitative method could remedy the situation.

Create 3–5 survey or interview questions based on your chosen research method that could help answer your research question.

Interview questions:

“What could college leaders do more to help prevent the loss of faculty?”

“What ways could college leaders help with “burnout” among faculty?”

“What are some concerns that faculty may have about academic programs and curriculum?”

“In your opinion, do you think that this institution is committed to its faculty and students?”