Week 4 Assignment - Research Focus, Population of Interest, Sampling Structure, Hypotheses
Weight: 25% of Final Grade
Due: Week 4 Day 3 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Maximum Length: 5-7 pages
You must run all written assignments through the Originality Check before submitting your final assignment to the grade center. Your assignment will not be considered “submitted” until it has first been run through the Originality Check.
Description
For your Research Focus, Population of Interest, Sampling Structure, and Hypotheses assignment you will (1) Develop and clearly articulate a targeted research question that you will attempt to answer in your study, (2) identify the population of interest in your study and provide a thoughtful rationale for the focus on this group, (3) describe the strategy you will employ to find 3 individuals to pilot test your interview instrument including a thoughtful analysis as to possible strengths and limitations of your approach, and (4) develop three related research hypotheses, correctly identifying the independent and dependent variables for each.
Note: If you wish to pilot or pre-test your instrument with clients or staff in your agency or in another social work setting, you must consult with your field supervisor or relevant staff person and obtain consent of the agency.
If you cannot interview your targeted population, colleagues may role-play the interviewees. Do not pilot test the instrument with close friends or family members, as this will not approximate a typical interview situation and will limit your ability to conduct a realistic face-to-face interview and assess the interview process.
In this assignment you will further focus your research topic from Assignment # 1 to identify a specific area and population of interest; develop a research question and hypotheses to guide the remainder of your work in this course. Based on your research topic and the literature that you reviewed. Below are some questions that can help guide you in brainstorming and thinking about a research question.
· What is my area of interest?
· What is my population of interest?
· What are some of the problems in this area that impact my population of interest?
· What are patterns or phenomena I see in this area?
· What behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, outcomes have I seen in this area for my population of interest?
· What am I curious about in this particular area and with this population?
From the ideas generated while brainstorming answers to these questions, come up with a research question that is broad enough to cover your three hypotheses and targeted enough to be meaningful. Note, it may be helpful to develop your hypotheses first and then develop a research question that can be an umbrella to cover all three of your hypotheses.
Developing your hypotheses. Remember that a hypothesis is a statement of relationship between two things (we call these “things” variables—or X and Y as placeholders in an example that you will then replace with your own variables). Each hypothesis will have ONE independent variable (X) and ONE dependent variable (Y).
The independent variable may have an impact/influence on the dependent variable. The dependent variable may change DEPENDING on the independent variable. For each pairing of an independent variable and dependent variable there is one hypothesis written as a relationship between X and Y.
There is a relationship between X and Y.
Children with more X have fewer instances of Y.
Elderly with fewer Xs are less likely to Y.
Social workers with X report better Y.
Example - For older adults who need a high level of supervision and care
Below is an example using the topic area of care for older adults.
Topic Area: For older adults who need a high level of supervision and care, a common alternative has been nursing home placement. In recent years, the concept of adult foster care has emerged to address the caregiving needs of elders for whom nursing homes are either not yet warranted or are not an attractive option. In adult foster care, the elder lives in a family setting (most commonly with a relative), and a caregiver who lives with the elder is paid to perform the services the elder needs (e.g., assistance with activities of daily living, medication management, transportation to medical appointments). An innovative model of adult foster care is currently being implemented by XX Agency in a pilot program called Caregiving Homes, in which Medicaid-eligible seniors live with family members who provide a wide variety of services for the elder.
Research Question: What are some of the factors that affect the health care utilization patterns and quality of life for elders who receive services under the Caregiving Homes model, as compared to elders with similar demographic and functional profiles who receive home care services from traditional service agencies?
To come up with hypotheses, brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm!
Brainstorm: break your variables down into pieces, ask yourself some questions (or get your co-workers, classmates, friends or neighbors to help you).
When I think of ______what comes to mind?
Example, when I think of “healthcare utilization” for elders, what comes to mind?
· Medication
· Prescriptions
· Doctor visits
· Physical therapy
· Use of mobility aids or devices
· Emergency room
· Keeping appointments
· Calling with healthcare questions
When I say “quality of life”, what comes to mind? Or What are the different pieces that make up “quality of life”? or How would you know someone has a high “quality of life” or What does a poor “quality of life” look like?
· Socially engaged
· Having friends
· Supportive family
· Depressed
· Sleeping more than usual
· Eating a healthy diet
· Feeling happy
· Engaging in activities
· Keeping a routine
· Staying positive
· Mobility
· Pain
· Attitude
From your list, choose things that will be your variables. Your variables should be specific enough but not too targeted. Remember, ultimately you will be creating a question guide to measure these variables. If there is not enough “room” for your variable to be measured by multiple questions your question guide may only have 3 questions and this will not allow you to fill a 30 – 40 minute face-to-face interview.
Hypothesis # 1: Elders who participate in the CG Homes program report fewer emergency room visits that elders who receive traditional homecare programs.
IV: Type of service model (CGH vs. traditional homecare services) [The type of service model will influence/has an impact on the number of ER visits]
DV: number of emergency room visits [The number of ER visits will DEPEND on whether the elder is part of the CGH or the traditional homecare services]
Hypothesis # 2: Elders who participate in the CG Homes program report better emotional health than those in traditional homecare programs.
IV: Type of service model (CGH vs. traditional homecare services) [The type of service model will influence/has an impact on the emotional health of the elder]
DV: emotional health [The emotional health of the elder DEPENDS on whether they are part of the CGH or the traditional homecare services]
Hypothesis # 3: Elders who participate in the CG Homes program report better physical health than those in traditional homecare programs.
IV: Type of service model (CGH vs. traditional homecare services) [The type of service model will influence/has an impact on the physical health of the elder]
DV: physical health [The physical health of the elder DEPENDS on whether they are part of the CGH or the traditional homecare services]
Grading Criteria
Note: Please include an introduction and conclusion to frame your paper and orient the reader.
Research Focus, Population of Interest, Sampling Structure, Hypotheses 25% of final grade
Your paper will be assessed using the following criteria.
1. Research Focus Section: Develop and clearly articulate a targeted research question (based on your literature review) that you will attempt to answer in your study.
Total points: 3 Your points ______
2. Population of Interest Section: Identify the population of interest in your study.
- Provide a thoughtful rationale for the focus on this group.
- Discuss whether you will be interviewing participants from your population of interest or from another group who has information about your population of interest.
Total points: 3 Your points ______
3. Pilot Participant Section.: Describe the strategy you will employ to find 3 individuals to pilot test your interview instrument
- Include a thoughtful analysis as to the possible strengths and limitations of your approach.
Total points: 3 Your points ______
4. Hypotheses Section: Develop three research hypotheses that relate to your topic
- Correctly state each of your three hypotheses
- Correctly identify the independent variable for each of your three hypotheses
- Correctly identify the dependent variable for each of your three hypotheses
Total points: 9 Your points ______
5. Overall Quality of Paper and APA Format for References and Citations
- Clarity of writing, organization, logic, flow of paper
- Critical thinking
- APA format for any references and in-text citations used
Total points: 7 Your points ______
Your total points for Research Focus, Population, Sampling, and Hypotheses: ______/25 possible points