Objectives

After completing this module you will be able to:

• Identify which of the five design groups an author used in a study
• Analyze the potential strengths and weaknesses of a study in terms of internal and external validity and explanatory power
• Assess the degree to which the body of knowledge about the type (or class) of behavior of interest to you rests on a well-rounded use of the different research design groups
• Evaluate the impact of design choice by researchers who address the behavior of interest to you on your ability to apply their conclusions in practice
• Determine how you can make a contribution to the body of knowledge by improving research design and/or expanding the types of designs used

Assigned Reading Material for Everyone

deVaus, Ch. 2-3; review Ch. 1 if you have not thought about that content for some time

Nardi, Introduction & Ch. 1

Research Designs Please bring to class

The Goals of Research Design Read and bring to class

Individual Reading Assignments -- Research Design Considerations

Read the article assigned to you. Come to class prepared to share your insights about research design with your colleages. Do not focus on the content of the study. Focus on what you learned about research design. Do not read for detail. Get the main ideas about research design.

Blake, Lisa, Andrea and Tracy

Baker, E. & McLeod, S. (2001) Evidence-based practice for children with speech sound disorders: Part 1 narrative review. Language, speech & Hearing Services in Schools. 42(2), 102-139. Huge biblio & appendix -- actual page length way, way shorter -- not to panic.

Peggy, Nicole, Glen, and Corey

Daly, W. (2009) "Adding their flavour to the mix": Involving children and young people in care in research design. Australian Social Work 62(4), 460-475.

Nia, Lindsy, Bethany, Varnessa, and Stephen

Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G. et al. (2011) The case study approach. BMC [BioMed Central} Medical Research Methodology 11(1), 100-108.

Mario, Tiffany, Kelesha, Collins & Greyson

Fehring, H. & Bessant, J. (2009) Life course research design for transitional labour market research. Journal of Education & Work 22(2), 81-90.

Renee, Dickson, Wendy, Shelby & Jorge

Oliver, M., Witten, K., Kearns, R.A., Mavoa, S., Badland, H.M. et al. (2011) Kids in the city study: research design and methodology. BMC [BioMed Central] Public Health 11: 587 Available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/587

Julianne, Taylor, Andrew, MaryAnn & Erica

Wing, S., Richardson, D.B. & Hoffmann, W. (2011) Cancer risks near nuclear facilities: The importance of research design and explicit study hypotheses. Environmental Health Perspectives 119(4), 417-421.

Kenneth, Youngmin, Wendi & Whitney

Jones, C. & Lyons, C. (2004) Case study: Design? Method? Or comprehensive strategy? Nurse Researcher 11(3), 70-76.

Research Reports RERUN

You read ONE of the following research reports for our class last week. Bring your article to class with you again, please. You do NOT need to read an additional article. Just bring the one you have already read.

Bernstein, J., Graczyk, A., Lawrence, D., Bernstein, E. & Strunin, L. (2011). Determinants of drinking trajectories among minority youth & young adults: The interaction of risk and resilience.Youth & Society DOI: 10.1177/0044118X10382033. Pre-print available from http://yas.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/07/31/0044118X10382033

Carrington, S. & Selva, G. (2010) Critical social theory and transformative learning: evidence in pre-service teachers' service-learning reflection logs. Highed Education Research & Development 29(1), 45-57.

Cashman, R., Eng, E., Siman, F. & Rhodes, S.D. (2011) Exploring the sexual health priorities and needs of immigrant Latinas in the Southeastern United States: A community-based participatory research approach. AIDS Education & Prevention, 23(3), 236-248.

Christens, B.D., Speer, P.W. & Peterson, N.A. (2011). Social class as a moderator of the relationship between (dis)empowering processes and psychological empowerment. Journal of Community Psychology 39(2), 170-182.

Heady, B. & Muffels, R. (2008) Do generous welfare states generate efficiency gains which counterbalance short run losses? Testing downside risk theory with economic panel data for the U.S., Germany and The Netherlands. Social Indicators Research 86(2), 337-354.

Hjerm, M. & Nagayoshi, K. (2011). The composition of the minority population as a threat: Can real economic and cultural threats explain xenophobia? International Sociology doi: 10.1177/0268580910394004. Pre-print available from: http://iss.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/05/26/0268580910394004

Hornung, S. (2010) Alienation matters: Validity and utility of Etzioni's theory of commitment in explaining prosocial organizational behavior. Social Behavior & Personality 38(8), 1081-1096.

Lusher, D. & Robins, G. (2010) A social network analysis of hegemonic and other masculinities. Journal of Men's Studies 18(1), 22-44.

Stuntz, C.P., Sayles, J.K. & McDermott, E.L. (2011) Same-sex and mixed-sex sport teams: How the social environment relates to sources of social support and perceived competence. Journal of Sport Behavior, 34(1), 98-120.

Timperley, H.S. & Parr, J.M. (2009) Chain of influence from policy to practice in the New Zealand literacy strategy. Research Papers in Education 24(2), 135-154.

Wheeler, S. (2011). The significance of family culture for sports participation. International Review for the Sociology of Sport DOI: 10.1177/1012690211403196 Pre-print available from: http://irs.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/04/07/1012690211403196

Recommended Readings
Shoemaker et al., Ch. 7

Learning Guide - Overview of Design Groups

Additional Materials

I encourage you to share materials in this course. Part of your grade is based on collaborative learning, and sharing materials about research design is one excellent way to do that. .I have provided a form for you to use to share materials linked at the course home page as Sharing Materials. This only takes a few minutes to complete once you have read one of the suggested readings. This would be an excellent week to start sharing material.

Larzelere, R.E., Kuhn, B.R. & Johnson, B. (2004) The intervention selection bias: an underrecognized confound in intervention research. Psychological Bulletin 130(2), 289-303.

Lucas, J.W. (2003) Theory-testing, generalization, and the problem of external validity. Sociological Theory 21(3), 236-253.

Moffitt, R. (2003) Causal analysis in population research: an economist's perspective. Population & Development ReviewI 29(3), 448-458.

Morrison, K.H., Bradley, R. & Westen, D. (2003) The external validity of controlled clinical trials of psychotherapy for depression and anxiety: a naturalistic study. Psychology & Psychotherapy Research & Practice 76, 109-132.

Morse, J.M., Barrett, M., Mayan, M., Olson, K. & Spiers, J. (2002) Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 1(2), 1-19.

Moscoso, S.C., Tello, F.P.H. & Lopez, J.L.L. (2006) Using generalizability theory to assess the validity of the evaluation process. Quality & Quantity 40(3), 315-329.

Pyett, P.M. (2003) Validation of qualitative research in the "real world." Qualitative Health Research 13(8), 1170-1179.

Safer, D.L. & Hugo, E.M. (2006) Designing a control for behavioral group therapy. Behavior Therapy 37(2), 120-130.

Whittemore, R., Chase, S.K. & Mandle, C.L. (2001) Validity in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research 11(4), 522-537.

Zarit, S.H., Stephens, M.A.P. & Femia, E. (2003) The validities of research findings: The case of interventions with caregivers. Alzheimer's Care Quarterly 43(3), 216-228.