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NORTHCENTRAL UNIVERSITY
ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET
Learner: Stephen W Watts
21 Nov 2011
THIS FORM MUST BE COMPLETELY FILLED IN
Please Follow These Procedures: Use this assignment cover sheet as the first page of your
paper. Save your papers as word (not rtf) documents. Use “headers” and headings per the APA
document provided (also in the resources tab) or the applicable sample papers located in the third
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Dissertation Resources located under Research Resources in the first section. At least two levels
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EDU7002-8
Donna Rice, Ph.D.
Educational Research Methodology
1 Fundamentals of Research
Assignment: Research is a term with many connotations. Use the reading for this Section
to write a short paper on doctoral research that embraces your goals for your research. Into that
view, integrate the concepts of validity and reliability and the function of critical thinking/logic.
Faculty Use Only
Very nice job Stephen! Please see comments and integrate into future papers. Excellent job
especially for a first assignment.
Dr. Donna Rice
100
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November 25, 2011
Running head: WattsSEDU7002-8-1
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Fundamentals of Research
Stephen W. Watts
Northcentral University
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Fundamentals of Research
The purpose of academic research is to bring clarity and lucidity to a phenomena or
situation that has unanswered questions and unresolved problems. Research is the process by
which a single unanswered question, or unresolved problem is articulated and broken into logical
steps with tentative solutions propounded before conducting experiments to gather data that can
be interpreted in light of the question and possible solutions. Each of the elements of academic
research requires logic or critical thinking to cull the important from the extraneous, and ensure
that the derived answer is directly tied to the question. Validity or the concept that what is being
measured is actually what is measured is an important part of the logic that determines what the
problem is, how the problem is logically broken down into components through the proposing of
tentative solutions and gathering of data. Reliability or the concept that measurements are
accurate and consistent, are required in the gathering of data. This paper will discuss each of
these elements.
Goals for Research
In my doctoral program, and specifically in the research associated with my dissertation,
I intend to conduct both applied and action research. In applied research one answers questions
“which can inform human decision making about practical problems” (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010,
p. 44). In action research one works towards “solving an ongoing problem in” (p. 44) a work
environment. I am a Senior Principal Technical Instructor for a leading computer software and
hardware company that is investing heavily in training customers and employees virtually over
the internet. I am interested in determining the significant elements of the process of successful
and effective online learning and then hone a topic that will not only make a significant
contribution to my organization, but “advance the frontiers of knowledge, perhaps by leading to
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new ways of thinking, suggesting possible applications, or paving the way for further research in
the field” (p. 45).
Answering an Unanswered Question
Research begins with a question, preferably one that introduces a paradigm shift, a way
of seeing the world in a completely different way. In my organization the curriculum for face-toface learning is exactly the same as that for virtual learning. I wonder if this practice is the
optimal way to design a virtual class for the retention of knowledge by our students. Instructors
in our organization teach both types of classes, and it intrigues me if the skills that are effective
in face-to-face instruction are fully-, partially-, or non-transferable to virtual instruction. Each
question has application in the real world, but without research the answers to these questions
remain a matter of guesswork, or conjecture.
The Goal of Research
The researcher is next charged to convert the question that is relevant and purposeful into
“a clear, unambiguous statement of the problem” (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010, p. 3) to be addressed.
Any number of questions that are contemplated open up avenues that are vast and broad, while
research is designed to answer a specific question that will solve a specific problem. The
researcher needs to identify the ramifications of his or her question to determine if it matters.
Many questions occur simply because one is curious, but a question that is research worthy will
potentially expand knowledge and open up pathways that did not exist before. The questions
that I asked in the previous section describe a multitude of problems. For the question of
curriculum development perhaps the essential problem is how to measure whether a student has
retained the knowledge? Is it truly retention, or was the knowledge known prior to instruction?
What timeframe is relevant to identify retention, short- or long-term, and what do these specific
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terms mean? Just as it is impossible to hit a target that one cannot see, without a clearly defined
problem statement research has no direction, or goal.
Map Subproblems and Assumptions
The previous section demonstrated that problems can be multilayered. In order to
conveniently solve such a complex problem it is always beneficial to break the overall project
into a number of subproblems, or logical steps. As each step is achieved one gets incrementally
closer to the overall goal. During the formulation of these subproblems it is essential to ensure
the validity of the logic behind them, to ensure that the path designated to reach the overall goal
is truly aligned with the problem statement, and requires appropriate critical thinking from the
researcher. During this period of formulation the researcher needs to identify the facts or “selfevident truths” (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010, p. 5) that he or she knows to be true in relation to the
problem, and the subproblems. These facts become the working assumptions upon which the
identification of possible solutions and gathering of data rests. At this point in the project the
researcher identifies the plan for achieving the goal.
Propound Hypotheses
Once a plan has been established for answering the question it is necessary to identify
possible solutions for each subproblem. These possible solutions or hypotheses should be based
on logic and sound theory, and may ultimately be used to complement or extend theory if they
are supported in the research. These hypotheses suggest what an answer might look like to a
specific problem and will generally contribute to determining what data needs to be collected,
and the means of manipulating the collected data in order to garner meaning as the research
proceeds.
Gather Relevant Data
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A research project is not complete without the collection of both valid, meaning the
experimental data is aligned with the problem, and reliable, meaning the data must be accurate
and consistent regarding how it was measured, data. Data gathering, whether qualitative or
quantitative or both, is the next to the last step of the project. This step is an extension of the
steps that have gone before and if each previous step was properly aligned with the problem and
question to be derived the data gathered will be useable in the last step.
Synthesize
The research project only concludes after the researcher takes the data and combines it
with the hypotheses and assumptions and research methodology that has gone before, and
derives meaning from the data based on the preceding steps, formulating and synthesizing that
meaning into language. The interpretation of data is always subjective. It is not unusual for two
human beings armed with the same facts to arrive at different conclusions because of differences
in their zeitgeist or world view. It should, however, be difficult to impossible for two researchers
who follow similar research methodologies regarding the same problem, and collecting similar
data, to come to completely disparate conclusions. Much of the interpretation of the data follows
from the methodology used; therefore the conclusions should be similar, although one researcher
may be more erudite, intuitive and deductive than the other.
Conclusion
A research project follows six contiguous steps. All projects begin with a question that is
then whittled to a clearly defined problem statement, which is then subdivided into a logical path
that encompasses the problem, proposes reasonable solutions or logical corollaries and valid
assumptions, leading to the collection of valid and reliable data that can be organized and
interpreted.
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References
Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research: Planning and design. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill.