Week 4 Assignment
Action Research Proposal: Data Collection, Instruments, and Procedures
[WLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4] [CLOs: 4, 5]
Assignment Overview and Context
As we have discussed so far in this course, we are using a mixed-method approach for your proposed action research study, so you gain experience and skills in using both approaches to collect data. If you plan to implement your action research in the future, you may need to further consider if your research question lends itself to a more qualitative or quantitative approach to data collection. The mixed-methods design for your proposed study allows you to consider how each method of data collection can support a deeper understanding of your area of focus, the effectiveness of your intervention, and the answer to your research question.
This week you will work on the next section that will contribute to your Final Action Research Proposal by examining both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection, generating one instrument you can use to collect data in your study, considering how you will establish trustworthiness in your study, and planning your procedures for data collection. Please be sure to carefully review the Instructor Guidance, and course readings for this week to inform the development of this assignment. For more information, watch the ECE660 Week 4 video.
Video transcription:
For this week’s assignment, you will submit the fourth section of your soon to be final proposal. Please remember you only have two weeks remaining. So if you have not already done so, you are encouraged to make revisions to your previous week’s submissions based on the feedback from your instructor and any new information you may have found helpful over the duration of this course, including the feedback and insight from your peers. In this section, you will include your data collection procedures, data collection considerations, details of the data you propose collecting, and your intervention plan. As you prepare to share your proposal, describe your procedures for collecting data, and be sure to explain how you are using your intervention to collect data. Discuss how you will establish trustworthiness of your action research study. Discuss credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. You may find it helpful to use the Guba and Lincoln criteria for validity of qualitative research. As you consider the data collection in your proposal, justify one qualitative or quantitative instrument to be used in your proposed study of data collection. Provide support from research, literature, and textbooks to explain why this would be an effective method for data collection. Finally, for the intervention plan, you are to provide a narrative description of your proposal. Think of this as an elevator speech. Describe your data collection procedures, provide your proposed timeline, and address how your data collection will reflect trustworthiness and the ethical considerations related to anonymity and confidentiality.
Remember to save all copies of your work throughout the course as you will use each assignment as part of the Final Action Research Proposal. For many of the discussions and assignments, you are building on your work each week, so it is appropriate to use content from your discussions in your weekly assignments, generally expanding and extending concepts and sections as you progress from week to week. You will have the opportunity to make revisions to each section of your proposal based on instructor and peer feedback prior to your final version in the Final Action Research Proposal, so be sure to revisit the feedback you have received from your instructor and classmates each week to continuously refine your proposal throughout the course.
Write: Content Expectations
• What data would you collect? In one to two paragraphs,
o Justify one qualitative (experience-based) or quantitative (number-based) instrument that would be used in your proposed study to collect data on the effectiveness of your intervention in answering your research question.
o Provide support from the research, literature, and textbook to explain why this would be an effective method for data collection.
• Data Collection Procedures: In one to three paragraphs,
o Describe your procedures for collecting data in your proposed action research study. This is where you explain how you are using your intervention to collect data.
• Data Collection Considerations: In one to two pages, discuss credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.
o Discuss how you will establish trustworthiness of your action research study, using Lincoln and Guba’s Quality Criteria for TrustworthinessLinks to an external site..
• Intervention plan: In one to two pages provide your proposed timeline,
o Describe your data collection procedures and provide a narrative description of your proposal (elevator speech). Be sure to also address how your data collection will reflect trustworthiness and the ethical considerations related to anonymity and confidentiality.
Research and Resource Expectations
• A minimum of two scholarly, credible, or peer-reviewed sources, in addition to the course textbook, are required.
Next Steps
• Review your assignment with the Grading Rubric to ensure you have achieved the distinguished levels of performance for each criterion.
The Action Research Proposal: Data Collection, Instruments, and Procedures paper
• Must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site. resource.
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
o Title of paper in bold font
Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
o Student’s name
o Name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
o Course name and number
o Instructor’s name
o Due date
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic VoiceLinks to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
o For assistance on writing Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site. and Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site., refer to the Writing Center resources.
• Must use at least two scholarly, peer-reviewed, credible sources in addition to the course text.
o The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source.
o To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view Quick and Easy Library ResearchLinks to an external site. tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
• Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your PaperLinks to an external site. guide.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References ListLinks to an external site. resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
RUBRIC MUST FOLLOW:
1. Clearly and comprehensively justifies the use of one qualitative or quantitative instrument to collect data on the effectiveness of the intervention.
2. Comprehensively explains why the method of data collection is effective using support from the research, literature, and textbook.
3. Clearly and comprehensively describes the procedures for collecting data during the proposed action research study.
4. Thoroughly discusses how to establish trustworthiness of the proposed study using Guba and Lincoln’s Criteria for Validity of Qualitative Research.
5. Provides a comprehensive narrative description of the proposal that clearly addresses how the data collection will reflect trustworthiness and ethical considerations related to anonymity and confidentiality.
6. Displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains no errors and is very easy to understand.
7. Accurately uses APA formatting consistently throughout the paper, title page, and reference page.
8. Uses more than the required number of scholarly sources, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.