This assignment is a continuation of the previous. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to help you describe and defend the research design for the research problem you defined in the previous Assignment. You are asked to specify your primary data collection method and sampling procedures. Additionally, if applicable, you should include a description of the design of your instruments and provide sample questions.Research Questions: What changes do publishers, editors, and librarians need to make in the efforts to benefit from open access and the digital revolution?Assignment StructureThe completed assignment should consist of following sections:Purpose of the Research (1 page)• State the research aim and questions (possibly revised from assignment 3) which will be addressed by your research.Research Strategy (1 page)• Discuss the rationale for the selection of the research strategy (i.e. quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, etc.) behind your proposed research.• Demonstrate critical awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the research strategy adopted.Research Design (2 pages)If your study is quantitative in nature, follow these guidelines:• Decide upon your unit of analysis for the proposed research (Libraries? Public Libraries? Librarians? Special Librarians?). For this assignment it would be Academic Libraries and Academic Librarians;• Provide an explanation of the sampling design (i.e., random, non-random, or purposive etc.) you have chosen and why. Describe your sample size and sample characteristics.• Describe your research design and the instrument(s) that you will use to collect data (e.g., telephone interview design with a semi-structured interview schedule; self-completion questionnaire survey, etc.), and justify why your chosen approach is better than others for your particular research problem;• If data are collected obtrusively, describe what steps you will take to avoid participant reactivity (i.e., the accidental effects of knowing that one is being studied);• If data are collected about people, indicate what provision you will make for follow-up or call-back (if appropriate to your study);• If data will be collected using an instrument, such as a questionnaire/interview schedule, specify how the instrument will be obtained or created, and how it will be pre-tested;• Specify any permission required for your research (e.g., Institutional Review Board (IRB) ethics approval, approval of Echo Beach Library administration in order to conduct research on-site);• Clearly state the parameters or scope of your research (exactly what you will and won’t be doing and relating this back to your research problem).• Use headings, subheadings and bullet points as appropriate in order to end up with a nicely structured and easily navigable document.If your study is qualitative in nature, follow these guidelines:• State your number of participants, the location of the research, and your data collection method;• Delineate specific characteristics of your participants (e.g., seniors, women, teens, pre-engineering students, public librarians at Echo Beach Public Library, etc.);• Specify how the participants will be selected (e.g., sample size and sampling method – random, non-random, or purposive etc.; modes of advertising; etc.);• Describe your procedures for meeting with participants (e.g., where, when, etc.);• Discuss your research method and data collection procedures (semi-structured interviews, focus groups, telephone interviews, etc., and plan for data collection) and why this method was chosen for this research problem;• If you are using a research instrument (i.e., interview schedule, focus group questions, etc.), indicate how you obtained or created it, and how it will be pre-tested;• Specify any permission required for your research (e.g., approval of Echo Beach Library administration in order to conduct research on-site);• Clearly state the parameters of your research (exactly what you will and won’t be doing and relating this back to your research problem).• Use headings, subheadings and bullet points as appropriate in order to end up with a nicely structured and easily navigable document.Ethical Considerations (1 page)If your study involves the use of HUMAN PARTICIPANTS you must include this section.• State that you will need to obtain ethics approval from your respective Institutional Research Ethics Board;• In addition, delineate the important ethical issues related to your specific project (e.g., data storage of survey results; maintaining anonymity of participants via pseudonyms; the use of covert methods, inclusion of children, need for informed consent, etc.).Limitations (1 page)Reflect on limitations of the research design which might bias the generalization of your research findings.• If your study is quantitative in nature:o Discuss factors that might undermine the reliability, validity and objectivity of the data collection method as appropriate;o State assumptions and limitations that may affect the generalizability of the findings. For example, practical limitations on the sampling frame or size of questionnaire in survey research might be clarified and justified.• If your study is qualitative in nature:o Discuss issues related to problems that may arise, limitations of your study, ways that your research design addresses the following factors as relevant to your study; credibility (internal validity i.e. how believable are the findings?) transferability (external validity i.e. do the findings apply to other contexts?) dependability (reliability i.e. are the findings likely to apply at other time? confirmability (objectivity i.e. has the investigator allowed his or her values to intrude to a high degree?) relevant to your study – i.e.,o State assumptions and limitations that may affect the generalizability of the findings. For example, a small sample size may need to be justified, or the researcher’s interpretation of the interviews might need to be clarified and justified.Appendices (2 pages)• Include a copy of the actual data gathering instrument, e.g. a questionnaire, interview schedule/scripts, coding sheet for content analysis, etc. (min 2 pages).• Provide Additional Research Documents, as appropriate for your project (e.g., cover letter; advertisement(s) soliciting participation; consent form(s); request for institutional permission for on-site research; etc.).
