In seminar you have developed expertise in methods particularly appropriate to research, including: interviewing; rhetorical and descriptive analysis; observations and focus groups; and survey research and questionnaires. Each RING group will integrate at least three of these methodologies into its investigations and analyses. Your RING Research Plan should include a description of the research project each sub-team intends to conduct, including your sampling plan, final versions of the instruments you will use, and researcher protocols.
In your RING Wiki, develop a separate page for EACH of the sub-studies your RING group plans to conduct (so a minimum of THREE new screens on your Wiki). Each screen (or sub-study) should describe the following:
- Research question and any associated hypotheses – What do you want to know and what difference will it make to know it?
- Brief (two paragraphs) summary of any literature from your literature review that directly or indirectly informs your research question (could have similar populations, variables, or methods).
- Subjects and sampling plan – Who or what do you plan to investigate? How will you gain access to this population? Do you need a consent form? Why or why not?
- Instrumentation and any associated protocols – Briefly describe the process used in creating or selecting your survey, interview, or observation questions. Attach complete versions of your instrument or questions, as well as any consent forms or observation sheets. Instructors will need to sign off on any instruments and forms before any research is conducted.
- Timeline – Provide details about when, where, and who will be conducting your research.
- Initial plans for data analysis – what will you do once you have completed your interviews, surveys, or observations? How will you go about making meaning of the data you have collected?
- Ideas for connecting to other sub-studies – How will the findings of your project inform the other research projects conducted by your group? What ideas do you have for synthesizing results?
Due 4/3 at 11pm. 100 points.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You must get the approval of your Research Plan from both your seminar instructor and the instructor who taught the method being used in each plan before you go into the field to collect data.