Quantitative Designs
Provide a brief introduction to your paper here. The title serves as your introductory
heading no need for a heading titled “Introduction.”
Two Designs
Select two peer reviewed journal articles that utilized different types of quantitative
research designs. Briefly describe each of the designs that you selected. Remember to focus
on how the research was done not what was studied. Always provide credit for your
sources.
Sampling
Include the types of sampling used in each study to conduct the chosen research methods.
Sampling is “how” the researchers recruited participants. What type of sampling method
was used? Where and how did the recruitment occur? Who needed to give permission?
Comparison of Designs
Similarities and Differences
Explain two similarities and two differences between the designs you selected. Described
the similarities and then discuss the differences.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Describe at least one strength and one limitation of each design. Clearly identify which
design has what strength or weakness. Support your points.
Comparison Insights
Describe an insight or conclusion you can draw from the comparison. For example, how
might you use the designs? What populations, interventions, or research problems might
be better suited for one or the other design?
Ethical, Legal and Socio-Cultural Considerations
Explain any ethical, legal, and socio-cultural considerations that may be relevant for the
designs you selected. Remember this section is ethical, legal, and sociocultural so you need
to discuss all three. In addition, you need to support your points with scholarly support,
such as the ethical code, laws, etc.
Conclusion
Your conclusion section should recap the major points you have made in your work.
However, perhaps more importantly, you should interpret what you have written and what
the bigger picture is. Remember your paper should be 2 pages only. no title page is
required and reference page is not counted in page count
Quantitative Designs
There are a number of quantitative research designs. The longitudinal design is a form of
observational research technique that involves studying a group of individuals for an extended
period. Correlational studies assess the relationships between variables. This paper aims at
comparing two psychological research studies that used different research designs; Williams, K.
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E., Ciarrochi, J., & Heaven, P. C. L. (2012). Inflexible Parents, Inflexible Kids: A 6- Year
Longitudinal Study of Parenting Style and the Development of Psychological Flexibility in
Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence, 41: 1053- 1066 (study 1) and Hughes, L. W. (2008). A
Correlational Study of the Relationship Between Sense of Humor and Positive Psychological
Capacities. Economics & Business Journal: Inquiries & Perspectives, 1(1): 1- 10 (study 2).
Designs
Study1 involved examining the longitudinal relationships between psychological
flexibility and perceived parenting style among students from 5 schools in Australia beginning
from Grade 7. The study took 6 years. The parenting styles were measured in Grades 12 and 5
and psychological flexibility from the ninth through the twelfth grade (Williams, Ciarrochi &
Heaven, 2012).
In study 2, there was a cross-sectional survey that was aimed at assessing the statistical
link between humor and PsyCap and their dimensions. There was administration of surveys to 92
participants from a huge employers’ cross-section (Hughes, 2008).
Sampling
In study 1, the participants were students and drawn from five high schools from
Australia’s Catholic Diocese of New South Wales. At the start of the study, there were 749
students aged between 11 and 14 years. Students were invited so that they could participate in a
‘Youth Issues’ survey and consent was required from parents, schools, and students during every
year of study (Williams, Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2012).
In study 2, while there was a presentation to western US’s small business leaders, the
author requested if he could access their places of work so as to collect survey response data. 17
sites heeded to the request. The work contexts included hospitality, heath care, and service
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providers. 92 people responded to this opportunity but only 87 completed the surveys fully
(Hughes, 2008).
Comparison of designs
Some of the methods used in correlational studies are the archival research, survey
method, and naturalistic observation while in longitudinal research, there is panel, cohort, and
retrospective study. Longitudinal research is ideal for studying lifespan and development issues.
Strengths and weaknesses
The correlational study design was strong in that the methods of data collection enabled
the researchers to gather huge data amounts in a short period. However, although such a study
suggests that there is a link between the variables, there is no prove that one variable is
responsible for the change in the other.
The longitudinal study allowed for the analysis of changes over time. However, there is a
need for more resources (funds and time).
Comparison insights
Although correlational studies are vital in quantitative studies, there is no exact
distinction of a relationship as the coefficients range from +1.00 to -1.00. On the other hand, data
may be collected repeatedly in longitudinal studies and may last for several decades.
Socio-cultural, legal, and ethical considerations
In study 1, consent was sought from the relevant parties before conducting the study
(parents, students, and schools). On the same note, the questionnaires and study methods used
during the study had to be approved by the Catholic Schools Authority and the university ethics
committee (Williams, Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2012). Researchers administered the questionnaires
in every school and students completed them without any discussions while under the
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supervision of a teacher or a researcher. This was followed by a full debriefing and a unique code
was used for every student. Data was also de-identified for confidentiality.
In study 2, the author made an effort to meet with members from the different workplaces
so as to elaborate the study’s purpose (Hughes, 2008). The participants were however not aware
of the hypothesis. Those who were interested continued with the survey.
Conclusion
Longitudinal studies offer quality data and are, therefore, more valuable as opposed to
correlational researches.
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References
Hughes, L. W. (2008). A Correlational Study of the Relationship Between Sense of Humor and
Positive Psychological Capacities. Economics & Business Journal: Inquiries &
Perspectives, 1(1): 1- 10.
Williams, K. E., Ciarrochi, J., & Heaven, P. C. L. (2012). Inflexible Parents, Inflexible Kids: A
6- Year Longitudinal Study of Parenting Style and the Development of Psychological
Flexibility in Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence, 41: 1053- 1066.