Survey and Quasi-Experimental research design

According to Creswell (2003), quantitative research methods focus on surveys and experimental modes of inquiry (p. 153). Survey research collects data and information from a selected population through the participants' responses to questions. This design of research provides numeric description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of the studied population (Creswell, p. 153). Experimental research is most appropriate for answering a research question about the effect of a treatment (Schutt, 2006, p. 201), which identifies a sample and generalizes to a population (Creswell, 2003, p. 154). He provides comprehensive and significant steps for novice researchers who choose to use either a survey or an experimental research plan (2003, pp. 154-155, 162-183). This chapter adopts the strategies from Creswell's book in designing a preliminary survey and an experimental research plan for my research topic - college students’ motivational aspects in the information literacy instructional class at the National American University (NAU) Overland Park, Kansas campus.

The purpose of my study is to gather information on the motivational aspects of college students in an information literacy class with an aim to improve the instructional design and strategies for librarians. Considering the demographic variable of this study, this study will exclude to students who are in paralegal, nursing, and business administration programs and those who are enrolling in daytime classes. The selected demographic profile of evening class students most likely differs from daytime students with the assumption that day student are full-time/immature students versus evening part-time/mature students.

Survey Design

Considering the limited time and funding of my research, using a survey to collect data from the selected population would be the most economic and efficient method. For the survey design, I have two options:

(1) A most common-used web-based survey, Survey Monkey (or Kwik Survey) will be sent to participants (students) via email. However, the inexpensive Internet surveys have a major disadvantage – there is a lack of effective ways for me to monitor the Internet survey closely, as a result, there may be a low response rate. Participants might be unable to open the link, or they simply do not realize that they have not completed before they send back the responses.

(2) A self-administrated questionnaire would be the more practical choice since I work on campus five days a week. I will simply distribute the questionnaire to the students after their classes. I will be able to monitor the responses and do follow-up with those non-respondents.

The survey questionnaire will contain 12 questions in the following six categories: intrinsic goal orientation, extrinsic goal orientation, task value, control belief of learning scale, self-efficacy for learning and performance, and test anxiety. There are two questions for each category. Using the format of the Likert Scale, the answers will be rated from 1 to 5. The students will circle the appropriate rating according to the direction given (i.e. 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Somewhat Agree, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree) in the “motivation scale.”

In order to assess the validity and reliability, a pilot study will be conducted to test the survey instrument prior to the actual study. Individuals who participate in the pilot test will be considered part of the study population (e.g. the evening class students at the National American University), but will not be included in the study sample. The survey will be administered in person over a three-week period. The students in the study population are those who are either asked to or voluntarily attend the one-hour non-credit information literacy instructional class. Students will be asked to take the survey after the instructional sessions.

Quasi-experimental Design

This design of research is to test and determine whether a treatment/program/invention has the intended effect on a selected population. There are two common quasi-experimental designs:

(1) The data are collected from one selected population, no comparable group, which Creswell (2003) defined this type of research as “one-group pre-test/post-test design” (p. 168), and Schuett (2006) identified as “before-and-after designs” (pp. 212-214).

(2) The main feature of this type of design is that a comparison group is selected to compare with the treatment group. The data are collected from pre –test and post-test with both a treatment and the comparable group (i.e. control group. Both Creswell (2003, p. 169) and Schuett (2006, pp. 210-212) named as “nonequivalent control group designs.”

The quasi-experimental design hypothesizes that students would more likely feel greater confidence in approaching academic research after they took the information literacy instructional courses. This study will use the multiple group, before-and-after design. In this design, several before-and-after comparisons are made involving the same variables (e.g. day class student, full-time students) but different groups (students are major in nursing, paralegal, and business administration.

This study will involve multiple pretest and posttest observations of the same group of students over the three-week study period. This quasi-experimental design will be similar to Phillips’s (1982) study of the effect of TV soap-opera suicides, the “Pre-test – Treatment – Post-test design (Schuett, 2006, pp. 210-211).                
Students will be informed at the beginning of the experiment. They will be informed the purpose of this study is NOT to evaluate their research skills, but rather to study how the literacy instructional class motivates (or demotivates) them in participating in academic research projects.

The above-mentioned quantitative research designs are tentative and will be revised as I gain more knowledge and experience of survey and experimental research.

References:

Creswell, John W. (2003), Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Schutt, Russell K. (2006), Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research (5th ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.