RESEARCH: RESEARCH DESIGN ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This is the first assignment in your Research Project. The purpose is to scaffold the process of designing and conducting a research study. In this first phase, you will submit a research proposal and survey by completing this form. Your instructor will review this form and provide feedback to let you know if you are approved to collect data using the survey submitted as part of this assignment (you should create your survey at the end of this document).
INSTRUCTIONS
Be sure you have reviewed this module’s assigned readings and presentations before completing this assignment. Of most relevance is the Research Project Overview and Research Project Survey Instructions documents in this week’s Learn section. This assignment is worth 40 points: 36 points for content and 4 points based on format. Each question is worth 2 content points. Format is for completing answers within the assigned sections and for proper format of the survey. Note that until the survey is approved by your instructor you cannot move forward with the future assignments associated with the Research Project. Turning in this assignment late, incomplete, or inaccurately formatted may impact performance on future portions of this project.
• There are two parts to this assignment:
o Research Design: complete the table below by placing answers where indicated (“
o Survey: at the end of this document (where it says
• You will submit this assignment as a single word document by the due date in Canvas.
Research Design Table
Demographic Variable Name of variable:
Levels of variable you will use:
Scale of Measurement (nominal, ordinal, or scale):
Appropriate measure of central tendency and (if appropriate) variability:
Variable of Interest #1 Name of variable and/or scale selected (including citation):
How many questions? What are the answer options – e.g., Likert 1 – 5?):
How is this variable quantified? What is the potential numerical range and how is it interpreted? (i.e. how do you calculate the variable as a single numerical value to be used in SPSS for data analysis) Notes: if it is only one question, the answer will be similar to what you have as the previous answer; if scale is nominal, numbers are meaningless but necessary for SPSS so you won’t discuss the numbers in your paper but will state them here.
What is its scale of measurement?
Variable of Interest #2 Name of variable and/or scale selected (including citation if appropriate):
How many questions? What are the answer options – e.g., Likert 1 – 5?:
How is this variable quantified? What is the potential numerical range and how is it interpreted? (i.e. how do you calculate the variable as a single numerical value to be used in SPSS for data analysis) Notes: if it is only one question, the answer will be similar to what you have as the previous answer; if scale is nominal, numbers are meaningless but necessary for SPSS so you won’t discuss the numbers in your paper but will state them here.
What is its scale of measurement?
Research Design Correlational, quasi-experimental, or experimental (since you have 2 variables it will NOT be descriptive):
Justification:
Research / Alternate Hypothesis (note this is NOT the null hypothesis). **It is common practice in the field to explicitly state the research hypothesis in the paper but statistically test the null hypothesis.
Proposed Target Population (e.g., “friends” on facebook; only women, colleagues at a specific type of business – note you will need 20 participants from this target population, and you cannot use people you do not know due to the educational nature of this study and our IRB exempt status constraints – read the M2 Research Data Collection Instructions for further clarification):
Proposed survey distribution method (e.g., email, facebook, hand out paper surveys at your church, et cet – note you cannot distribute these in public places due to the exempt status of this educational assignment – read the M2 Research Data Collection Instructions for further clarification):
At the end of this document (starting on the next page), create a proposed survey making sure to include the following components:
• Disclaimer
• Directions to the participant on how to answer the questions (may need directions for each subsection)
• Question(s) related to the Demographic Variable
• Question(s) related to Variable 1
• Question(s) related to Variable 2
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
OVERVIEW
Religiosity and spirituality can influence every facet of a person’s life. Studies show their relationship with job satisfaction, anxiety, stress, political ideology, and overall happiness, to name a few (note I’m not citing articles because you will need to find relevant articles for whichever of these you choose – however, in a research paper one could not make these assertions without appropriate citations). Religiosity and spirituality can also be examined across the lifespan or in relation to aspects from one’s childhood. However, how people define and examine religiosity and spirituality varies considerably. To scaffold the expectations of this assignment, you will be designing a study in which you collect data using a survey distributed to your friends. The survey must be constructed following the instructions in this assignment exactly, as it has exempt status from the IRB because it is purely for educational purposes.
INSTRUCTIONS
This document is a supplement for the Research Design assignment. Read this entire document so you can see the scope of your options for variables and how they are operationally defined. Then, select your variables from the following:
• Select at least one demographic variable from the “Demographic Variables” section below. Remember – a demographic variable is used to describe your sample – the variable is NOT part of your research question or your analysis. A demographic variable helps provide the scope of external validity of your research (example – if only people between the ages of 18 – 25 (M = 20.3, S = 2.5) complete your survey, then the descriptive statistics from the demographic question lets people know your conclusions are restricted to a population of this age group). Again, it is NOT included in your statistical analysis or hypothesis. It is merely used to describe your sample. You should not discuss your demographic variable in your introduction as a variable of interest.
• Select TWO variables of interest as a basis for a hypothesis – one from each section (Variable of Interest #1 and Variable of Interest #2). Please note they are only numbered to clarify what is considered a variable within each section– do not use the numbers in your research paper as that is not scientific or meaningful. *Some of the variables have a citation based on the development of the questions used to assess it – you’d need to cite the provided article if you select a variable with that information provided (and it does not count towards the number of articles you must discuss). All articles cited in this document are available within the Jerry Falwell Library.
Once you’ve selected your variables, complete your Research Design Assignment. You will have to create your survey using the required disclosure and relevant questions based on the variables you selected. You cannot add/delete/modify information from the disclosure or variables as shown in this document. They must be used in their entirety as provided here. Here is the required disclosure that must be included at the top of your survey:
SURVEY
Disclosure: I am asking you to complete this survey as part of the requirements for my statistics project in a graduate level psychology course. Your answers will remain completely anonymous. No personal information about you will be linked to this survey. Please do not put your name or any other identifying information on the survey. The results of this survey will be used only for educational purposes and will not be published or released to the public. You must be 18 years old or older in order to complete this survey.
Directions:
Demographic questions Select a minimum of one demographic question.
1. Biological Sex:
a. Answer options (select one): Male, Female
2. Gender:
a. Answer options (select one): Male, Female, Other
3. Age in years: (Have it blank for participants to enter a number)
4. Racial Category:
a. Answer Options (select all that apply): American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Hispanic or Latino; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; White; Other
b. Additional information for students in PSYC 515: the answer options are based on the OMB Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, published by NIH on April 8, 2015
5. Marital status (including living common law):
a. Answer options (select one): Now married; Widowed; Divorced; Separated; Never married
Variable of Interest #1 Select ONE of the following scales to measure your first variable of interest (e.g., if you select the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale your variable is Intrinsic Spirituality. The participant will answer 6 questions from this scale, but you will average their responses and use a single score in your statistical analysis section).
1. Intrinsic Spirituality Scale measures the degree to which spirituality is a motivating factor in one’s life
Hodge, D.R. (2003). The Intrinsic Spirituality Scale: A new six-item instrument for assessing the salience of spirituality as a motivational construct. Journal of Social Service Research 30 (1), 41 – 61.
See page 48 in the article for the exact questions and answer options
• Analysis: Answers to 6 items (ratio): average the scores so total range is 0-10 (use this number for your statistical analysis). To help with your interpretation:0 represents an individual for whom spirituality is not operative in their life as a motivating factor; 10 indicates a person who is motivated by their spirituality to the highest degree possible.
2. Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) measures experiences of God’s love, presence, guidance, and closeness during daily life
Underwood, L. G. (2011). The daily spiritual experience scale: Overview and results. Religions, 2(1), 29-50.
Use the SHORTENED version of the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (6 questions) despite the limitations discussed in this article.
• Analysis: See Table 1 in the article for the Introduction, questions, and answer options used in the BMMRS 6 item scale (note the asterisk at the bottom of the table that indicates which questions were selected and/or combined for the shortened version).
o Answer options should be quantified by ranging from 1 (“Never or almost never”) to 6 (“Many times a day”).
o Answers to these 6 items should be averaged, for individual final averages ranging from 1-6 (use two decimal places) where more frequent daily spiritual experience is represented by higher mean scores.
o As discussed in the referenced article, there is more than one way to score it – you should follow the directions listed here for consistency.
3. Negative subscale of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE) this subscale reflects underlying spiritual tensions and struggles within oneself, with others, and with the divine
Pargament, K., Feuille, M, & Burdzy, D. (2011). The brief RCOPE: Current psychometric status of a short measure of religious coping. Religions, 2(1), 51-76.
* Use the seven questions in the “Negative Religious Coping Subscale Items” in Table 2 of the article. These questions should have responses ranging from 1 ‘not at all’ to 4 ‘a great deal’.
• Analysis: Sum the scores for a range of 7 – 28, with higher values reflecting a larger degree of negative religious coping
Variable of Interest #2 Select ONE of the following constructs to measure a second variable of interest (e.g., if you select depressive symptoms, you will include the 20 questions from the CES-D and then combine them to a single score ranging from 0-60 for your statistical analysis). Note questions #9-12 do not have citations as they are well-defined and are not psychological constructs.
1. Depression from the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression (CES-D) scale: a 20-item measure that asks a participant to rate how often over the past week they experienced symptoms associated with depression, such as restless sleep, poor appetite, and feeling lonely.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurements, 1(3), 385-401.
*Use the 20 questions as shown in Table 1 but have response options range from 0-3 for each item (0 = Rarely or None of the Time, 1 = Some or Little of the Time, 2 = Moderately or Much of the time, 3 = Most or Almost All the Time).
• Analysis: Reverse score #4, 8, 12, and 16. Then, you add up all scores. Scores range from 0 to 60, with high scores indicating greater depressive symptoms.
2. Shyness This 9 question self-report survey assesses a person’s tension, discomfort, and inhibition that may occur in the presence of others (“shyness”).
Cheek, J.M. & Buss, A.H. (1981). Shyness and sociability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41 (2), 330-339.
Use the 9 questions listed in Table 1 for the “Shyness” scale. Have participants rate agreement with the items on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neutral), 4 (agree), and 5 (strongly agree).
• Analysis: Reverse score question #2 (“I don’t find it hard to talk to strangers”). Then add the values from the nine questions to obtain a single score ranging from 9-45, which higher scores represent higher levels of shyness.
3. Loneliness use the RULS-6 scale.
Wongpakaran, N., Wongpakaran, T., Pinyopornpanish, M., Simcharoen, S., Suradom, C, Varnado, P., Kuntawong, P. (2020). Development and validation of a 6-teim Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (RULS-6) using Rasch analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 25(2), 233-256.
See the end of the article in the Appendix – Table A1 contains the 6 questions for the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (RULS-6). Each question should use a four-point Likert scale, that is, 1 (never), 2 (rarely), 3 (sometime), and 4 (often).
• Analysis: Degree of loneliness is evaluated by averaging scores across items. Higher scores indicate greater loneliness.
4. Quiet Ego this measure reflects the idea that quiet ego is a higher order construct and captures four characteristics: detached awareness, inclusive identity, perspective-taking, and growth.
Wayment, H. A., Bauer, J. J., & Sylaska, K. (2015). The Quiet Ego Scale: Measuring the compassionate self-identity. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(4), 999-1033.
The Quiet Ego Scale (QES) is a 14-item scale used to assess quiet ego. Items are all rated on a 5-point scale – 1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree. See Table 7 located in the Appendix of the article for the 14 questions. Reverse score those with an asterisk.
• Analysis: Reverse code questions with an asterisk in the original article. Then, sum answers to obtain a single score per participant. Higher scores on this measure indicate a stronger quiet ego.
5. Perceived stress. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a 14-item measure that is widely used to assess subjectively experienced stress and known predictor of health and health-related outcomes. Items are rated on a 5-point scale (1 = never; 5 = very often).
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A Global Measure of Perceived Stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385-396.
• Analysis: The 14 items of the PSS are presented in Appendix A. PSS scores are obtained by reversing the scores on the seven positive items, e.g., 0=4, 1=3, 2=2., and then summing across all 14 items. Items 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13 are the positively stated items. Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress.
6. Positive or Negative Affect (PANAS). Note you must only select ONE subscale (positive OR negative) for the purposes of this assignment. The words associated with each scale are identified in the “Development of the PANAS Scales” subsection on p. 1064 of the article. See the Appendix for the complete PANAS. You would also choose the most appropriate “time instructions” in the Appendix based on the nature of your study.
Watson, D., Clark, L.A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070.
• Analysis: Add the scores on the 10 items associated with the subscale you selected (Positive OR Negative). Scores range from 10-50. Positive Affect subscale interpretation: higher scores representing higher levels of positive affect. Negative Affect Subscale interpretation: lower scores represent lower levels of negative affect.
7. Grit. Using the 12-item Grit Scale. Participants endorsed items describing their tendency to maintain effort (perseverance) (e.g., “Setbacks don’t discourage me”) and interest consistency (e.g., “I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest,” reverse scored).
Duckworth, A.L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M.D., & Kelly, D. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087–1101.
See Table 1 for the 12 questions. Have participants rate each using a 5-point scale (1 = not at all like me; 5 = very much like me).
• Analysis: Reverse score all six questions associated with “Consistency of Interests” in Table 1 as indicated. Then, average scores so the maximum score is 5 (extremely gritty), and the lowest score is 1 (not at all gritty).
8. General job satisfaction using the Generic Job Satisfaction Scale.
Macdonald, S. & MacIntyre, P. (2008). The Generic Job Satisfaction Scale: Scale development and its correlates. Employee Assistance Quarterly 13 (2), 1-16.
10 question survey – each on a 5-point Likert scale.
Strongly disagree Disagree Don’t know Agree Strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5
I receive recognition for a job well done.
I feel close to the people at work.
I feel good about working at this company.
I feel secure about my job.
I believe management is concerned about me.
On the whole, I believe work is good for my physical health.
My wages are good.
All my talents and skills are used at work.
I get along with my supervisors.
I feel good about my job.
• Analysis: Add scores. Use the sum for analysis purposes. Interpretation: 42-50 very high; 39-41 high; 32-38 average; 27-31 low; 10-26 very low. This scale is most accurate for employees between the ages of 25 and 60.
9. Political Party Affiliation
Which of the following most closely represents your political party affiliation?
Republican Democrat Libertarian Other
10. Church attendance
On average, how many times do you attend religious services each month (assuming there are no holidays):
11. Reading scripture
How many minutes on average do you spend reading scripture each week?
12. Time praying
How much time do you spend praying each day (in minutes)?
EXAMPLE (Note I’m using variables NOT included above so that you must apply this example to your specific research design – this survey has 9 questions to assess 3 variables: 1Q demographic; 1Q religiosity; 7Q anxiety)
Liberty University Online
Example Survey for PSYC 515
Disclosure: I am asking you to complete this survey as part of the requirements for my statistics project in a graduate level psychology course. Your answers will remain completely anonymous. No personal information about you will be linked to this survey. Please do not put your name or any other identifying information on the survey. The results of this survey will be used only for educational purposes and will not be published or released to the public. You must be 18 years old or older in order to complete this survey.
1. What is your age? __________
Directions: Please select the number that best reflects your answer for each question.
2. How often do you attend church or other religious meetings?
1 2 3 4 5 6
Never Once a year or less Few times/year Few times/month Once a week More than once/week
3. In the past week, I experienced breathing difficulty (e.g. excessively rapid breathing, breathlessness in the absence of physical exertion).
0 1 2 3
Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree or a good part of time Applied to me very much or most of the time
4. In the past week, I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself
0 1 2 3
Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree or a good part of time Applied to me very much or most of the time
5. In the past week, I was aware of dryness of my mouth
0 1 2 3
Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree or a good part of time Applied to me very much or most of the time
6. In the past week, I experienced trembling (e.g. in the hands)
0 1 2 3
Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree or a good part of time Applied to me very much or most of the time
7. In the past week, I was aware of the action of my heart in the absence of physical exertion (e.g. sense of heart rate increase, heart missing a beat)
0 1 2 3
Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree or a good part of time Applied to me very much or most of the time
8. In the past week, I felt scared without any good reason
0 1 2 3
Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree or a good part of time Applied to me very much or most of the time
9. In the past week, I felt I was close to panic
0 1 2 3
Did not apply to me at all Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time Applied to me to a considerable degree or a good part of time Applied to me very much or most of the time
