Research Participation Scheme (RPS)

Hi GEMsters,

The RPS sign up sheets should be up this week on notice boards just at the entrance of HSS 6th Floor.

Please note that you need to sign up for TWO surveys/experiments.

Once you are done with each survey/experiment, you will be given a verification slip of attendance by the researchers. So in total you should have TWO verification slips.

Hand them to Kevster once you have collected them during tutorials or lecture. You will then receive a full 5 percent for your overall ASR score.

So PLEASE do not forget to do this. It's easy money.... :)

Cheers
Kevster

Submission of Ethics Application for Research Project

Dear GEMsters,

Please note that the deadline for your submission of your Ethics Application for approval by the HSS Ethics Committee is due by 2359hrs on 31st December 2009 - Yes, NEW YEAR'S EVE!

All submissions are to be sent to me (Kevster) via email.

You can read all about the HSS Ethics Committee here:
http://www-hss.tp.edu.sg/hss_home/hss_about_us/hss_ethics.htm

Before you set out on what to do for your project, your research methods have to be evaluated and approved by the HSS Ethics Committee. Essentially, we want to ensure that all of your projects abide by the following four ethical principles:

(a) adequacy of the informed consent,

(b) minimum risk evaluation,

(c) appropriate briefing and debriefing, and

(d) appropriate handling of research data and the maintenance of confidentiality.

Once your project is approved by the Ethics Committee, your group will be allowed to go ahead with your research.

As discussed in your tutorials, the themes of your projects should be gerontologically-based.

You can use one of the following research methods (or a combination of two):

1) Intensive and open-ended interviews

2) Questionnaires (online surveys, telephone surveys, postal surveys, classroom surveys etc.)

3) Face-to-face short interviews in public

There is a specific ethics application form that all groups have to fill up, along with a template for a research proposal that you need to complete.

You can find them here:

http://www-hss.tp.edu.sg/hss_home/hss_about_us/hss_ethics/hss_ethics_res_children.htm

At this page, all you need to do is to download the following:

1) The Ethics Approval Form in ITEM 3.

2) The Research Proposal template in ITEM 3 - you can also find samples for consent forms, questionnaires, briefing and debriefing scripts here.

Finally, all you need to do next is to fill them up and submit them by NEW YEAR'S EVE.

I will be emailing the class a sample of how this has been done. So please check your mail.

Answers to questions from Lecture on Focus Groups and Interviews

1. Why is qualitative research appropriate to research topics that defy simple quantification?
A.field research is appropriate to the study of those attitudes best understood within their natural setting.
B.field research is well suited to the study of social processes over time.
C.all of these choices



2. When you use field research, you’re confronted with:
A.decisions about the role you’ll play as an observer
B.your relations with the people you’re observing
C.both a and b
D.none of these choices


3. __________ is an old tradition in qualitative research based on the assumption that an objective social reality exists and can be observed and reported accurately.
A.naturalism
B.ethnography
C.ethnomethodology
D.none of these choices


4. A ______________ is an interaction between an interviewer and a respondent in which the interviewer has a general plan of inquiry, but not a set of questions that must be asked with particular words in a particular order.
A.questionnaire project
B.field research project
C.quantitative interview
D.qualitative interview
E.none of these choices

GEM1011 RESEARCH PARTICIPATION SCHEME

Research Participant Scheme for
GEM1011 Applied Social Research

Requirement:

As part of your subject requirements, you are required to participate in 2 research studies. These studies are conducted by students from the HSS Diploma in Psychology Studies. Your participation in a research study will typically be in the form of answering some research surveys. Each survey session will last 30 minutes or less.

Your participation in these 2 studies will grant you 5% participation mark for GEM1011.

Participation Period:

28 Dec 2009 – 15 Jan 2010. (These are the 3 weeks immediately after the Term Break.) You will sign-up for, and participate in the 2 research studies during this participation period itself.


Where to Sign up for your Research Studies:

The sign-up location is along the corridor just outside IT8-6-29. Just take the lift at Lift Lobby B to Level 6, and you should see it. At this location, you will see a large board on which details of the many different research studies have been posted up (e.g. details of the research, timings of slots that you can sign up for, and location to report). You only need to sign up for 2 of these studies. Pick 2 studies which interest you, and for which the timing of the sessions are suitable for you. Sign up for the studies. Note the location that you will need to report at to participate in the studies.


After Participating in the Research Study:

After you have participated in a session, the researcher will hand you a “Receipt of Participation”. You will need to participate in 2 sessions, hence you will need to collect 2 of these Receipts. Please do not lose these Receipts! Pass the Receipts to your tutor, who will then record your participation in the research study and grant you your 5% participation marks.

If you have any further questions, you can contact the Kevster.

COMBINED SCORES for QUIZ 1 and QUIZ 2

Your score here is out of a possible 20%

0900509A - 16.5
0904000G - 17.5
0901404D - 16
0905015D - 13
0901595I - 16.5
0906250F - 19.5
0902019I - 13
0905025C - 16
0903908B - 15
0903026C - 18.5
0905919G - 7.5
0901804E - 14
0903744A - 13
0905032I - 15
0900826I - 15.5
0903875C - 17.5
0903319B - 13
0905040B - 17.5
0902863J - 15
0901682E - 18
0905378F - 15
0904999J - 15
0903735I - 16.5
0902638F - 15.5
0905896G - 19
0900025H - 17
0904494B - 14
0905375B - 12
0905382H - 19
0904265F - 16
0902657F - 15.5
0903723E - 13.5
0903750H - 16.5
0900065D - 18
0902954G - 15.5
0903560A - 16
0900578F - 14.5
0904495I - 16.5
0904496G - 14.5
0901821I - 17
0904497E - 15
0903505F - 18
0901936E - 17
0902449H - 16.5
0902682D - 17
0904973E - 16.5
0900779J - 15.5

Answers to Quiz 2 (Make-Up)

1. Which of these are among the many advantages that underlie the growing popularity of telephone surveys?

A. Money
B. Time
C. Convenience
D. All of these choices


2. A___________ is an instrument specifically designed to elicit information that will be useful for analysis.

A. Questionnaire
B. Statement
C. Query
D. None of these choices


3. A ____________is a survey question intended for only some respondents, determined by their responses to some other question.

A. Snowball question
B. Contingency question
C. Purposive question
D. Regressive question


4. When a researcher gives the participant the opportunity to answer completely in his or her own words, he is asking a

A. Closed ended question
B. Broad question
C. Open ended question
D. Self descriptive question


5. When a researcher tests whether a questionnaire measures what it intends to measure he/she is essentially conducting

A. Reliability tests
B. Validity tests
C. Both reliability and validity tests
D. None of the above


6. Specifically stating how you will measure a concept for your research study is called

A. Conceptualization
B. Operationalization
C. Validation
D. Specification


7. Test-retest reliability means

A. The same questionnaire is split into half and tested
B. The same questionnaire is administered more than once over a period of time
C. Both 1 & 2.
D. None of the above


8. When a questionnaire is administered through computer and assisted by phone, this kind of survey is a

A. Telephone survey
B. Mass survey
C. Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)
D. Computer survey


9. Content validity refers

A. How your measure or questionnaire relates to other similar theoretical constructs
B. To whether all dimensions of a concept are included
C. Both 1 & 2
D. None of the above


10. The question ‘how are your children and grandchildren?’ is an example of

A. Straight forward question
B. Double barreled question
C. Both 1 & 2
D. None of the above


11. Which among the following is a true criterion of objectives?

A. Objectives should be measurable
B. Objectives should be simple
C. Objectives should be realistic
D. all the above


12. A survey method where the researcher meets the respondent in person and conducts an interview is a

A. Face-to-face survey
B. E-survey
C. Private survey
D. All the above


13. The question ‘Did you murder your wife?’ is likely to result in

A. Social desirability bias
B. No bias
C. Ambiguity bias
D. None of the above


14. Which among the following is not true while constructing a questionnaire?

A. Sensitive questions should be asked in the beginning of the questionnaire
B. Questions should be simple
C. Closed ended questions should have all possible responses
D. All the above


15. Conceptualization is about

A. Defining an idea about something
B. Stating a hypothesis
C. Specifying an objective
D. None of the above.



~ END ~

Answers to Quiz 2

1. Questions that require a person to select an answer from a list provided are known as __________ questions.

a) Open-ended
b) Pretest
c) Experimental
d) Closed-ended


2. A ____________is a type of survey question intended for only some respondents, determined by their responses to some other question.

a) Snowball question
b) Contingency question
c) Purposive question
d) Regressive question


3. A person who provides information/data for your research is called a

a) Respondent
b) Data provider
c) Drop-out
d) None of the above


4. Several questions that have the same response format is called as

a) Matrix questions
b) Non-matrix questions
c) Same answer questions
d) None of the above


5. Which among the following is an example of testing reliability?

a) Split half method
b) Test-retest method
c) Validity method
d) Only (a) and (b)


6. Which among the following criteria is false when constructing a questionnaire?

a) Use short statements
b) Ensure that all possible answers/responses are shown
c) Use ambiguous statements
d) Avoid double barreled questions


7. You are likely to use a questionnaire when the questionnaire is

a) Reliable only
b) Valid only
c) Both reliable and valid
d) None of the above.


8. Construct validity denotes

a) How your measure or questionnaire relates to other similar theoretical constructs
b) The range of meanings included within a concept
c) Both 1 & 2
d) None of the above


9. A cover letter contains information on which of the following?

a) Objectives of the study
b) Confidentiality
c) Incentives, if any
d) All the above


10. Which of the criteria below is false for face-to-face surveys?

a) The respondent is interviewed in person
b) It involves more time and money
c) The interviewer must gain the attention of the respondent
d) The respondent fills in the questionnaire


11. Which among the criteria for constructing a research topic is false?

a) The title should be simple
b) The title should be free of ambiguous words
c) The title should be unbiased
d) The title should be lengthy


12. Conceptualization is a process of

a) Specifying a title
b) Arriving at an objective
c) Framing a hypothesis
d) Defining a concept


13. When you specify how a concept will be defined and measured in your research you are essentially doing

a) Operational definition
b) Nominal definition
c) Ordinal definition
d) Real definition


14. Which among the topics are appropriate for survey research?

a) Explorative
b) Descriptive
c) Explanatory
d) All the above


15. Which among the following is not a type of validity?

a) Content validity
b) Test-retest validity
c) Construct validity
d) All the above




~ END ~