Credible Research Made Easy: A Step by Step Path to Formulating Testable Hypotheses

By Dorcas Mladenka

C.R.M.E. is a workbook for anyone needing (or wanting) to do a research project that can stand the test of claiming scientific significance. The workbook leads the reader in a logical progression from the measurement of variables in the research design to the formulation of testable hypotheses.

I taught such a research class at the college level for twenty years and learned how few people know the meaning of significance. Even students who came into the class having taken statistics as a pre-requisite were fuzzy about the concepts of standard deviations, significance, and standard scores. I realized there were two reasons for this: learning out of context; that is, without seeing an application, and secondly, being overloaded with too much statistics, which led to mere confusion. Thus my approach was to include the most common types of statistical tests covering a wide spectrum of measurements and having them applied in a real research project. Once this much is learned, it is easier to branch out to more sophisticated measurements and testing.

This workbook was also used with adult students in the universitys weekend program. These were students from various large corporations in the city who were finishing their undergraduate degrees. It was they who gave me the idea to share the workbook, as many of them were given research projects to do at their place of employment and gave me very positive feedback. I genuinely hope that you find it helpful as well.

Best wishes, Prof. M.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475920314

Dorcas Mladenka

Dorcas Mladenka is a retired professor who taught business research to college-age students and working adults in San Antonio, Texas. Her post graduate work includes an MBA from Notre Dame University. She now lives in the beautiful hill country north of San Antonio where she hikes with her Belgian Shepherd, Snowy.

Book preview

CREDIBLE

RESEARCH

MADE EASY

A Step by Step Path to Formulating Testable Hypotheses

DORCAS MLADENKA

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

Credible Research Made Easy

A Step by Step Path to Formulating Testable Hypotheses

Copyright © 2012 by Dorcas Mladenka.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-2030-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-2031-4 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 04/28/2012

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part 1 A Sample Project; Defining and Measuring Variables

PART 2 Formulating Hypotheses

PART 3 Collecting the Data

PART 4 Theoretical Distributions and Looking for Significance

PART 5 Completing Your Own Research Project

Appendix Outline and Notes for a Research Report

Acknowledgements

Here’s to my many students who have toiled through the course during my classroom career. Thanks for helping me keep my presentations (both written and spoken) clear and on task. I hope that your journey has taken you to a good place.

I owe a deep gratitude to Leslie (f.t.) and Marilyn. I hated you both for cutting me loose, but I guess it was time to get back on my own journey.

Thanks to Wikipedia and Stat Trek for the distribution images.

Finally, I could not have completed this new version without the strong and unfailing encouragement of my friend Chris.

Introduction

This workbook is designed to aid you in developing a total research project: from having in mind a specific subject to research (this is your dependent variable—DV) to the various influencing factors (your independent variables--IV) to determining the relationships among them. Your research will be credible to the extent that you determine significance of the influencing factors.

The workbook will take you through the steps of designing and completing a research project. This workbook illustrates, by way of a sample pretend research project, a step-by-step progression in determining the variables that may be influencing a specific subject of research, the gathering of data, and what it means to test the significance of that influence. To complete your own project you can use this sample to guide you through the steps. If you have