Survey

Things to Note in Writing a Clear Research Proposal:

Research Question, Conceptualization, Hypotheses, Relevant Literature, Sampling, Operationalization and Survey Questions, and Data Analysis Unclear Research Question: How has CANVAS access affected student success? The above unclear research question is unfocused, unspecific , and imprecise. The unfocused, unclear, and imprecise research question is so broad that it could not be adequately answered in a book -length piece, let alone a standard college -level paper Clear Research Question: How has CANVAS access affected student success in CAU’s MPA program in the last two years? The clear research question is focused, specific, and precise because it narrows down to the following:

1) a specific cause or ind ependent variable (CANVAS Access) 2) a specific effect or dependent variable (student success in CAU’s MPA program ) 3) a specific place (MPA program at Clark Atlanta University ) 4) a specific time period (the last two years) 5) a specific group ( MPA students at Clark Atlanta University ) 6) some hypothe ses 7) specific literature on the relatio nship between technology access by students and student success Some testable hypotheses from the clear, focused, and precise research question are as follows: a) The higher the level of agreement on easy access to CANVAS, the higher the level of agreement that easy access to CANVAS leads to success among students in CAU’s MPA program .

b) The lower the level of agreement on easy access to CANVAS, the lower the level o f agreement that easy access to CANVAS leads to success among students in CAU’s MPA program. L iterature suggested by the clear Research Question is follows: a) Peer -reviewed articles on the relationship between technology access by students and student success Possible samples (Research Methods) : a) Randomly selected 25 female MPA students and 25 male MPA students or b) Non -randomly selected 25 female MPA students and 25 male MPA students Possible quantitative and qualitative survey questions (Research Meth ods) to measure the dependent variable (student success), the independent variable (CANVAS access), and Control Variables are as follows: Survey Dear Sir/Madam, Good day! I am in an exciting graduate program where students learn research skills. Through this brief survey, your answers will be helpful in equipping me with research skills I can use as a public administrator in meeting your needs. You have consented to this survey by completing it. In case you have any questions regarding the survey, please email me at (write your email address here). Thank you very much for your time and suggestions. Quantitative Section A: Please circle the most appropriate number of each statement that correspond s most closely to your desired response Strongly Disagree Disagree Moderately Disagree Mildly Disagree Undecided Mildly Agree Moderately Agree Agree Strongly Agree Student Success (Dependent Variable) Use of Turnitin on CANVAS by the instructor helped me use my words and thoughts to complete assignments 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Use of CANVAS for submitting assignments and checking grade gave me greater control of my ability to succeed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Use of CANVAS to give assignment feedback improved my knowledge of course content 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Use of video conference on CANVAS helped me learn difficult concepts from the instructor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Use of CANVAS to post course syllabus and assignment instructions improved my ability to take ownership of my learning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 CANVAS Access (Independent Variable) I easily accessed CANVAS on my cell phone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I easily accessed CANVAS on my personal computer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I easily accessed CANVAS on computers at Clark Atlanta University 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I easily accessed CANVAS on friend/library computers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Learning to use CANVAS was easy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Using CANVAS was often frustrating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Use Frequency (Control Variable) Access Challenges (Control Variable ) I used CANVAS at least once a week during the semester 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I got locked out of CANVAS when I did not use CANVAS frequently 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I got locked out of CANVAS even though I used CANVAS at least once a week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sometimes I was unable to use CANVAS due to internet problems and/or CANVAS maintenance at CAU 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sometimes I was unable to use CANVAS on my personal computer and cell phone due to internet problems 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Qualitative Section B:

Please describe how access to CANVAS has benefited your learning and success in CAU’s MPA program in the last two years (Dependent Variable) .

Please describe how you have accessed CANVAS in the last two years (Independent Variable) Please d escribe the difficulties you have experienced in using CANVAS in the last two years (Control Variable) Please describe how often you have used CANVAS in the last two years (Control Variable) Data Analysis (Research Methods) : a) In analyzing the qualitative data from the three qualitative questions in Qualitative Section B in the Survey, the researcher will use open coding, axial coding, and selective coding based on theoretical conjectures in relevant literature. More information at https://prpost.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/an -example -of -how -to -perform -open -coding -axial -coding -and- selective- coding/ b) In analyzing the quantitative data from the agreement level statements in Quantitative Section A in the Survey, t he researcher will code the agreement levels using 1 for the lowest level of agreement (strongly disagree) and 9 for the highest level of agreemen t (strongly agree).

c) Even though controversial, the researcher will treat the dependent variable, the independent variable, and the control variables as continuous variables in performing T -Tests and Regression .

d) The resea rcher will use SPSS to perform six T -Tests in order to determine how female and male MPA students differ on 1) student success 2) easy access to CANVAS 3) frustration in using CANVAS 4) learning to use CANVAS 5) frequency of using CANVAS 6) challenges in using CANVAS In performing the T -Test for student success , the researcher will use each research subject’s average score of all the survey statements for student success and treat gender as the categorical/dichotomous variable with female and male as the two dimensions of the categorical variable .

In performing the T -Test for easy access to CANVA S, the researcher will use each research subject’s average score of the following survey statements: “I easily accessed CANVAS on my cell phone ”, “I easily accessed CANVAS on my personal computer ”, “ I easily accessed CANVAS on computers at Clark Atlanta Un iversity”, and “I easily accessed CANVAS on friend/library computers”. The research will treat gender as the categorical/dichotomous variable with female and male as the two dimensions of the categorical variable .

In performing the T -Test for frustration in using CANVAS, the researcher will use each research subject’s score for the survey statement “ Using CANVAS was often frustrating”.

The research will treat gender as the categorical/dichotomous variable with female and male as the two dimensions of the categorical variable .

In performing the T -Test for learning to use CANVAS, the researcher will use each research subject’s score for the survey statement “ Learning to use CANVAS was easy”.

The research will treat gender as the categorical/dichotomous variable with female and male as the two dimensions of the categorical variable .

In performing the T -Test f or frequency of using CANVAS, the researcher will use each research subject’s average score for the following survey statements: “I used CANVAS at least once a week during the semester” and “I got locked out of CANVAS when I did not use CANVAS frequently”. The research will treat gender as the categorical/dichotomous variable with female and male as the two dimensions of the categorical variable .

In performing the T -Test for challenges in using CANVAS, the researcher will use each research subject’s average score for the following survey statements: “I got locked out of CANVAS even though I used CANVAS at least once a week”, “Sometimes I was unable to use CANVAS due to internet problems and/or CANVAS maintenance at CAU”, and “Sometimes I was unable to use CANVAS on my personal computer and ce ll phone due to internet problems”. The research will treat gender as the categorical/dichotomous variable with female and male as the two dimensions of the categorical variable .

e) The res earcher will use SPSS to run a regression model to determine the impact of the following on student succ ess.

1) access to CANVAS on cell phones and personal computers 2) access to CANVAS on CAU computers 3) access to CANVAS on friend/library computers 4) frustration in using CANVAS 5) learning to use CANVAS 6) frequency of using CANVAS 7) challenges in u sing CANVAS 8) gender In running the regression model, the researcher will use 1) each research subject’s average score of all the survey statements for student success as the student success score for each research subject 2) each research subject’s average score of “ I easily accessed CANVAS on my cell phone ” and “ I easily accessed CANVAS on my personal computer ” as the score for access to CANVAS on cell phone and personal computers for each research subject 3) each research subject’s score for the survey statement “I easily accessed CAN VAS on computers at Clark Atlanta University” as the score for access to CANVAS on CAU computers for each research subject 4) each research subject’s score for the survey statement “I easily accessed CANVAS on friend/library computers” as the score for access to CANVAS on friend/library computers for each research subject 5) each research subject’s score for the survey statement “ Using CANVAS was often frustrating ” as the score for frustration in using CANVAS for each research subject 6) each research subject’s score for the survey statement “ Learning to use CANVAS was easy ” as the score for learning to use CANVAS for each research subject 7) each research subject’s average score for the survey statements “I used CANVAS at least once a week during the semester” and “I got locked out of CANVAS when I did not use CANVAS frequently” as the score for frequency of using CANVAS for each research subj ect 8) each research subject’s average score for the survey statements “I got locked out of CANVAS even though I used CANVAS at least once a week”, “Sometimes I was unable to use CANVAS due to internet problems and/or CANVAS maintenance at CAU”, and “Someti mes I was unable to use CANVAS on my personal computer and cell phone due to internet problems” as the score for challenges in using CANVAS for each research subject 9) female and male as the two dichotomies of gender and use the most common dichotomy in the regression model