Sample Research Proposal on Data Collection Method to be Used

This paper will discuss the methods and procedures used and done in the study: the background of the study, hypothesis and aims, the research method, the sample and sampling technique, the data collection method, the validation of the instrument and the statistical treatment of data.   Background, Aims and Hypothesis of the Study Today, drug addiction is one of the major problems of society. This menace has spread throughout the world in both advanced and impoverished countries. Heroin, LSD, marijuana, hashish, cocaine, codeine, morphine, novocaine, ganja and brown sugar – the most commonly used drugs – are openly being sold even in public places, and are readily available on the streets.   In Southwest London, marijuana is widely available illegally. Ecstasy and Special K are uncommon. London has a small snap problem, with the downtown eastside containing a few crack houses and accompanying dealers. Pharmaceutical drugs, such as morphine, oxycodone and other opiates are increasing in use (www.encyclopedia.com). The central eastside of the city is thought of as being less safe than other parts of the city, with the adage "EOA" (East of Adelaide) suggesting that one is in the dangerous part of town.   In this regard, this paper aims to investigate, the issues of marijuana among black males and smoking practices of white males in Southwest London.   Hypotheses For this study, the following null hypotheses shall be tested: 1)      There is no significant relationship between the status of black male respondents and perception about marijuana smoking; 2)     There is no significant relationship between the status of white respondents and perception about cigarette smoking; and 3)     Smoking (both cigarette and marijuana) has no significant impact to current status of drug court programs in London.   Research Method Used             The descriptive approach was used in this study to determine the effects of marijuana and cigarette to its user. Specifically, the study intends to explore the reasons behind marijuana and cigarette smoking.   According to Creswell (1994), a descriptive research tries to explore the cause of a particular phenomenon. It also intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study. In addition, such approach tries to describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research.   Basically, a descriptive research utilises observations and surveys. For this reason, the researcher chose this approach because it is the intention of the researcher to gather first hand data. This way, the researcher will be able to formulate sound conclusions and recommendations at the end of the study.  The descriptive approach is also quick and more practical financially. Moreover, this method will allow for a flexible approach, thus, when important new issues and questions arise during the duration of the study, a further investigation may be allowed. Further, this type of approach will allow the researcher to drop unproductive areas of research from the original plan of the study.   However, this research is also partly based on quantitative research method so as to permit a flexible and iterative approach. The choice and design of methods are constantly modified during data gathering based on ongoing analysis. This allowed for an investigation of important new issues and questions as they arose.   In addition, this study also employed partly qualitative research method, since this research intends to find theories that would explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements in research. These qualitative elements do not have standard measures; rather, they are behaviour, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs.   The qualitative research is described as multi-method in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that a qualitative researcher studies things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Accordingly, a qualitative researcher deploys a wide range of interconnected methods, hoping always to get a better fix on the subject matter at hand. (Walliman and Bousmaha, 2001)   This research study basically aims to determine why black males have a higher tendency to smoke marijuana and white males often smokes cigarette.  Specifically, the study intends to explore the significant impact of variables related to the reasons of smoking marijuana or cigarette, to determine the needs of the users, to identify if they are satisfied by the current status of drug court programs in London, to illustrate the measures being done by the London government in addressing thee problems of smoking, and to know what must be done to solve the marijuana and cigarette issues in London.   Sample and Sampling Technique             The respondents of the study for came from a rehabilitation centre in Southwest London that is previously engaged in marijuana (for black males) and cigarette smoking (for white males). Due to time constraint and also, for the convenience of the researcher, only thirty (30) respondents were considered for the study. The convenience sampling technique was imposed in the study to pick up the thirty respondents, mainly because the availability of the respondents was considered.               This part of the study is important because the most important data needed to fulfil the objectives of this study will only be supplied by the respondents from Southwest London that are involved in the drug court rehabilitation program.   Data Collection Method to be Used             In gathering the data needed in this study, the survey method, also known as the questionnaire method, was utilised. The researcher constructed a questionnaire and administered them to the respondents. The respondents were requested to answer the inquiries in the survey-questionnaire, each grading the statements using the Likert scale.  The equivalent weights for the answers will be: Range                                                Interpretation             0.00 – 1.49                                        Strongly Agree 1.50 – 2.49                                        Agree 2.50 – 3.49                                        Undecided 3.50 – 4.49                                        Disagree          4.50 – 5.00                                        Strongly Disagree               In the Likert technique, a set of attitude statements are presented, where subjects of a study are asked to express agreement or disagreement using a five-point scale. The degree of agreement is given a numerical value ranging from one to five, thus a total numerical value can be calculated from all the responses. (Underwood, 2004). The researcher also conducted a face-to-face interview for at least 6 respondents (3 for black males and 3 for white males) to ensure the validity of the research.   Validation of the Instrument             For validation purposes, the researcher pre-tested a sample of the set survey questionnaires. This was done by conducting an initial survey to at least five respondents from Southwest London. After the respondents answered, the researchers then asked them to cite the parts of the questionnaire that needs improvement. The researcher even asked for suggestions and corrections from the respondents to ensure that the survey-questionnaire is effective. Automatically, these five respondents were not included as respondents for the study.   Statistical Treatment of Data             After all the data from the researcher-made questionnaire were collected, the following statistical formulae were used: 1.       Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.             n % = -------- x 100        ;           n – number of responses             N                                 N – total number of respondents 2.       Weighted Mean             f1x1 + f2x2  + f3x3 + f4x4  + f5x5 x = ---------------------------------------------;                         xt where:             f – weight given to each response                         x – number of responses                         xt – total number of responses   The researcher will be assisted by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) in coming up with the statistical analysis for this study. SPSS is one of the most widely available and powerful statistical software packages that covers a broad range of statistical procedures, which allows a researcher to summarise data (e.g., compute means and standard deviations), determine whether there are significant differences between groups (e.g., t-tests, analysis of variance), examine relationships among variables (e.g., correlation, multiple regression), and graph results (e.g., bar charts, line graphs). (Einstein and Abernethy, 2000)