Participants and Sampling In this section, please define the inclusi

Participants and Sampling
In this section, please define the inclusion criteria for participants and exclusion criteria for your participants. You will also include the target sample size if appropriate to your study design. Inclusion/exclusion criteria can include demographic information such as (gender, sex, age, etc.) geographic location, languages spoken/written, health status, and more. Please be as specific as possible for example: Inclusion criteria: Mothers who are in Medicare living in the state of Ohio who have given birth within the last 12 months, speaking English or Spanish, there was no restriction for age or race. For those conducting secondary data analysis, please report the characteristics of the sample that are available from the data set you are using. For example: “The characteristics of the participants of the data set used for analysis included: x, y, z.” Report the details you can verify, you can cite the data source here. For systematic review projects, you will describe the study population characteristics that you plan to set in your search parameters.
Instrumentation
This section describes the instruments (surveys, measures, interview guides, filtering methods, etc.,) used to collect data for the project, given the chosen research method. The instruments provide a measure of the variables or constructs that will be examined or explored in uestions or hypotheses.
In quantitative studies, reliable and validated instruments or surveys will be used to collect data. Please make sure you have permission to use the scale or survey and cite the survey. Examples of such scales or measures include (Beck’s Depression Inventory, SF-12 Quality of Life Measure, US Census Bureau). You will also attach the scale or survey as an appendix item. If permission is required to use a survey or instrument, you must also attach that permission in the study appendix.
In qualitative studies, provide a detailed plan for the procedures to be followed (may be modified as the research progresses). (Observations, students may end up using a validated survey, which should follow the steps described previously. If they are creating an open-ended or phenomenological study interview schedule, they will need to make sure they cite sources justifying why they have created a new survey and evidence that the questions presented are appropriate for the study. In other words, find supporting evidence such as previous studies citing the need to ask those questions and cite them. Remember, you will have to justify your proposed measures in both your proposal and final oral defenses.
For systematic review projects, students will use the PRISMA checklist to ensure that they have followed a scientifically valid method for scanning literature. While there are other checklists for systematic reviews, PRISMA is the best choice for systematic reviews when an individual is conducting a systematic review, rather than a team of researchers. The PRISMA is preferred here as you are expected to conduct your study primarily as an independent project.
Data Collection
In this section the student will describe the process that occurred to collect data. From the recruitment of participants, providing study information, and gaining informed consent, and the procedures of the study, all the steps taken to collect data will be reported. Over what period of time and where (online, grocery store parking lot, etc.) did data collection take place? Your statement about human subjects approval will be included here. “This study was approved by the Bay Path IRB (Approval number/date).” Or if that project was exempt, you will simply state, “This project was exempt from human subjects review by the Bay Path IRB.”
Data Analysis
In this section you will outline the data analysis plan, in the proposal phase, you will project the best analysis plan based upon your study design and anticipated sample size. It is possible your data analysis plan will change after you have collected your data, for example if your sample size was not normally distributed or if you did not get a large enough sample size to carry out your original data analysis plan. In a quantitative study you will cite analysis methods such as correlations, regressions, t-tests, etc.
Qualitative studies will include analyses such as thematic analyses, content analyses, narrative analysis, etc. Cite sources supporting your justification for the analysis method you have chosen. In a mixed-method study, students will write a quantitative and then qualitative section.