NACADA Combined Workshop 11 04

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NACADA Research Committee Conducting Advising Research and Constructing a Winning NACADA Grant Proposal

PART 1Advising Research:A Primer: 

PART 1 Advising Research: A Primer NACADA Research Committee

Why research in advising: 

Why research in advising Hot topics on campus Topics becoming research questions Research vs. program evaluation

Research vs program evaluation: 

Research vs program evaluation Goals of research Creation of new knowledge Testing hypotheses Documenting a novel phenomenon Goals of program evaluation Accountability Management Decision making and budgeting

Methods: 

Methods Similarities Use of objective and systematic methods Range from such subjective methods as field observation to objective experiments Differences Research manipulation of ex-perimental variable and random sample Evaluation of non-experimental observation

Measures: 

Measures Questionnaires, observation, interviews, content analysis, ratings similar in both research and program evaluation

Results: 

Results Research Generalization to others Contribution to new knowledge New hypo-theses/questions raised Program evaluation Site specific Improved program delivery Increased response to constituents Cost savings Questions answered

Audience: 

Audience Research for other professionals Program evaluation for administration

Developing a research project: 

Developing a research project Identify five hot topics on your campus.What concerns or intrigues you or others?

Developing a research project: 

Developing a research project Put three of your hot topics into question form. Question 1. Question 2. Question 3.

The basics: core skills: 

The basics: core skills Identify the problem Review the information Formulate the question Select a research design Collect and analyze data Draw conclusions

Core skills--the problem: 

Core skills--the problem Identify the problem What did you identify as you hot topic? Can you identify likely factors at play?

Core skills--information: 

Core skills--information Review the information Review the existing literature. Ask what others have said on the topic. Look for a model or theory that may explain the problem. Consider the information in light of your own observations and reading of the literature.

Core skills--information: 

Core skills--information The literature review--why To improve your knowledge To build upon previous research efforts To generate new ideas To look for models of good methodology To become familiar with publication formats To find arguments to support your efforts

Core skills--information: 

Core skills--information The literature review--how Identify sources Books, journals, bibliographies, indices, conferences presentations and proceedings, database searches ERIC, Social Science Citation Index, etc. Take notes

Core skills--information: 

Core skills--information The literature review--what Previous research on same topic Previous research on related topics Research populations Research methods/techniques Research materials Theoretical frameworks Trends motivating interest in the topic

Core skills--information: 

Core skills--information The literature review--when At the start Throughout the research process Immediately before submitting your paper for review During the revision if asked Nearing final publication

Core skills--the question and design: 

Core skills--the question and design Formulate the question Summarize your thoughts and clarify relationships. Identify the explicit question. State your hypothesis. Select a design and subjects Review designs and methods used to test questions similar to yours and select one. Identify subjects and seek human subjects approval.

Core skills--design: 

Core skills--design Qualitative methods result in data described in words, such as responses to open-ended questions, observations, and interviews Quantitative methods result in data described in numbers--statistics, probabilities, graphs

Core skills--design: 

Core skills--design Qualitative methods are used when Little is known about the topic Closed-ended items cannot yet be determined--multiple choice items, scaled responses. Quantitative methods are used when Subjects are not available for extensive interactions Time and fund are limited Cause and effect are to be determined.

Core skills--design: 

Core skills--design Qualitative research to develop new theory Identify a topic Choose qualitative method Select sample Collect, categorize and analyze data Discover, expand, revise theoretical relationships Formulate new theory

Core skills--design: 

Core skills--design Quantitative research to test existing theory Identify a topic Develop a hypothesis Choose a quantitative method and appropriate sample Select/develop appropriate measure Collect, analyze and interpret data Discover, expand, revise theoretical relationships Formulate new or revised theory.

Core skills--design: 

Core skills--design Most commons designs used in advising research Experimental Ex-post facto Survey Historical Ethnographic

Core skills--design: 

Core skills--design Characteristics of good advising research Valid Measure of what thing measuring--internal validity Results generalizable to another group--external validity Reliable Methods and measures replicable throughout study--internal reliability Work replicable elsewhere--external reliability

Core skills--subjects: 

Core skills--subjects Selecting subjects Identify total population Select a random sample (ideally) Assign to control and experimental group, and control for confounding and random variables for empirical study Identify existing group for comparison for ex-post facto or historical study Conduct the research to identify differences between groups.

Core skills--subjects: 

Core skills--subjects Human subjects review Any organization that receives federal money must have a person or committee to review research using humans as subjects. They guard against abusive of subjects. Human subjects committee Institutional review board

Core skills--subjects: 

Core skills--subjects Human subjects review Must obtain clearance from institutional review entity and from board of any other cooperating institution. Submit early! Approval also needed from the federal government NACADA research grants must include the clearance to be considered for award.

Core skills--data analysis: 

Core skills--data analysis Data analysis Codify the data to look for patterns in answers Test your explanation Revise if necessary and re-analyze

Core skills--data analysis: 

Core skills--data analysis Descriptive statistics Techniques both analytical and graphic used to paint a picture of a data set Mean Median Mode percentages Inferential statistics Techniques used to conclude or infer something about a large group of subjects Multiple regression Chi-square Analysis of variance

Core skills--conclusions: 

Core skills--conclusions Draw conclusions Consider the observed data and how you arrived at them. Draw conclusions from your results. They may Support your hypothesis Justify or prove the effectiveness of a program Refine an existing theory Help to develop a new theory

Developing a research project: 

Developing a research project Select one of your questions. Which common research method would provide valid answers to it? Method: Given the method selected,what group(s), phenomena or records should be evaluated? What comparison sample is needed to make a valid comparison? Subject sample: Comparison sample:

Developing a research project: 

Developing a research project Where should you look to review the existing literature? How will you find valid measures? What method of data analysis will you use? How will you secure institutional or other support for this project?

Conclusion: 

Conclusion Commitment yourself to the time and resources needed. Ask for help from colleagues and collaborate with others. Follow sound research practices from the start.

PART 2Writing a NACADA Research Grant Proposal: 

PART 2 Writing a NACADA Research Grant Proposal NACADA Research Committee

Questions to ask about grant writing: 

Questions to ask about grant writing What will this project cost? Can I run the project without outside funding? If the project is not funded can I do at least part of it? Does this project truly interest me?

Tips for beginners: 

Tips for beginners Have a positive attitude. Be enthusiastic about your proposal. Reviewers want to give money to confident researchers. Read the guidelines. Most unsuccessful proposals don’t get something right. Give yourself plenty of time to write, consult with colleagues, revise and get permissions in time to meet the funding agency’s deadline. Meet the deadline!

Review of dummy proposals: 

Review of dummy proposals Review NACADA grant proposal review form. Read the proposal. Assess it against the review guidelines. Discuss with partners and take notes. Report results of discussion to group.

Thank You!: 

Thank You! NACADA Research Committee

Advising Research Reference List: 

Advising Research Reference List Research Design: Overall Denzin, N. K. (1978). The Research Act: A Theoretical Introduction to Sociological Methods. New York: McGraw-Hill. (A very significant introduction to research methods from a sociological perspective) Firestone, W. A. (1987). Meaning in method: The rhetoric of quantitative and qualitative research. Educational Researcher, 16, 16-21. (From an educational perspective, a good comparison of qualitative versus quantitative methods) Sommer, R., & Sommer, B. B. (1986). A Practical Guide to Behavioral Research: Tools and Techniques. New York: Oxford University Press. (Recommended as the single best book to start research from scratch)

Advising Research Reference List: 

Advising Research Reference List Research Design: Qualitative Methods Altheide, D. L. (1987). Ethnographic content analysis. Qualitative Sociology, 10, 65-77. Atkinson, P., & Hammersley, M. (1989). Ethnography Principles in Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press. Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant Observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic Content Analysis (2nd edition). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Yin, R. K. (1989). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd edition). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Advising Research Reference List: 

Advising Research Reference List Research Design: Quantitative Methods Babbie, E. (1973). Survey Research Methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Kerlinger, F. N. (1973). Foundations of Behavioral Research. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. Mahoney, M. (1978). Experimental methods and outcome evaluation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 660-672.

Advising Research Reference List: 

Advising Research Reference List Instruments/Questionnaires Bonjean, C. M., Hill, R. J., & McLemore, S. D. (1967). Sociological Measurement: An Inventory of Scales and Indices. San Francisco, CA: Chandler. (A solid source of sociological measures) Buro’s Mental Measurement Yearbook (The classic guide which lays out all published measures of psychological concern, their validation, reliability, and critical studies) Chun, K., Cobb, S., & French, J. R. P., Jr. (1975). Measures for Psychological Assessment: A Guide to 3000 Original Sources and Their Applications. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research. (A good source of less frequently used measures, as well as the well-established measures for a variety of psychological issues)

Advising Research Reference List: 

Advising Research Reference List Statistics Huberman, M., & Miles, M. (1994). Data management and analysis methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 428-444). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. (Good start on data management) Huff, D. (1954). How to Lie With Statistics. New York: W. W. Norton. (A classic which is still important; short and easy; how data can be manipulated and how to stay clean) Rowntree, D. (1981). Statistics Without Tears: A Primer for Non-Mathematicians. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. (A good overview of statistics, quick and easy) Siegel, S., & Castellan, N. J. (1988). Non-Parametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd edition). New York: McGraw Hill. (Most research in higher education does not lend itself to parametric design (which assumes conditions such as all sub-groups being independent of one another); however, most social scientists use them anyway…for those who wish to “do the right thing” (understanding percentages, etc.), non-parametric statistics is the best path to success)

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NACADA Research Grant Proposal Guidelines see handouts re: - research topics - items covered by grant - specific proposal guidelines - submission deadlines Web Sites: Call for Proposals: www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/rescall.html Applications: www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/nom_forms/Research.doc Past Winners: www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/research.html Grant Proposal Committee Review Form see handout re: - factors evaluated - rating scale

Higher Education Grant Websites: 

Higher Education Grant Websites Guides to Grant Writing and Grant Proposal Writing www.lab.brown.edu/public/ocsc/collaboration.guide/ www2.njstatelib.org/njlib/grants/guide/index.htm National Science Foundation www.nsf.gov National Education Association www.nfie.org/grants.htm American Educational Research Association www.aera.net

Higher Education Grant Websites: 

Higher Education Grant Websites Society of Research Administrators International www.srainternational.org/newweb/grantsweb/index.cfm Higher Education Meta-Index www.irp.panam.edu/more_html/utpa_erlist.html The Foundation Center www.fdcenter.org GrantsNet www.grantsnet.org/

Higher Education Grant Websites: 

Higher Education Grant Websites InfoEd International-SPIN www.infoed.org/new_spin/spinmain.asp Other Funding Websites ocga2.ucsd.edu/funding_opps.html dir.yahoo.com/Education/financial_aid/grants/ www-tcall.tamu.edu/bibs/funding.htm Chronicle of Philanthropy philanthropy.com/free/resources.gresources.htm

Other Funding Websites: 

Other Funding Websites Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov/funding.htm Department of Commerce www.doc.gov/ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) www.epa.gov/epahome/program2.htm National Academy of Engineering (NAE) www.nae.edu

Other Funding Websites: 

Other Funding Websites National Academy of Sciences (NAS) www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/grants/ National Association of Broadcasters www.nab.org/research/grants/grants.asp National Cancer Institute epi.grants.cancer.gov

Other Funding Websites: 

Other Funding Websites National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) arts.endow.gov/guide National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) www.neh.fed.us/html/applying.html National Institute of Health (NIH) www.nih.gov/grants/ National Institute of Justice www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm National Institute of Medicine (NIM) www4.nationalacademies.org/iom/iomhome.nsf National Research Council (NRC) www.nationalacademies.org/nrc/

Other Funding Websites: 

Other Funding Websites Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) www.samhsa.gov/GRANT/GFA_KDA.htm U.S. Department of Education (DOE) www.ed.gov/funding.html U.S. Department of Energy www.doe.gov/ U.S. Information Agency (USIA) e.usia.gov/education/rfps/

Other Grant Information: 

Other Grant Information Books Directory of Research Grants by Oryx Press Free Government Money by Unique Finance Software Federal Money Retriever – a CD guide to all U.S. Government Grants and Loans Free Government Money – information at www.freegovmoney.net/?source=goto