Research Methodology essay

ResearchMethodology

1. A. How scientific variables affect results of a research study

Scientific variables that affectthe result of a research study are called confounding, lurking orhidden variables. The effect is due to their ability to correlatepositively or negatively with the variables, causing a misestimationof the perceived relationship between the independent and dependentvariables. They are classified based on their sources.

1. b A listing of variables that affect research study results

First is the operational confound,common in experimental and non-experimental research designs, when ameasure intended to assess a particular relationship mistakenlymeasures something else (Chandra &amp Sharma, 2013).Second is the proceduralconfounding that occurs in laboratory experiments when the researcherinadvertently allows another variable to change in line with themanipulated independent variable (Chandra &amp Sharma, 2013). Third is person confounding thatoccurs whenever multiple groups of units are consecutively analyzed.For example, workers belonging to different occupations despite theirvariance, according to one or more additional characteristics, thatare either observable or unobservable such as gender (Chandra &ampSharma, 2013).

2. The processes for finding research samples

Effective research requires thesample size to be a representative of the population. First is todetermine the population size. Second is to allow for a margin oferror by defining the confidence interval. The interval determinesthe allowable variance in sample mean compared to the populationmean. Third is to create the confidence level, which is the actualposition of the mean within the confidence interval. The fourth is todetermine the standard of deviation, that is, the expected variancein the responses of the research. Finally, is calculating the samplesize considering all the above factors (Chandra &amp Sharma, 2013).

3. Choosing a design for a specific study

All research designs are validcontributors to scientific knowledge although it requires aconsideration of ethics, budget and time. The experimental researchdesign is best for straightforward experiments with standards ofpractice in manipulating quantitative independent variables. Opinionbased research designs are best in quantitative experiments witharbitrary measurements. Observational research designs are efficientwhere the researcher try to observe a phenomenon without muchinference (Chandra &amp Sharma, 2013).ReferencesChandra, S., &amp Sharma, M. K.(2013).&nbspResearchmethodology.Oxford:Alpha Science International.