In the past few decades, research methods and research approaches have become multiple which requires special attention when one chooses appropriate tools for his or her research studies in postsecondary education. In the following paper, the decisions affecting higher education based on the application of research principles to a postsecondary scenario will be addressed.
Postsecondary Scenario
Foothills University is a primarily liberal arts institution serving approximately 7,500 students. The campus is nestled in the foothills above a major metropolitan city. Although the student body consists of people from the metro area, about 15% are from other states and another 5% are international students. The student population also reflects the diversity of the city with many races and ethnicities represented on campus. The male to the female student body is about 50/50. The university relies on tuition, fees, and a substantial endowment to meet its financial obligations. The campus and its supporters are very proud of the sports programs. The most popular sports are men’s football and women’s softball.
Scenario Purpose Statement
The purpose of this study was to state the research questions that are connected with assessing the quality of the educational process in Foothills University; making propositions as to its improvements, and developing effective strategies for introducing the proposed improvements. Besides, another important objective is to offer relevant answers to the research, based on a variety of facts and evidence.
Qualitative Research
A qualitative strategy from the Creswell (2009) text that would most likely be chosen for this situation is using the data collected by open-ended observations, individual interviews, reviewing rapport documents, and including a variety of data including scrapbooks. This is the best approach because making just and rightful conclusions regarding assessing and improving the situation in a particular educational establishment requires careful examining of all the materials related to the issues under consideration (Maxwell, 1996).
Central Research Question How should the administration of Foothills University act in order to properly assess the state of affairs in their educational establishment according to the governmental standards and introduce the necessary changes?
A quantitative strategy from the Creswell (2009) text that would most likely be chosen for this situation is a pre-experimental design. The choice of this studying method can be explained by the fact that to identify the problematic areas in the work of the educational establishment, it is important to acquire data showing the variables of effectiveness in this establishment (Museus & Griffin, 2011). This strategy includes identifying what is being compared in the experiment, stating the purpose of the experiment, indicating the rationale of the experiment, identifying the experiment instruments to be used, showing the relationship between the variables in the experiment, and assessing the performance of the control groups (Creswell, 2009).
Conclusion
This paper indicated the decisions affecting higher education based on the application of research principles to a postsecondary scenario. The major findings of this research paper are in establishing research questions and making research hypotheses regarding the discussed scenario.
References
Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Maxwell, J.A. (1996). Qualitative research design: an interactive approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Museus, S. D., & Griffin, K. A. (2011). Mapping the margins in higher education: On the promise of intersectionality frameworks in research and discourse. New Directions For Institutional Research 151, 5-13.