Introduction
Northcentral University in Arizona USA is planning to conduct a study that aims at examining the link between procrastination and the effects it has on the general attitude of individuals towards life. This research will try to answer the following questions:
- How do people view the problems and challenges that they face in life?
- What methods do they use to solve such problems?
To ensure that the study is conducted effectively and efficiently, some considerations have to be put in place. Due to the nature of the research questions of the study, open-ended questionnaires and interviews will be used to gather the required information for the study. As such, the research design will be qualitative in nature. The study will also consider professional ethics to ensure that conflicts of interest are avoided. The aim of this document therefore is to critically analyse these considerations to ensure that the results reflect a true and fair view of the study.
Research Methods
The participants of this study will be individuals between the ages of 18 to 65 years. This age group is composed of individuals with a lot of responsibilities and face a lot of challenges in life. As a result, they form the highest proportion of individuals who procrastinate. This sample group will thus ensure that the attitudes and perceptions of the individuals contained in this age bracket are captured (Creswell, 2009). As a result, the data that will be collected for the study and the inferences that will be made can easily be generalized to reflect the trends of the entire population.
The study will be conducted within Northcentral University of Arizona and its environs. The data will be collected in places where there is a high concentration of people such as common rooms, gymnasiums and student centres within the university and shopping malls, bus stations and subways outside the university. Random sampling technique will be applied while selecting the individuals to be interviewed. This will ensure that the interviews that will be conducted are not biased.
The study will aim at gathering the attitudes and perceptions of individuals with respect to procrastination. Due to this fact, a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods will also be used. These methods will ensure that all the aspects of the study are covered. This will increase the validity of the results. The data from the respondents will be collected with the use of questionnaires, interviews and observations. This data will be analysed using a computer software package called SPSS version 16.
Ethical Considerations
Any research that is conducted at Northcentral University involving human beings or any other living organism as its subjects must include ethical considerations that ensure that their rights are respected. These considerations are in accordance with the federal regulations, rules, and guidelines of NCU (Trochim and Donnelly, 2008). Therefore, any research conducted by members of the faculty, staff, students or any other affiliated party to the institution has to be approved by the IRB committee. This review makes sure that all the factors that are required to undertake the research have been adhered to.
To achieve all this, the study has to ensure the confidentiality of the information that is provided by the respondents. In the course of the study, the questions that may be asked may inquire about personal information of the respondent and to ensure that the respondent gives information that is true, he/she has to be assured about the confidentiality of such information. The respondents also need to be aware of the nature of the study that is being conducted, its requirements and the role that they will play in the research before they decide to participate in the study. The risks that a respondent may face include social sanctions, public humiliation, termination of employment and other detrimental consequences. This may occur if the information that he/she provides in the study is made public or falls in the wrong hands. However, if the respondent is assured about his/her confidentiality, then the chances of him/her to participate in the study will be increased. Assurance of confidentiality will also increase the chances of the respondent giving out honest answers. As a result, the validity of the research outcome will be increased.
Conclusion
All the above requirements have to be attained so that the research is carried out professionally. Having in place valid research methods, participants and sticking to professional ethics will ensure that all these requirements are achieved.
References
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Trochim, W., and Donnelly, J. (2008). The research methods knowledge base. Mason, OH: Cengage.