Student success is defined as high academic performance of the student in the corresponding disciplines and high results in the test provided.
Student success will be measured with the help of several instruments: students’ scores and ratings, their satisfaction with their studies and academic outcomes, results of the test.
The hypothesis can be formulated as follows: The XCEL study program improves student success.
Method
Students of the local colleges who have completed and have not had the XCEL program will take part. Junior students and sophomores will participate. The students will be chosen randomly on the basis of the college lists of students. The students will be addressed via emails. The research will also be announced through the colleges’ media and leaflets. Such characteristics as gender or ethnicity will not be taken into account. There are chances that some students may fail to complete the survey correctly and, in that case, the data will not be included into the survey.
Materials: The participants will complete questionnaires and complete a short test. At the stage of sampling, electronic databases containing college student lists will be utilized. All the necessary permissions will be obtained.
Procedure: The independent variable in this study is participants’ age and participation in the XCEL study program. Dependent variables are participants’ scores and ratings, results of the test, their satisfaction with studies and academic outcomes. The participants will have limited time to do the test after they complete questionnaires that will include around 25 questions of different types. Thus, students first complete questionnaires and after that they get a test.
Scientific Method
The scientific method consists of six major steps (Trochim, Donnelly & Arora, 2015). First, the researchers formulates the research question. Then, the researcher implements sophisticated research to obtain the necessary background knowledge. The next step involved development of the hypothesis. After that, the researcher tests the hypothesis through the experiment. Then, the data obtained are analyzed and the researcher draws conclusions. Finally, the researcher reports about the research and its results.
If the stages were completed in the wrong order, the research would be unreliable. For instance, if the data were collected before formulating the question, they could turn out inappropriate as the researcher could extract irrelevant data and miss the data that are crucial for the research. Starting analysis before completion of data collection is likely to make the results erroneous and statistically irrelevant. Of course, it is impossible to draw conclusions when the data are not collected yet as conclusions need justification and evidence, which is impossible to obtain without analyzing (and, of course, collecting) data.
The scientific method enables the researcher to complete the research in a concise manner. Following the steps of the scientific method, the researcher can avoid inconsistencies and errors (Rubin & Babbie, 2015).
Any research is prone to bias and researchers have to minimize the risks (Passer, 2014). One possible error can occur in the present research. Students’ diligence is not take into account. Nonetheless, it can have quite a serious affect as it is clear that students could be more hardworking while completing the XCEL study program and can be less diligent when studying at college. Hence, questions identifying students’ motivation should be included in the questionnaires. Students who complete the XCEL study program at a certain level (only high results) will take part in the research.
Reference List
Passer, M. (2014). Research methods. New York, NY: Worth.
Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2015). Empowerment series: Essential research methods for social work. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Trochim, W., Donnelly, J., & Arora, K. (2015). Research methods: The essential knowledge base. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.