Guidelines: Assignment 2 builds upon Assignment 1. Each student will develop a research plan to address the research project proposed in Assignment 1. The research plan will outline how the research project will be undertaken through qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or mixed methods, involving primary and/or secondary data collection. It should explain why the methods are appropriate for answering the research questions, and how the data is going to be collected, analysed, interpreted, and displayed by taking necessary approaches (e.g., interviews, surveys, Census) and using appropriate tools (e.g., Nvivo, Excel, SPSS). There should be a clear logical relationship between the research project and the research methods articulated through texts, visuals, or diagrams. The research plan should also provide research project management approach, including resources, timeline, feasibility, and risk management. The suggested word length is 2,000 words, including references. The APA reference style should be used.
Research methods: Appropriate and sophisticated methods to answer the research questions with quality assurance. (40%)
Articulation: A clearly articulated relationship between the research questions, methods, data and steps to implement them. (30%)
Project management: A project management approach with feasibility and trustworthiness. (20%)
Format: A well-organised structure and appropriate stylistics. (10%)
RESEARCH PLAN- Guidelines: Assignment 2 builds upon Assignment 1. Each student will develop a research plan to address the research project proposed in Assignment 1. The research plan will outline how the research project will be undertaken through qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or mixed methods, involving primary and/or secondary data collection. It should explain why the methods are appropriate for answering the research questions, and how the data is going to be collected, analysed, interpreted, and displayed by taking necessary approaches (e.g., interviews, surveys, Census) and using appropriate tools (e.g., Nvivo, Excel, SPSS). There should be a clear logical relationship between the research project and the research methods articulated through texts, visuals, or diagrams. The research plan should also provide research project management approach, including resources, timeline, feasibility, and risk management. The suggested word length is 2,000 words, including references. The APA reference style should be used. Microsoft Word - Research Plan Sample 3.docx Student ID number Unit name and Number Research Methods PG (9505) Unit Convener Dr. Richard Hu Name of Tutor Dr. Sajeda Tuli Assignment name Research Plan Due date Friday, 19 May 2019 You must keep a photocopy or electronic copy of your assignment. Student declaration I certify that the attached assignment is my own work. Material drawn from other sources has been appropriately and fully acknowledged as to author/creator, source and other bibliographic details (according to the author date method). The assignment has been submitted to Urkund, a text matching software program. Signature of student: Date: 19/05/19 Research Plan Case study of increasing Teacher attrition and retention strategy Research Objectives (Aims) 1. To determine factors that lead to teacher attrition 2. To identify factors that can help in retaining the teachers. Purpose of the study Teacher attrition in Bhutan can be largely attributed to dissatisfaction with salary, lack of professional development, increased workload, lack of administrative support and the pressure of student performance at national and school level. The increasing trend of teachers leaving their profession and schools has adverse impact on a student’s learning. During the last decade, around 2635 teachers have left the profession and to combat the shortage caused, the Ministry of Education recruited over 3000 young teachers however this method of easing the shortage can have adverse effect on the quality of education imparted to the students. The study is vital in studying the nationwide teacher attrition problem and identifying the ways for retentions of teachers. Number of Public-School Teachers leaving the system by type of Resignation and Year Year Voluntary Resignation Resignation Type Total Attrition Rate (%) Compulsory Retirement Superannuation Expiry of Contract Others 2018 263 7 60 10 15 355 4.02 2017 260 4 56 9 16 345 3.99 2016 200 6 42 31 11 290 3.5 2015 142 1 27 3 25 198 2.5 2014 115 2 21 1 40 179 2.0 2013 134 5 27 86 9 261 4.0 2012 156 3 71 19 15 264 4.0 2011 125 1 25 101 20 272 4.0 2010 144 10 15 1 111 281 5.0 2009 125 3 8 0 18 154 3.0 2008 66 5 13 0 18 102 - Source: Annual Education statistics 2018 Methodology This research will employ a “mixed method” which consists of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Mason & Matas (2015) stated that though qualitative studies have been found to dominate the first twenty years of research done on teacher attrition and retention, the research agenda is ready to move forward with studies that will provide reliability of findings. Most of the research papers that I have referred on teacher attrition and retention has adopted qualitative approach which limits an in- depth analysis of data collected. Therefore, I decided to choose a mixed method because combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods could yield better findings. The integration of quantitative and qualitative method provides more complete and optimum use of data gathered and to deliver results more than just using either quantitative or qualitative method. The mixed methodology is defined in many ways and in the research the following definitions are used: According to Johnson, Onwuegbuzie & Turner (2007), mixed methods research is the type of research in which a researcher or team of researchers combine elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (e.g., use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) for the broad purposes of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration Creswell and Clark (2007) defined mixed methods research as follow: Mixed methods research is a research design with philosophical assumptions as well as methods of inquiry. As a methodology, it involves philosophical assumptions that guide the direction of the collection and analysis of data and the mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches in many phases in the research process. As a method, it focuses on collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of studies. Its central premise is that the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches in combination provides a better understanding of research problems than either approach alone. Hurmerinta-Peltomakl & Nummeia (2006) claimed that using one method alone would only provide a small view of the whole picture when studying complex issues. The usage of a mixed method for a research whereby coming both qualitative and quantitative research components provides a wider and strengthens the study’s result as well as the credibility of the research. Since survey is the primary data collection method for this research, the survey questionnaire will be prepared using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative methods, when using surveys, assume that respondents understand and accurately answer questions (Brown & Lord, 1999). There are possibilities that the participants may understand questions differently due to mental state, level of experience etc. when designing the questionnaire is vital to keep the survey questions short and simple so that it will not fatigue the participants or cause confusion. However, the downside of survey that it is resource intensive, mainly the cost when sample size is large the cost and time of survey gradually increases. Qualitative research methods are used to understand complex issues (Trim & Lee, 2004). Such research methods allow to draw data from small relevant bodies and organizations which ultimately limits the use of findings. The findings of a qualitative research can only be applied to a similar setting or situation, which is a shortcoming of the research. However, using a mixed method study combines the qualities of both qualitative and quantitative but cancels out the disadvantage of each type with the introduction of the other. The survey questionnaire, which will be used for the research, will employ both qualitative as well as quantitative questions. To gather good quality of data in the study, it is vital to include a mixture of both open-ended questions and close-ended questions. The only difficulty will be to choose the best questions for each method because setting a wrong or inappropriate question will result in disastrous results. To make survey method easier it is recommended to distribute the survey online when the sample size is large. Research Design I will use mixed methods sequential explanatory design for my research. The mixed- methods sequential explanatory design consists of two distinct phases: quantitative followed by qualitative (Creswell as cited in Ivankova, 2006). I will first collect and analyze the quantitative (numeric) data. The qualitative data collection and analyzing will be done in the second phase in sequence. This will elaborate and better explain the quantitative data collected in the first phase. In this way, I feel that the quantitative data and their subsequent analysis will provide a better understanding of the research problem. Data Collection Method and Instruments The primary data required in the study will be collected mainly through questionnaires, survey and rating scales. The qualitative question format will be designed to get more in-depth view of the problem. As for the quantitative questionnaire, it will be distributed to gain opinion and voice out from individuals. I will use survey monkey for the online survey. The secondary data will be obtained from the reading materials and literature journals, articles, books etc. Past studies done on any relating material that remotely touches the topic will be studies and data from it can be referred for the research. Extensive literature reviews and journals, which provide more information on understanding teacher attrition and retention problems. The data collection for the study will begin with an online questionnaire, which will be, distributed to around 200-250 participants. The questionnaire will consist of two sections, which are quantitative and qualitative portions of the study. The quantitative part of the questionnaire will be done using the Likert Scale design. The Likert Scale will allow the participants to clearly express their opinions with the given options on the scale. The other part of the questionnaire will consist of open-ended qualitative questions. This section will provide us a broader perceptive of the problem through the minds of the participants. I will be developing the open-ended questions with relevance from the data of the survey, to discover social patterns and provide more knowledge of the survey findings. Flow Chart of Methodology ResearchTopic ResearchProblem statement ResearchObjectives Preparequestionnaireand conductaPilotstudy. SubmitQuestionnaire forEvaluation FinalizeQuestionnaire Distributing Questionnaire Collecting Questionnaire AnalyzeData Discussionon Findings Conclusionand Recommendation Data Analysis Data analysis will be conducted using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS). The internal consistency of the data will be tested by undertaking the reliability and validity test. To explore the relationship between dependent and independent variables, correlation test will be performed. Furthermore, a regression analysis will be carried out to determine the spread of influence of independent variables on the dependent variable. On the other hand, qualitative data will be analyzed using NVivo, a Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) computer software package produce by SQR international. According to Hilal & Alabri (2013), Qualitative data analysis is a “process of bringing order, structure and meaning to the mass of collected data”. The corner stone of analyzing qualitative data is the coding since the qualitative data are text-based. Pope & Mays (2000) state that the systematic and rigorous preparation and analysis of qualitative data is usually time consuming