Research Methods: Who`s on First, What`s on Second?

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2,PP.iii-iv
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Vol.65,
ViewpointWho'sonFirst,What'sonSecond?
Editor's
MaureenR.Weiss
Universityof 0regon
subjeca rvere included or excruded; that is, what sysrern
I n the famous dialogue berween Abbott and Costelio,
l'"!Vho's on First?" Lou Costello is thoioui:hly con_
was used to select or remove subjeca fiom the available
ftrsed about the lineup of ballplayers rh.i:,rB,..rdAbbott
pool to meet specific requirements of the research
hasput together for a game. Abbott patiently tries to exquesdon.These criteria should be mentioned in rhe displain to costello the playersand their positions:lvho is
cussionof the sarnpleand either clarified here or in the
on first, What is on second, I Don't Knorr,is on third,
designsection.
and so on. In exaspemtioncostello finall'blurts o*t, "I
The nexr plaver is !\'rrat, the seconcrbasernan.wJt.at
don't give a darn," to which Abbott calmll, replies, ,,Oh
npe of studydesigndid;,ou employ (e.g.,experimental,
no, that's our shortstop!"
correlational, qualitadve) to answer
),orlr researchquesGrappling with the lvlethod secrion of a research
tions or hrpotheses?Describe the groups of strbjecrssearricle is in many ways analogous to sorting out the
lected for tesdng rhe proposed hypotrresesand.the pro.
Iineup in this baseballskit. Like cosrello. rhe rer"iewers tocol trsed ro
gather data about the strbjects(e.g., ex_
and readers seek to learn about the "players" in the
peri'rental'ranipulation, indepth in[ervie*,, partici-\fethod lineup. It is rhe author's responsibilin,to enpant observation). Identi$, the independent ancl cle_
strre that the least amount of confusion and as much
pendent'ariables (if appropr-iate),disringuishthe lerrelerant informacion as possible is communicated
els of rhe independent'ariable, and opeiario'all' cleabout the methodology. Therefore, I recomrnend rhat
fine the depe.dent measures.In short, .,r" the desig'
the methodology lineup incrude the first baseman
sectionto gi'e re'ierversand readersthe ,,bigpicture'. of
{!Vho), second baseman (What), left fielder (Why),
horr' the stud' rvas developed to an$\€r ttie major reright fielder (How)1, and cenrer fielcler (Becatrse).I
searchquesdons.
also suggesr banishing the third base*an (I Don'r
The next plaver in the rnethocrolog-yrine'p is trre
and, by all means, rhe shorrstop (l Don't Give A
big hitter and left fielder, why-a rerierv of ,reasures
Fo*)
Darn) co rhe minor leaguesfore'er! The purpose.of*ris
- and,'or inslru.rentation; Describe the measuresthat
Editor's Viewpoint -is to illuminate u,hat information.
chosen to represent the constnlcts of inter-esr.
'r'ere
should be provided in the Method section in order to
along with their validiry and r-eliabilin,characteristics.
score points with the fans (the readers) and umpires
Explain zulrytheseforms of assessmenI
r'ere selectedin(the reviewers)
stead of possible alternarives. proride information
Let's start with Who, the first baseman. Whoare the
abotrt the instrumentation used, such as the rnake and
subjeca? Describe your sample as rhoroughly as posrnodel of equipment and how key'ariables rrere desible, including characteristicsrelevant ro vour particuri'ed (e.9., phvsiorogicaror biomechanical data esdIar study, such as number and breakdorrn by,i., g.r,nrares)' Describe any calibration sreps and inter- or
der, gender within age groups, ethniciu and-experii'rrmrater procedures used to ensure the reriabiliry or
ence or skill level. Also stare the reason for seteiting
consisrenc' of subject responses.If questionnaires,fitthese particular subjects.For example, e-rplainrr,hycerness tests,or surveyslvere used, describe as rntrch rel_
uain age groups or skill levels were chosen- provide ap
e'anr clata as possible: ntrrnber of irems (total ancl
propriate and clear operational definirions for criteria
subscale),item responseformat (e-g., lpoint Likerr_
strch as elite athlete or expert performer. clarif.i, lvhrt'pe !. ancl proceclure for cornputing scale scores.pror':riidilvand rcliabiiit'dara from prer.iousi-esearch
'ide
i. I' the Abbotr nnd costello skit, the o'l'pla'er .ot iclentiihar assessed
co.st.*cts trsing the same Lvpeof sarnpre
'ied lty name rvasrhe risht flelder.
I have raken rire libertr.of
(e.g.,chilclre.r)or a reasonrr'hvthc measrrresho*ld be
.serting Horv, the right fielder, inro nry rnethoc{ologp.
li'e'P.
i'alid rvith vorlr sarnple(e.g.,pilot sttrch.clatu).
RAES:
June 1994
ut
Viewpoint
Editar's
Social science res€archersoften clevelopa measure
or se\€ral items to assessa construct central to answering the research question. In this case,it is essentialto
the integrity of the study that you provide the following:
(a) information about how the instrument $?s developed (e.9., derived froni items used in previous rrsearch,pilot study), (b) a listing of the items or a sample
of items, and (c) the psychometric characteristicsarailable (e.g., content, f,actorial,concurrent validity). It is
not sufficientjust to say,"the questionnaire is available
from the first author," becauserevielversneed information to evaluate how accurately and reliably the research questions were answered in the study.\{ith interprerive or ethnographic studies using qualitative methods, describe horv behaviors are assessedusing obserrational procedures, how participant cognitions and affect are inferred using interview schedules,and the coding schemes used during participant observation or
critical inciden t reporting.
The procedure section is covered nicely by the right
fielder, Horv. Provide a stepby-step outline of how the
study,'5purposes rvere carried out. The major objective
is to maximize the readers' ability to "replav" the study if
they had the resources to do it. Indicate horv informed
consent was obtained from subjects,as rvell as horv subjects were recruited to participate in the study, rvhat
even6 ranspired on entering the research setting, and
the general procedures in collecting the data (e.9.,
length of time, debriefing). In sun'ey studies,describe
the seriesof stepsdesigned to maximize the return rate
(e.9., follorv-up mailing after 2 weeks, postcard after 4
weeks) and report the final return rate. For qualitative
studies, doctrnrent procedures such as indepth interviervsand participant observation in enough detail that
readerscan follorv the natural processof data collection
and the evenrualinterpretation of that data.
Rounding out the batting order in the methodology lineup is the center' fielder, Because,of the data
anall'sissectjon.This section servesas a "road map" for
horv the data lvill be analyzed to ansrv-erthe research
questions and should provide the reasoning behind
your choice of statistical techniques (e.g., "A DM
the sphericity assump
MANOVA rvasconducted because
tv
tion rvasriolated."). In this section, speci$ the clescriptive and correlational analysesthat lvill be condtrcted,
reliability assessments,
and the major analysesto specificalh'addressthe researchhypotheses.The Resultssecinfortion should naturally follow frorn the data anal1,5i5
mation; readersnou'knol exactly the order of eventsin
the forthcotning section.
In snm, as authors you can get the benefit of a
"good call" by conscientiouslyputting together a strong
lineup of players in the Method section. To do this,
careftrlly consider the following points when writing
and editing your papersprior to submission:
.
o
.
.
.
\Mrois on firsc provide a cletailedaccoLrntof subject
characteristics,operational deFrnitions (e.g., inexperienced), and criteria used to include or exclude
subjectsfrom the study.
Wwtis on second:elaborateupon the nature of the
study clesign,horv the design specifically addresses
research hJ'potheses,and relevant independent
and/or dependentvariables.
Wh! is in left fielcl:identi$ the measuresernploved,
discusspsvchornetricproperties, and explain the
derivation of scoresas rvell as their interpretation.
Hou is in right field: systenraticallvaccount for the
procedtrresernplovedto carrv out the study so that
they can be replicated bv other researchers.
Becau.se
is in cen[er fielct: provide a roacl rnap speciffng rvirichdauranalyses\\'ereconducted to ansrr'er
key research questions. Explain the reasoning behind the choiceof ,vourstatisticaltechniques.
The lrlethoclsectionis a crucial place for authors to
esplain essentialelenrentsof their studl'.It is irnportant
to do a "crackerjack"job of highlighting the studl'
sanrple,design, rneasul'es,
procedure, ancl data anal,vsis.
Once you haveconrinced the "tunpires" of a representative sample,sound ciesign,adeqtratemeasures,systematic
proceclures,and logical statisticalanall'ses,then "pitching" 1'our resttlts should not throw an), cur\€balls to the
readers.Rernernber Costello'sconfusion and frusuation.
Take complete conu-ol of 1'or-rrmethodolory lineup and
clearly and coher-entlfinform the reader-s.
BOES:June 1994