RESEARC
H DESIGN
What is a Research Instrument
A pilot study is a small test run of the study
protocol, used to check that the protocol seems
appropriate and practical, and to identify possible
problems with the design or protocol.
Procedure
of data
collection
Many issues must be kept in mind when framing survey
questions; here are some.
•Avoid leading questions which may indicate how
respondents are expected to answer. Question wording is the
usual reason for leading questions.
•Avoid ambiguity: Avoid terms that may be unfamiliar, and
How to ask questions that are unclear.
survey •Avoid asking the uninformed, and avoid asking respondents
about issues they don't know about (for example, people will
questions even give directions to places that do not even exist (
Collett and O’Shea 1976)). Many people will tend to give a
response even if they do not understand, but such responses
are worthless.
•Avoid complex and double-barrelled questions; these are
often hard to understand.
•Avoid problems with confidentiality, which would be
considered unethical. Ethics committees usually look very
carefully for questions that are unethical. In special cases and
with justification, ethics committees may allow such questions.
•Ensure that questions are clearly and precisely worded.
•Ensure that options for multiple-choice questions are mutually
exclusive (all answers fit into only one category)
Procedure of
data analyses
Conclusion on
Research
Methodology
Determine Relationship through
Correlations
The sample
presents very
strong evidence
(t=39.322=39.322;
one-
tailed P<0.0005<0.
0005) of a
relationship
between dry matter
weight digestibility
and the digestible
energy
(slope: 0.0470.047;
n=36=36; 95% CI
from −0.045−0.045
to −0.049−0.049)