Alignment and Social Change

The criteria I could use to evaluate alignment between data collection methods and other research components, such as problem, purpose, research questions, and design would be a) reliability and b) validity. Validity refers to whether the study measures what it intends to measure. Reliability refers to whether the study’s findings can be reproduced were the methodology to be duplicated and the study essentially conducted again using a similar sample. To obtain reliability and validity, the research study question should align the method of collecting data.

This means that if the researcher is doing an experiment or measuring the impact of one variable on another or the relationship of variables, counting percentages or doing something statistical, the study will need a quantitative design. The data collection instrument will be something like a survey with a Likert scale measurement, or it will look at data test results, or so on. The purpose of the study will be to obtain actually figures that can be numerically or statistically calculated and analyzed to provide objective data.

This would show alignment between data collection methods and design, research question, purpose and problem. But reliability and validity would be the main two factors that determine whether the data collection method is actually going to collect the necessary data to answer the question (Gavin, 2016). Or if a researcher is using the interview method to collect data, it would indicate that the researcher is attempting to gain deeper insight into a phenomenon.

As Simon (2011) notes, the problem statement is the heart of the study and the purpose statement is the brain of the study—and these two must align with the limbs of the study, which is the data collection method. The extent to which my newly acquired research knowledge and skills can support my role as an agent of positive change will depend on my ability to bring the evidence I obtain through research into my field and put it into practice.

In health care, they call this implementing evidence-based practice, and the purpose of it is to bring about some positive change in the field, primarily with respect to patients or care providers so as to improve the quality of care or the quality of the workplace environment.

In the field of administration, which is mine, I would set about serving as an agent of positive social change by implementing evidence-based practice so as to bring some new benefit to the community I serve, to the workplace environment or to the organization in its approach to serving the community.

Every organization has to embark upon some form of corporate social responsibility in today’s world so as to show its community that it has a vested interest in upholding the values, beliefs and ideals that the community possesses and placing them at the heart of its vision, mission and values statement (Moir, 2001). The manner in which I would effect positive social change in the field of public policy and administration would be to create a corporate social responsibility platform based on the evidence that obtain through research.

For instance, in my research I.