Instructions: Please read the scenario below and respond to the following questions. Support your answers by citing authorities in the field.
1. It has been long substantiated in numerous research studies that there is a correlation between low income students and their ability to persist to graduation. Now, however, there is evidence to substantiate that many who qualify and are accepted to participate in STEM majors, actually drop out of these majors and transfer to less “academically” demanding social sciences majors or leave the institution. Why these “high performing” students fail to persist in their chosen majors is unknown as they do not possess the same characteristics typically associated with those correlated to not persist.
As the Vice President of Enrollment Management, the President has asked you to investigate this phenomenon and determine how and to what extent this situation may have implications on the attrition rate of the institution. Please respond to the following questions:
A. Provide a discussion that sufficiently explains the context of this scenario as you interpret it so you may provide a problem statement that addresses this research study.
B. Based on A, provide a clear and succinct problem statement that will lead your research investigation.
C. Based on B, identify the purpose(s) of your research investigation.
D. Based on A & B, explain why this research study is significant.
E. Based on A, B, & C, provide at least 2 research questions appropriate to the
problem and purpose statements.
F. Discuss the appropriate research design methodology you would employ to
conduct your study; then, address the strengths and weaknesses of this
methodology.
G. Define the population and/or sample for this study.
H. Describe the type of instrument you would use to collect the data for this study
and provide the rationale for its selection.
I. Explain what variables you would investigate in this study and why.
J. Explain the level of measurement for each variable identified in I above.
K. Describe and justify the statistical tests you would run on the data.
