Assignment #10 - Method Section

This research study was on the investigation of online learning using new media. Since online degress have become a highly sought after way of education it is imperative that studies are conducted to ensure the effectiveness. The methods used to explore this research are recruitment process, instrument development, and data collection.


Participation

The recruitment process was a very important part of the study. The subjects that were to participant needed to be highly educated and have directly knowledge about the field of education. E-mail and face-to-face contacts were made. The first line of contact was e-mails with an explanation about the study and the class it was going to be used for. A survey link was attached to the e-mails notifying them that the survey was voluntary and anonymous. The other form of contact was face to face, a brief explanation was of the importance, the purpose and the confidentiality of the survey was given.

The students were asked to submit numerous potential research questions on the topic of online learning. After a thorough review, Dr. Newberry using his expertise in online learning using new media several research questions were composed.

1). Is there a relationship between the amount of portable media (podcast) a student consumes and their desire for portable media use in online learning?

2). What level of involvement in planning, organizing, and making media choices do adult online learner desire?

3). Is the use of collaboration to comment on other students' viewed as beneficial by online students?

4). What media types do students express a preference for using for a variety of activities related to instructors-student interaction, student interaction, and student- content interaction?

A 5 - point likert scale was used for the survey, 1 to 5 scale - with five being the highest.
Each participants received and URL address to gain access into the survey and additional information regarding it being completely volunteer and anonymous.