Second Model Sample Page 1

Section 3: Methodology – Research Protocol

Keep the following questions in mind while reading the First Model Sample for Section Three: Methodology – Research Protocol. The answers to these questions will follow the reading.

1. Are the research activities described in an organized fashion?

2. Are the data gathering tools described?

3. Was lay terminology used as much as possible and were the meanings of any technical terms clarified?

Second Model Sample for Section 3

A voluntary survey directed at current college age students, administered on Survey Monkey, a web-based software tool, will target students of Middle Eastern / West Asian / Arab (ME/WA/A) backgrounds who were of either middle school or high school age when the events of September 11, 2001 took place.

The attached Informative Letter will be sent to the student organization contact person to inform them of my request to solicit responses from their organization members, as well as to ask for their help in informing their student members that the survey is available, a voluntary endeavor, and completely anonymous.

The attached Information Sheet will be included at the beginning of the on line survey so that participants know what is the purpose of the survey and to determine whether or not they would like to volunteer their time and information.

Also attached, are the Survey questions and survey instructions. As noted on my Survey, the exact format of the actual survey will be dictated by the survey software, however, the questions and ranking system, as well as the instructions will be the same.

After all data from the Survey Monkey survey has been collected and collated and conclusions have been assessed, I will develop a complete report on survey findings.

Answers to Model Sample Questions

Use the sample above to answer the following questions about the key components for Section 3: Methodology – Research Protocol.

1. Are the research activities described in an organized fashion?

Paragraph 1 provides a brief overview of the research activities and subsequent paragraphs 2-5 outline the use of the informative letter, information sheet, survey and data collected from Survey Monkey.

2. Are the data gathering tools described?

Yes the tools are described in two locations – Paragraph 1 & 4:

After all data from the Survey Monkey survey has been collected and collated and conclusions have been assessed, I will develop a complete report on survey findings. (Paragraph 4)

3. Was lay terminology used as much as possible and were the meanings of any technical terms clarified?

Yes, there were two terms referenced in this section “Survey Monkey and “ME/WA/A backgrounds.”

“Survey Monkey” was clarified in the response as “a web-based software tool.”

ME/WA/A backgrounds were defined as “Middle Eastern / West Asian / Arab (ME/WA/A) backgrounds.”