Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Lauren Nelson, Ph.D. Lauren K. Nelson, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). Since coming to UNI in 1990, she has regularly taught courses in phonetics, articulation and phonological disorders, research methods, and augmentative communication. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Michigan University and a Master of Arts from Central Michigan University. After working for two years in an Iowa area education agency, she returned to school and completed her Ph.D. studies at Memphis State University (now University of Memphis).

Contents Preface Chapter 1. Empirical and Nonempirical Research: An Overview Systematic Inquiry Some Roles for Research Types of Research Variables Getting Started with Research Summary Chapter 2. Ethical Considerations Protection of Human Participants Special Protections Historical Perspective Institutional Review Boards Research Integrity Avoiding Conflicts of Interest Credit for Intellectual Effort Attribution of Ideas Accuracy in Reporting Information Data Management Confidentiality and Privacy Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Summary Appendix 2 - 1: Research Scenario Chapter 3. Identifying and Formulating Research Questions Identifying Important Questions Formulating Research Questions Ways to Formulate a Research Problem Evidence-Based Practice Questions Criteria for Well-Formed Questions Establishing Validity and Reliability Summary Chapter 4. Completing a Literature Search Purposes of a Literature Search Planning and Conducting a Search Search Tools Designing a Search Strategy Organizing and Documenting Your Literature Search Summary Appendix 4 - 1: Electronic Literature Search Chapter 5. Nonexperimental Research Design Nonexperimental Research Designs Survey Research Case Studies Longitudinal Research Correlation and Regression Group Comparisons Causal-Comparative Research Qualitative Research Ethnography Grounded Theory Case Study Phenomenology Conversation Analysis Scientific Rigor in Qualitative Research Summary Chapter 6. Experimental Research and Levels of Evidence Experimental Research Designs Posttest-Only Designs Pretest-Posttest Randomized Control Group Design Solomon Randomized Four-Group Design Switching Replications Design Factorial Designs Importance of Experimental Control History Maturation Statistical Regression Instrumentation Selection Mortality Quasi-Experimental Approaches Nonequivalent Control Group Designs Repeated Measures Group Design Single Subject Designs Experimental Designs and Levels of Evidence Summary Appendix 6 - 1: Research Scenario Chapter 7. Research Participants and Sampling Populations and Samples Sample Characteristics Sampling Methods Simple Random Sampling Systematic Sampling Stratified Random Sampling Cluster Sampling Purposive Sampling Random Assignment Sample Size Summary Chapter 8. Data Analysis: Describing Different Types of Data Levels of Measurement Visual Representation of Data Descriptive Statistics Frequencies and Percentages Measures of Central Tendency Measures of Variability Shapes of Distributions Summary Chapter 9. Data Analysis: Inferential Statistics Inferential Statistics Measures of Association Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient Coefficient of Determination Spearman Rank-Order Correlation Chi Square and Contingency Coefficient Simple Regression and Multiple Regression Testing for Differences Between Two Samples Independent and Paired t-Tests Mann-Whitney U Sign Test and Wilcoxin Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Test Testing for Differences among Three or More Samples Statistical Analysis for Factorial Designs Additional Tools for Analyzing Clinical Data Caution in the Use and Reporting of Statistics Summary Chapter 10. Research Outcomes: Clinical Guidance, Research Reports Knowledge Base for Evaluating Clinical Research Critical Appraisal How Applicable Are the Findings Reporting Research Findings Components of a Research Report More on the Review of Literature Writing Guidelines and Writing Style Disseminating Research Findings Summary Index