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Title page
Survey research
Introduction
Student veterans must be considered as non-traditional students because they face extreme challenges having adverse impacts including physical disability and neurobehavioral issues. the present study aims at finding the factors that cause veterans to struggle at colleges and how their influence their performance and success. They encounter difficulties to adjust in the civilian life and undergo financial, physical and mental issues. Veteran students have undergone situations that are different from traditional students. Their services in the military affect their behavior and those who have undergone any physical or mental disability are unable to adjust to the colleges. They face difficulties to integrate back to the normal life (Ghosh and Fouad, 2016).
Survey design
The survey design involves quantitative research in which the researcher investigates the selected sample from the entire population for studying their attitudes, beliefs, assumptions and behaviors. The process of scientific research applies to all fields and subjects as research has become an essential part of all studies. The quantitative research uses the statistics and facts that lead to appropriate findings. The quantitative research incorporates the statistics and systematic measures to find results. The qualitative research does not rely on statistics and quantitative facts but uses an interview that does not need formal measurements CITATION Pau081 \l 1033 (Lavrakas, 2008).
Questionnaire survey
The researcher will conduct a questionnaire survey by targeting the veteran students at colleges. This survey relies on face-to-face interaction between the researcher and the participants. The respondents are asked to fill the survey and return to the researcher. Questionnaire surveys are appropriate when the researcher wants to obtain specific information from a general population. A written set of questions is presented to the participants that inquire information about the veteran's success at colleges. Questionnaires are convenient to handle because they include statements that can be understood by the respondents.
Instruments for quantitative research
The quantitative research relies on questionnaires that include a certain set of questions asked from the participants of the research. The purpose of designing a questionnaire is to analyze the responses of the participants. The present research chooses closed-ended questions in which options are provided to the respondents. The closed-ended questionnaire is convenient for the researcher because the participants have to choose the right option only. It offers many benefits to the researcher including time efficiency. The respondents take few minutes in filling the questionnaire. While in the open-ended questionnaire they have to think about the suitable statement. The students will be handed questionnaires directly and they will return to the researcher after filling those. In designing appropriate questionnaire an important step is to consider the length in mind.
Research questions
What factors have an impact on a veteran's academic success in college?
Sampling method
The purpose of sampling is to choose some people from the population under discussion for studying their views. Because it is impossible to investigate the entire population small sample size is selected. Keeping in view the nature of the research random sampling is selected. “Random sampling refers to a variety of selection techniques in which sample members are selected by chance, but with a known probability of selection. Most social science, business, and agricultural surveys rely on random sampling techniques for the selection of survey participants or sample units, where the sample units may be persons, establishments, land points, or other units for analysis” CITATION Pau081 \l 1033 (Lavrakas, 2008). Randomness in this technique refers to the probabilities of selection. Probability sampling is used when participants are selected randomly for the study. It is based on chance events including the number of participants. The researcher must not misrepresent the sampling method that will help him to identify the issue that requires more attention. It is a specific process that identifies the number of participants before the conduction of the survey.
Pilot study
A pilot study is a feasibility study that was conducted to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire. The pilot study will inquire 15 veterans under the same criteria of the original research. The purpose was to identify the ambiguities and the questionnaire more understanding. Certain changes were made such as simplifying the terms, formatting and typographical errors. A pilot study is essential for modifying before conducting final research. This allows the researcher to identify the weaknesses of the developed questionnaire and address the flaws. This step allows the researcher to find if the questions are understandable to the participants CITATION Pau081 \l 1033 (Lavrakas, 2008).
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is the prediction made by an idea, and these are falsifiable statements. The researcher can refute the hypothesis that depends on the results and analysis. The hypothesis that is not falsifiable reflects the inappropriate construction of the hypotheses. Two types of hypothesis the researcher employ involve null and alternative hypothesis. Under the null hypothesis, the researcher states that there is no difference between the groups that are being studied. If study participants are not in the research, the null hypothesis fails to build a relationship between the variables.
The main difference between the null and alternative hypothesis is that of difference. The alternate hypothesis also focuses on the difference between two variables and null hypothesis represents no difference between the variable. The null hypothesis states that no difference exists between the two groups while the alternative hypothesis states the difference between the two groups. The number of null hypotheses can be more than one, and that depends on the research study. The two possible responses of a null hypothesis are the acceptance or rejection by research findings. The acceptance of the null hypothesis states that the variables present no difference and the rejection of the null hypothesis states that there is a difference between variables. Hypotheses developed for the present research are as follows;
Veteran students who served in military face difficulties to adjust in college.
Veteran students having college experience are more likely to complete higher education.
Veteran students having disability struggles more at college.
Veteran students who lack assistance and support struggle more at college.
Variables
Another crucial step in research design is the identification of the variables. Five variables are selected in the present study that includes; service in US military (SM), the source of income (SOI), college experience (CE), disability related to military service (DM) and factors that make it hard or easy to integrate back to society after the military (FIS).
The indicators for measuring service in the military (SM) include; the army, air force, coast guard, marines or navy. The affiliation with any such field will explain that the veterans have served in the US military. The indicators for measuring the source of income (SOI) include; have a job ready, savings, unemployment benefits or GI bill benefits. These indicators will explain how veterans at colleges are covering their financial expenses. The indicators used for estimating college experience (CE) are; some, yes or completed college. This will explain if the veterans are having college experience or not. The indicators for assessing disability related to the military (DM) are; yes, do they have access to physical and mental health care, do they utilize disability resource centres or do they connect with the veterans resource centre. These indicators will be used for determining the current status of disability and the aid received by such veterans. Factors that make it hard or easy to integrate back to society after the military (FIS) is measured by indicators; military prepare them before getting out, no family support, nowhere to go after the military, no source of income after the military, no mental and physical health access. These indicators are used for assessing if veterans manage to integrate back to society after military service or not.
Theory
There is no single theory that could identify the factors impacting the success of veteran students at colleges. Although a college education is important for a successful career and stable future but veterans experience complexities due to the nature of their work that limits educational opportunities for them. Social Science Theory “predicts and controls action through an if-then logic; explains how and/or why something happens by explaining its causes; and it provides insights and guidance for improving social life” (Saldana, 2013). This theory stresses on explaining the connection between abstract concepts. The causes will be determined for identifying the factors that impact the performance of veterans at the colleges.
Grounded theory is used for will be used for anticipating the factors that influence the success of veterans at the colleges. “Grounded theory seeks to not only uncover relevant conditions but also to determine how the actors respond to changing conditions and the consequences of their actions” (Corbin and Strauss, 1990). The observation of the actors helps in finding the factors that undermine the performance of veteran students. This is useful for developing an abstract understanding of the veterans. Quantitative research stresses on conceptual framework used for establishing inductive data. Grounded theory offers a theoretical framework for finding what factors contribute to the overall development of veteran students that allow them to integrate back to normal lives. The theory is a practical method used for identifying ways of assisting veteran students in academic lives (Reyes et al., 2014). This is also effective for building resilience among veteran students.
The sense of Belonging stresses on providing assistance and support to the veteran students for integrating into colleges. It suggests that the veteran undergo hard times that undermine their ability to return to normal lives. It stresses on integrating development strategies that provide them opportunities for reconciliation. It states that students receiving adequate financial and emotional support are more likely to become normal that contributes to college success. The sense of belonging has a positive correlation with academic performance that increases the probability of veterans success at colleges. The GI Bill also was known as the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act 2008 approved the provision of a significant increase in educational benefits for the veteran students. The bill is designed for covering the higher education benefits of the veterans and offers the opportunity for vocational training CITATION Geo05 \l 1033 (Marczyk, DeMatteo, & Festinger, 2005). Research studies indicate that colleges must focus on building a sense of belonging among veteran students because it has a significant impact of elevated levels of motivation and provides the opportunity for reconciliation. The sense of belonging promote positive feelings such as increased attention and learning attitudes CITATION Kat181 \l 1033 (Starnes, 2018).
Data analysis
Statistical software SPSS will be used for analyzing the data obtained through a questionnaire survey. T-test will be computed for comparing the means of dependent variables. The dependent variable will be estimated on a continuous scale while the independent variable will include categorical groups. Descriptive statistics will be computed through SPSS that will explain the basic features of the data. This will be used for summarizing data in organized formal in charts and tables. ANOVA will be computed in the software for comparing means of independent variables. It will explain if the means are significantly similar or dissimilar.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Alias, Z., Zawawi, E., Yusof, K., & Aris, N. (2014). Determining Critical Success Factors of Project Management Practice: A conceptual framework. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 153, 61 – 69.
Ahern, J., Worthen, M., Masters, J., Lippman, S.A., Ozer, E.J. and Moos, R., 2015. The challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans’ transition from military to civilian life and approaches to reconnection. PloS one, 10(7), p.e0128599.
De La Garza, T., Wood, J.L. and Harris III, F., 2015. An exploratory assessment of the validity of the Community College Survey of Men (CCSM): Implications for serving veteran men. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39(3), pp.293-298.
Ghosh, A. and Fouad, N.A., 2016. Career transitions of student veterans. Journal of Career Assessment, 24(1), pp.99-111.
Lavrakas, P. J. (2008). Random Sampling. Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods.
Marczyk, G., DeMatteo, D., & Festinger, D. (2005). Essentials of Research Design and Methodology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Perkins, D.F., Aronson, K.R., Morgan, N.R., Bleser, J.A., Vogt, D., Copeland, L.A., Finley, E.P. and Gilman, C., 2019. Veterans’ Use of Programs and Services as They Transition to Civilian Life: Baseline Assessment for the Veteran Metrics Initiative. Journal of Social Service Research, pp.1-15.
Reyes, A.T., Kearney, C.A., Isla, K. and Bryant, R., 2018. Student veterans’ construction and enactment of resilience: A constructivist grounded theory study. Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 25(1), pp.37-48.
Starnes, K. B. (2018). At Ease: Developing Veterans’ Sense of Belonging in the College Classroom. Journal of Veterans Studies, 3 (1).
Simmer, C. and Harmening, D.S., 2015. Exploring Significant Factors that Impact the Academic Success of Student Veterans in Higher Education. Journal of Higher Education Theory & Practice, 15(7).
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