Running Head: RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES

Research Practices and Studies

Susan B. Hussey
North Carolina State University
ECI 510
December 6, 2015
Dr. Jan Lucas

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 2

Table of Contents
Use of Human Subjects in Research Submission for New Studies.3
Peer Reviewed Article Analysis .....9
Survey Results - Online Tools Learned through Education Classes.11
Qualtrics Survey and Reporting20
Focus Group Recreational Expansion ...21
Focus Groups.25
Interviews..26
Problem Sheet28
References.30

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 3

Research Practices and Studies
Human Subject Participation in Research Permission
North Carolina State University
Institutional Review Board for the Use of Human Subjects in Research
SUBMISSION FOR NEW STUDIES
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Date Submitted: June 20, 2015
1a. Revised Date: June 21, 2015
2. Title of Project: Recreational Expansion
3. Principal Investigator: Susan Hussey
4. Department: Department of Education; Curriculum & Instruction
5. Campus Box Number: 121
6. Email: sbhussey@ncsu.edu
7. Phone Number: 919-663-6363
8. Fax Number: 919-663-3636
9. Faculty Sponsor Name and Email Address if Student Submission: Dr. Jan Lucas
10. Source of Funding? (required information): Johnsonville County Taxes
11. Is this research receiving federal funding?: No
12. If Externally funded, include sponsor name and university account number:
13. RANK:
Faculty
Student: Undergraduate;
Masters; or
PhD
Other (specify):
As the principal investigator, my signature testifies that I have read and understood the University Policy and
Procedures for the Use of Human Subjects in Research. I assure the Committee that all procedures performed
under this project will be conducted exactly as outlined in the Proposal Narrative and that any modification to
this protocol will be submitted to the Committee in the form of an amendment for its approval prior to
implementation.

Principal Investigator:
Susan Hussey
(typed/printed name)

Susan B. Hussey
(signature)

6/20/15
(date)

As the faculty sponsor, my signature testifies that I have reviewed this application thoroughly and will oversee
the research in its entirety. I hereby acknowledge my role as the principal investigator of record.
Faculty Sponsor:

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 4

Dr. Jan Lucas
*
(typed/printed name)
(signature)
(date)
*Electronic submissions to the IRB are considered signed via an electronic signature. For student
submissions this means that the faculty sponsor has reviewed the proposal prior to it being submitted and
is copied on the submission.
Please complete this application and email as an attachment to: debra_paxton@ncsu.edu or send by mail to:
Institutional Review Board, Box 7514, NCSU Campus (Administrative Services III). Please include consent
forms and other study documents with your application and submit as one document.
******************************************************************************************
*******
For SPARCS office use only
Reviewer Decision (Expedited or Exempt Review)
Exempt
Approved
Expedited Review Category:
9

Approved pending modifications

3

Table
8a

8b

8c

__________________________________________________________________________________________
_
Reviewer Name
Signature
Date
North Carolina State University
Institutional Review Board for the Use of Human Subjects in Research
GUIDELINES FOR A PROPOSAL NARRATIVE
In your narrative, address each of the topics outlined below. Every application for IRB review must
contain a proposal narrative, and failure to follow these directions will result in delays in
reviewing/processing the protocol.
A.

INTRODUCTION
1. Briefly describe in lay language the purpose of the proposed research and why it is important.
The focus group will help the Johnsonville County Board of Commissioners make financial and
planning decisions regarding recreational expansion in the southwest region of the county.
2. If student research, indicate whether for a course, thesis, dissertation, or independent research.
Research proposal is for a course.

1.

2.

B.
SUBJECT POPULATION
How many subjects will be involved in the research?
Estimates or ranges are acceptable. Please be aware that if you recruit over 10% more participants
than originally requested, you will need to submit a request to modify your recruitment numbers.
The original focus group will consist of approximately 25 to 30 members.
Describe how subjects will be recruited. Please provide the IRB with any recruitment materials that will be
used.
The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners will contact the district baseball and softball
directors. The district directors will contact local board directors who will recruit community

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 5

members, other board members, and coaches from within their individual organizations.
3. List specific eligibility requirements for subjects (or describe screening procedures), including those
criteria that would exclude otherwise acceptable subjects.
Desired focus group members:
Local board director
A male and female parent/guardian (not from same family) to represent softball
A male and female parent/guardian (not from same family) to represent baseball
A former board member or former coach
A current baseball coach
A current softball coach
4.

Explain any sampling procedure that might exclude specific populations.

The sampling does not exclude any specific populations.

5.

Disclose any relationship between researcher and subjects - such as, teacher/student; employer/employee.
Focus group members are constituents of the board members but no know direct personal
relationship exists.

6.

Check any vulnerable populations included in study:

minors (under age 18) - if so, have you included a line on the consent form for the
parent/guardian signature
fetuses
pregnant women
persons with mental, psychiatric or emotional disabilities
persons with physical disabilities
economically or educationally disadvantaged
prisoners
elderly
students from a class taught by principal investigator
other vulnerable population.
7.

If any of the above are used, state the necessity for doing so. Please indicate the approximate age range of
the minors to be involved.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 6

C.

PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED
1. In lay language, describe completely all procedures to be followed during the course of the
experimentation. Provide sufficient detail so that the Committee is able to assess potential risks to
human subjects. In order for the IRB to completely understand the experience of the subjects in your
project, please provide a detailed outline of everything subjects will experience as a result of
participating in your project. Please be specific and include information on all aspects of the
research, through subject recruitment and ending when the subject's role in the project is complete.
All descriptions should include the informed consent process, interactions between the subjects and
the researcher, and any tasks, tests, etc. that involve subjects. If the project involves more than one
group of subjects (e.g. teachers and students, employees and supervisors), please make sure to
provide descriptions for each subject group.
Participants will be involved in focus group and community meetings. Participants will be asked
to share opinions and to sign a waiver regarding their participation in the focus group.

2.

How much time will be required of each subject?

The meetings are expected to last for about six months.
D.

POTENTIAL RISKS
1. State the potential risks (psychological, social, physical, financial, legal or other) connected with the
proposed procedures and explain the steps taken to minimize these risks.
There are no known risks to individuals who agree to participate in the focus group.
2. Will there be a request for information that subjects might consider to be personal or sensitive (e.g.
private behavior, economic status, sexual issues, religious beliefs, or other matters that if made public
might impair their self-esteem or reputation or could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or
civil liability)?
No personally sensitive information will be requested. Individuals names and recreational
affiliation will be requested and phone number, for those who agree to being contacted by the
moderators or Board of Commissioners.
a. If yes, please describe and explain the steps taken to minimize these risks.

3. Could any of the study procedures produce stress or anxiety, or be considered offensive, threatening,
or degrading? If yes, please describe why they are important and what arrangements have been
made for handling an emotional reaction from the subject.
No, any stress felt by participants will not be induced directly by participation.
4. How will data be recorded and stored?
A recorder will keep minutes of the meetings and online data will be collected by participant
surveys and meeting attendance records. All data will be compiled by the moderators and shared
with the Board of Commissioners.
a. How will identifiers be used in study notes and other materials?
Personal identifiers for meeting attendance will be provided by the participants. Personal
identifiers in the survey are not requested. Comments made in open public meetings (not

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 7

recreational break-out groups) will only be identified as sir or madam, and any comments
pertaining to specific people will be masked within the official minutes.
b. How will reports will be written, in aggregate terms, or will individual responses be
described?
Reports will be written in aggregate terms.
5. If audio or video recordings are collected, will you retain or destroy the recordings? How will
recordings be stored during the project and after, as per your destruction/retention plans?
Group meetings will be recorded for the sole purpose of meeting minute transcription.
Recordings will be kept by the designated meeting recorder for transcription until the official
minutes are approved by the commissioners. At that time, the recordings will be deleted from all
recording devices.
6. Is there any deception of the human subjects involved in this study? If yes, please describe why it is
necessary and describe the debriefing procedures that have been arranged.
No. Physical attributes of meeting attendees has no bearing on the intent or purpose of the
meetings.

E.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS
This does not include any form of compensation for participation.
1. What, if any, direct benefit is to be gained by the subject? If no direct benefit is expected, but
indirect benefit may be expected (knowledge may be gained that could help others), please explain.
The only potential benefit to participation is having their opinions voiced regarding the potential
recreational expansions. Any direct benefits will only be gained by use of said facilities.

F.

COMPENSATION
Please keep in mind that the logistics of providing compensation to your subjects (e.g., if your business
office requires names of subjects who received compensation) may compromise anonymity or complicate
confidentiality protections. If, while arranging for subject compensation, you must make changes to the
anonymity or confidentiality provisions for your research, you must contact the IRB office prior to
implementing those changes.

1.

Describe compensation
There is no financial compensation for participants.

2.

Explain compensation provisions if the subject withdraws prior to completion of the study.
N/A

3.

If class credit will be given, list the amount and alternative ways to earn the same amount of credit.
N/A
G

COLLABORATORS
1. If you anticipate that additional investigators (other than those named on Cover Page) may be
involved in this research, list them here indicating their institution, department and phone number.
David Jones, Board Chairman

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 8

Randy Phillips, District Softball Director
Shannon Welch, District Baseball Director
2. Will anyone besides the PI or the research team have access to the data (including completed
surveys) from the moment they are collected until they are destroyed.
For participants who agree via the survey/meeting record, to be contacted by the Board of
Commissioners, their contact information will be shared with the Board, upon their request.
H.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
1. Do you have a significant financial interest or other conflict of interest in the sponsor of this project?
Yes, as I have a child who participates in recreational sports.
2. Does your current conflicts of interest management plan include this relationship and is it being
properly followed? Yes

1.

I.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If a questionnaire, survey or interview instrument is to be used, attach a copy to this proposal.

2.

Attach a copy of the informed consent form to this proposal.

3.

Please provide any additional materials that may aid the IRB in making its decision.
J.

HUMAN SUBJECT ETHICS TRAINING

*Please consider taking the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI), a free, comprehensive
ethics training program for researchers conducting research with human subjects. Just click on the
underlined link.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES 9

Peer Reviewed Article Analysis
Name :

Hussey, Susan

Course :

ECI 510 601 semester 2015

Title of Article :
Bibliography Citation :

Youth sport: positive and negative impact on young athletes

Merkel, D (2013).Youth sport: positive and negative impact on
young athletes. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 4, 151160.
doi:10.2147/OAJSM.S33556.2015.06.01

The research study article addresses the positive and negative impact that organized sports participation
has on school-aged children. The research states that while being active helps to combat the nearly 33% of
youth who suffer from obesity and other health conditions linked to an unhealthy lifestyle, it is the
responsibility of coaches, parents, school personnel, and other athletes to promote a safe and moral playing
environment for our youth.
The article states the study aimed to explore the physical, physiological, and social impact of sports
participation related to the participants. It is recommended that a child should be at least age 6 before joining an
organized sports team and that sport specialization should not occur until the early teenage years. Participation
positively affects the general health of players but there is the potential for injury, from accidents and from
repetitive motions in children that are still developing and growing. Mental health can also be positively
impacted through increased self-esteem and self-confidence (especially in girls), through the feelings of
comradery that can develop within teams, and leadership and time management skills that develop. Through
pressure from peers, coaches, and/or parents, mental health can also be negatively impacted potentially causing
feelings of inadequacy and increased stress levels that can then affect other aspects of their life.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES10

Title
The articles study title is clear as to the contents of the article and provides important details as to the
population, or participants, it will address and to the format style of its contents by addressing both sides of the
issue, or the variables, through details regarding both positive and negative repercussions. Overall the title was
specific and concise in informing viewers the intent and contents of the article. The title does not address a
theory, nor does it specify the type of research that was conducted to reach any conclusions.

Sampling
Sample size and demographics are not specific for the results shared within this article. The sampling is
based on youth participation in sports across the United States and it is stated that roughly 75% of US families
have a child that is involved in organized sports which is estimated to be at 45 million. Of that population, the
article addresses the percentage of players that quit the sport, become injured, and other valuable data but it is
not directed toward a specific sample size of the population. Overall the sampling was sufficient in addressing
the nationwide trend of youth sports participation and the potential for its positive and negative impact.
According to the article, one of the risks to youth athletes is the training, or lack thereof of the coaches
responsible for these players. Less than 20% of the 2-4 million coaches have received formal training,
according to Merkel (2013). The article also includes statistics regarding the negative impacts of participation,
for example the article indicates that 2.4 million emergency room visits each year from sports-related injuries in
youth aged 5-24 years of age. Although the article does speak to both sides of the issue, the statistics and
concrete data is more prevalent from the perceived negative impact of youth participation in sports when
participation is excessive.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES11

Survey Results - Online Tools Learned through Education Classes
This survey polled students currently enrolled at North Carolina State University, enrolled in the ECI 510
Research Applications in Curriculum and Instruction graduate course during the Summer I 2015 session. The
survey was opened to participants on May 27, 2015 and closed on June 4, 2015. A draft version was offered to
participants through May 31, 2015, at which time improvements were made to the survey from feedback
received and a new survey was posted.
Sample size for the survey was 11 participants (n=11) with each participant being asked to take the survey
a minimum of two times. The survey was started 24 times during the window but was only completed by 21
participants. A variety of reasons could have resulted in incomplete surveys, such as technical issues or
inability to complete survey at a single sitting, but they are unknown at this time. With a total of 21 responses,
the overall response rate was 21/22, or 95%. This was a very high response rate for a typical survey but the
response rate was affected by the classroom assignments that required each participant to take the survey twice.
Questions and Responses
1. What degree are you currently seeking?

89.5% of respondents are taking this class (ECI 510) as part of their graduate coursework.
2. If taking this class as part of a degree program, what degree/area of study are you seeking?
Nineteen responses were received which included: Digital Teaching and Learning, Masters in College
Counseling, School Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and Instructional Technology. Seven, or
38.9%, are working towards a counseling degree and 11, or 61.1%, are working towards a digital/technology
degree.
Note: One respondents answer was ghjjb which was removed from the calculation.
3. How many classes have you taken in your degree program?

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES12

The majority of respondents have taken two to nine classes in their degree program with 37% having taken two
to five classes and 24.3% having taken six to nine classes.
4. How have you taken classes towards your degree?

The majority of participants have taken all their classes via distance education through online only classes.
5.

Part One of the Question: Which of the following programs have you used in your classes while
seeking your degree?

During their instruction towards their degree, the majority of participants have used YouTube for class
assignments while a minority has used Gliffy or Animoto.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES13

The following image shows how the question appears within the survey.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES14

However, this is how the results appear in Qualtrics.

Data from this question is difficult to fully interpret as Qualtrics did not capture and report the entirety of the
question. It appears that Twitter and Weebly are used more often than the other web tools but without clear data
regarding Other, that statement could be incorrect. I do not know if this is a reporting error by the website or
as a new user I did not format the question and its responses correctly in order to be able to interpret the results.
6. What program that you have learned in a class while seeking your degree has been the most useful in
your profession?
This was an open-ended text response question. The results are shown below.
Weebly (3); Twitter (2); YouTube (2); Qualtrics (2); Moodle (1); Adobe Captivate (1); Google Drive and Google
Docs (1); Google Apps for Education (1); iMovie (1); and VoiceThread (1)
More participants indicated that Weebly has been the most useful program for their profession that they have
learned while seeking their degree.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES15

7. Briefly describe how you have used the program (chosen in question #6) in your profession.

8. Are you currently a classroom teacher?

The majority of survey participants, 69%, are classroom teachers.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES16

9.

Have you used the program (selected in #6) with your students in a classroom assignment?

Responses were almost equal for use of the program with students.
10. What opinion did your students have of the program?
Only six participants responded to this question. Of those six, 83.3%, or five, said that their students Liked it
Very Much while one responded with Liked Extremely.
11. What is your favorite technology tool that you have learned about in one of your classes? Briefly
describe why it is your favorite.
Open-ended text responses shown below.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES17

12. On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the technology tool to a colleague?

47.1% of participants are Extremely Likely to recommend their chosen technology tool to a colleague.
Participant Demographics
13. What is your gender?

Seventeen participants responded to this question and 94.1% were female.

14. What is your ethnicity?

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES18

The majority, or 65%, of respondents identify themselves as Caucasian. Based on the text responses to the
Other category, the African American percentage should be 35.3%, or 6 of 17.
15. What is your age? Please select the appropriate range.

The majority of respondents fall into the 18-25 years old range for a total of 47.1% with an additional 29.4%
falling into the 26-35 years old range.
16. What is your current profession?

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES19

8 of the 18 respondents, 44.4% identify themselves as teachers.

Conclusion
From the survey, the majority of the participants are white, female teachers who are between 18 and 25
years of age enrolled in graduate school. A preferred technology tool was not determined based on the survey
results but it was identified that YouTube and Weebly were the most commonly used tools in their graduate
classes. An interesting result was that when asked about their favorite web tool (question #6), the majority
answered that they had not used that tool with their students (question #9) and 11.7% were Extremely
Unlikely to recommend the web tool to a colleague. Skip rules were applied to a few questions within the
survey, but that information is not reported by Qualtrics to know if this question appeared even if the respondent
indicated that they were not a classroom teacher (question #8). Due to the limitations with the survey in regards
to sample size and variations within the demographic, these results do not provide a universal overview.

Ways to Improve Surveys

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES20

In the event of creating another survey, some areas need to be addressed to improve reporting and reduce
limitations of data received.
a. Make all questions required to capture uniform data across participants
b. Include Other or Not Applicable as an option for the majority of questions to have accurate
responses if all questions required
c. Limit use of skip rules unless necessary as Qualtrics results report does not capture that
information
d. Keep record of questions that have skip rules to know how to interpret results
e. Increase sample size to increase responses and hopefully vary the demographics
f. Distribute survey link to other graduate/doctorate curriculums to capture data on various web tools
used within their degree programs
g. If allowing review of survey prior to finalization, provide link to draft survey then provide different
link to revised survey to eliminate duplicate participants within survey results

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES21

Qualtrics Survey and Reporting
Through this course, I was introduced to a new survey application. In the past, when creating surveys, I
have always used Google because of the ease of creating the surveys and its reporting ability to extract survey
responses into a spreadsheet. It may be an option that I have not explored, but I was impressed with the chart
and graph functionality of Qualtrics.
My favorite learning experience with this assignment was learning about a new survey tool and its
capabilities. As someone who often creates charts and graphs in my job, I enjoyed the various chart and graph
options that were provided within the system when generating output reports. I was able to alternate between
available display options to select the one that I felt best graphically displayed the data. From the graphics, I
was then able to screen shot the images so that I could create a custom report.
The most challenging aspect of this activity for me was selecting a topic. Having had experience with
creating surveys, I was comfortable creating and formatting the questions and even integrating some of the skip
logic. I tried to experiment by developing questions that would best be answered using some of the answer
display options that I have not used in previous surveys.
Suggestions for improvement may only be suggestions because of the length of time that could be allotted to
this assignment during the summer session. If this activity is a part of the semester-long class, then I think the
data would be more valuable and informational if the survey could be administered to others outside of the class
or to a larger set of individuals. Additionally, if all assignments are grouped together for a single final project
report, it may be a more well-rounded learning experience if a common topic or theme is selected and applied to
each activity.
I am thankful for the opportunity to take this course and for the knowledge that I have gained because of it.
However, I am not a researcher and some of the tasks and in-depth analysis were difficult for me. This activity
was more comfortable to me because of my previous experience using surveys and my job-related tasks of
creating visual representations of data. I believe a lot of useful and valuable data can be obtained through
surveys, especially when they can be answered anonymously.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES22

FOCUS GROUP - RECREATION EXPANSION
The Johnsonville County Board of Commissioners has received community requests to expand the recreational
program in the southwest region of Rockville County, South Carolina. To determine the needs and the wants of
the area, a focus group meeting will be held with various members of the local recreational boards and
representatives of their organization. The goal of the focus group will be to establish procedures, a timeline,
and expectations for public meetings regarding the expansion.
There will be four phases:
1. Board of Commissioners will outline desired outcomes from public meetings and discuss details such as
focus group and community questions and timeline (start approximately six months prior to first public
meeting)
2. Board Chairman will contact district directors to share processes and ideas regarding meetings
3. District directors will recruit members from local recreational boards to be a part of the focus group
4. Board and focus group will plan and organize community meetings
Recruiting
The Board of Commissioners has decided to seek community input regarding the possible expansion of the
recreational program. As the leader of this group, the initial contact will be a phone call from the Board
Chairman to the District Directors for baseball and softball in the area. Secondary contact, outlining details and
information covered during initial contact phone conversation, will be made via email from the chairman to the
directors. A primary focus of the initial phase will be to recruit up to six representatives from each of the three
local recreation organizations. The Board Chairman will task the district directors with contacting their local
directors. Each of the three local recreational boards will be asked to recruit the following representatives for
the focus group to strive for equal representation of all areas:

Local board director

A male and female parent/guardian (not from same family) to represent softball
A male and female parent/guardian (not from same family) to represent baseball
A former board member or former coach
A current baseball coach
A current softball coach

The focus group membership should be a representation of current and former participants. Current
participants, either through parental involvement or coach/board involvement, are aware of the current
situations and possible conditions facing the recreational program in their area. Previous board members or
coaches are aware of challenges that the organization may have faced in the past and how it was overcome or
simply historical knowledge of the program.

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES23

Focus group members will be provided snacks and beverages. For any meetings that last more than 2 hours and
occur during a typical meal time, breakfast, lunch or dinner will be provided. A monetary incentive will not be
provided by the Board of Commissioners due to restrictions in using tax money to fund such an incentive. The
Board of Commissioners will allow flexibility amongst the local area recreational boards to provide incentives,
using their own funds, if needed to recruit focus group membership.
Planning
The initial focus group meeting will be held at the district recreational facility.
Materials required:

Sign-in sheet and pens

Snacks, drinks, napkins, cups and ice
Paper and pencils,
iPad/laptop,
Recording device (iPad, video camera)
Poster or cards to share Google survey link with participants

Initial questions will be provided via a Google document and link will be shared with participants so they may
complete on their devices or on a iPad/laptop that will be setup at meeting site. (Question list will be presented
to focus group and possible revisions may occur based on feedback before presented to attendees at community
meetings.) After a brief introduction and summary of the meetings agenda, each local recreational board will
break out into their mini-focus group for a short meeting to discuss their groups opinion on the expansion and
to determine any pros or cons that may exist if the expansion occurs at their facility. The mini-focus group will
also discuss any pros and cons that they feel exist for expansion at the other local recreational facilities. The
mini-groups will gather together to share information gathered during their breakout session. After the initial
meeting, focus group members will discuss the possibility of rotating meeting locations amongst the local
recreational fields. The district recreational board secretary will be in attendance to maintain the attendance list
and keep a record of the minutes of the meeting. An audio recording will also be taken in the large focus group
sessions to allow privacy within the mini-focus group sessions and to encourage more participation than may
occur if the meetings were video recorded. The initial focus group meeting will be scheduled approximately 5
months prior to the first community meeting with the anticipation of meeting once a month to finalize meeting
agenda and priorities.
Moderating

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES24

The district directors (one over baseball and one over softball) will serve as moderators for the initial focus
group meetings as the chosen leaders for their non-profit organization. The Board chairman (or designee) will
serve a supportive role and to answer any public questions. In their elected position, board members and
district/local directors will not be financially compensated for their participation. While each attendee will be
asked to sign in to account for their attendance, an anonymous survey will also be provided to solicit feedback
and responses from the attendees. When meetings are held in the communities, the local board director will
serve as the moderator with support from the local commissioner and the district directors. Attendees may feel
more comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions to someone they know and is from their community.
Signed Releases
Each participant will be asked to sign a document stating their name, recreational affiliation, and position within
the affiliation. The form will outline information pertaining to the meetings, provide a timeline of future
meetings, and discuss their willingness to serve as a member of the focus group/liaison for their affiliation. As a
member of the focus group, they will be asked to maintain confidentiality regarding discussions during each
meeting and to not speak about issues or topics with their communities until asked by the moderators or Board
of Commissioners. The release will signify the participants agreement to be audio-recorded during the focus
group meeting.
Questions List-Initial Questions for Demographics/Attendance Sign-In
1. What is your name? (First and Last)
2. Which local recreation organization are you representing? (Dropdown menu provided)
3. What is your position within the organization? Select all that apply.
a. Recreation Director
b. Recreation board member
c. Former board member
d. Current coach of baseball
e. Current coach of softball
f. Former coach
g. Other
4. How many years were you/ have you been involved with your recreation department as a board member
or coach?
a. 0-2 years
b. 3-5 years
c. 6+ years
5. Do we have permission to contact you if needed regarding the recreational expansion?
a. Yes
b. No
(If yes, question #6 would display.)
6. I prefer to be contacted by:

RESEARCH PRACTICES AND STUDIES25

a. Cell phone (text box to provide number)
b. Home phone (text box to provide number)
Information regarding attendees will be shared with local recreation directors. Information regarding
individuals who agree to be contacted if needed will be shared with the district directors or Board of
Commissioners upon request.
Questions in Anonymous Section
These questions will be discussed in the mini-focus group breakout sections by each represented recreational
area to generate group discussion and determine if attendees share similar or differing opinions on the proposal.
Participants will be provided access to also answer these questions anonymously and to later share with the
larger community meetings to allow everyone to have an opportunity to provide input.
1. Which recreational organization are you representing? (Dropdown menu provided)
2. Do you believe that a recreational expansion is needed in the area?
a. Yes
b. No
3. If no, why not? Be specific. (Text box provided)
4. If yes, why? Be specific. (Text box provided)
5. Do you believe members of your community would support a recreation expansion? Explain. (Text box
provided)
6. If the expansion is approved, do you have any recommendations for the location of any new recreational
fields? (Text box provided)
7. Which recreational area do you believe is best suited for the expansion? Please provide reasoning.
8. Which recreational area do you believe is least suited for the expansion? Please provide reasoning.
Focus group membership, meeting attendance, minutes of focus group meetings, and results from anonymous
survey will be compiled into a comprehensive report and provided to the Board of Commissioners no later than
three months prior to their first next fiscal year budget meeting. As a member of the local and district board, I
will serve as meeting registrar and recorder at each are meeting and help compile information for the final
report.

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Interviews and Focus Groups
Focus Group Plan Activity
For the Focus Group Plan, I tried to draw from areas of my own life to help me develop a plan for a
fictitious situation. Having been emerged in recreational sports in my area since January of this year, it was
easy to take real life situations and translate it into a plan that could work for this assignment. It is nice to know
that I already have an initial plan if this situation ever becomes reality.
The most challenging aspect of the activity was deciding on the concept. It is always interesting to me that
when you pick a topic how you come up with more and more ideas related to the area once you start organizing
your thoughts. As I mentioned earlier, the amount of time that could be devoted to this activity probably limited
its instruction and application. Also mentioned earlier, I think a common theme throughout each assignment
may have yielded even greater submitted works as the students would be focused on a singular topic. Having
not participated personally in a focus group, it was interesting to me to read through my classmates thoughts
and ideas related to the topic as they described their topics and activities surrounding their focus group.

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Interview Activity
I enjoyed the interview activity and learning about the different situations and conditions that should be
considered when conducting an interview like location, familiarity with the subject, and surrounding
distractions.
The most challenging aspect of the activity, beyond scheduling a time to conduct the interview, was the
transcription. It took much longer to type out the conversation than for it to actually occur and required the
pausing and replaying of the audio multiple times in some cases to get the wording correct. To improve the
activity for other classes, I think it would be informative to select more than one subject and to require varying
demographics to exist amongst participants either by age or gender to gather comparative data. It was very
interesting to me to read how others in the class conducted their interviews and even went so far as to describe
what their interviewees were wearing and they relationship they had with the individuals.

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Problem Sheet: Purpose, Research Question & Justification

1. My working Title is:

Recreational Expansion in Southwest Johnsonville County, South Carolina

2. My research problem stated as purpose is:

The need for recreational expansion has been requested by the community and the Board of
Commissioners wishes to seek community feedback after initial conversations with focus group
participants.

3. My research question(s) is/are:

Does the community of southwest Johnsonville County in South Carolina support or need a expansion
to their recreational program that is funded by the Johnsonville County Board of Commissioners?

4. Following are key terms in the problem or question that are not clear and thus need to be defined:
a. Need for Expansion
b. Area for Expansion
c. Community Opinion of Expansion

d. Cost of Expansion
e. Focus Group members
f. Timeline of meetings and breaking ground

5. Here are my definitions of these terms:

Need expansion will be defined based on community feedback.
Area for expansion will be determined based on maps of available land in or near pre-existing facilities.
Focus group members will be defined by the district board and the local recreational board directors.

6. Here are my variables of interest:

Current recreational programs and the community support of the expansion.

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7. My justification for investigating this question/problem (why I would argue that it is an important question
to investigate) is as follows:
The community has requested this expansion for several years an the Board of Commissioners believe
they are at a point financially to look into the specifics of the request and the need and want of the affected
communities.

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References
Pyrczak, F. (2008). Evaluating research in academic journals: A practical guide to realistic evaluation.
Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Pub.
Nestor, P. G., & Schutt, R. K. (2014). Research methods in psychology: Investigating human behavior.
Sage Publications.