The Field Of Elearning Qualitative, Quantitative, And...

When conducting research in the field of elearning, there are three methods that are considered: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods. Within the research method, there are many research designs that may be used depending on the type of research being conducted. Case studies, interviews, focus groups, and the analyzation of documents are all common research designs to gather qualitative data. Quantitative data are collected using research designs such as questionnaires that yield numeric responses. A mixed-methods approach uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative designs (Yilmaz, 2013). Regardless of which method and design a scholar in the field of elearning selects, he or she must follow ethical guidelines and†¦show more content†¦While the above study identified forty-nine ethical issues placed in seven categories (Foo Wilson, 2012), Northcentral University identifies eight issues students must take into consideration when conducting and reporting research. The eight issues are plagiarism, risk assessment, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, data handling and reporting, mistakes and negligence, working with a mentor, and Northcentral University requirements for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Below, each of these issues will be discussed in further detail. Applying Published Ethical Guidelines and Concepts to Research Plagiarism, risk assessment, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, data handling and reporting, mistakes and negligence, working with a mentor, and Northcentral University requirements for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval are all imperative parts of the dissertation process that require careful attention to avoid any unethical practices that could occur, whether intentional or unintentional. Plagiarism is the act of taking previously written work and using it as an original piece of writing (Ison, 2014). Risk assessment, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, data handling and reporting, as well as mistakes and negligence are all ethical issues found in the process of conducting research.