Research Design


 
 


A
research
design
to



 Increase
Attendance
at
New
Student
Orientation
 
 
 
 Michelle
R.
Perroni




Jennifer
Barnes




Daniel
Rex
Jenson



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Step
1:
Select
a
Problem.
 
 This
research
study
is
intended
to
help
Brigham
Young
University‐Idaho
find
a
way
to
 increase
its
new
student
orientation
numbers.

As
you
can
see
from
the
chart
below
the
 numbers
of
students
who
attend
new
student
orientation
at
Brigham
Young
University‐
 Idaho
has
been
between
25‐66%
since
Winter
of
2007.


 































































































































2007







2008







Goal New students participating in Get Connected Based on percent of new admitted students attending 1st Day events

Winter Summer Fall

25% 32% 48%

33% 43% 66%

30% 45% 75%

The
rise
in
attendance
in
Fall
2008
happened
at
the
same
time
there
was
a
new
use
of
the
 word
“required”
in
all
new
student
orientation
material
sent
out
to
future
students
and
 their
parents.

Starting
Fall
2009,
the
administration
has
asked
that
the
orientation
material
 no
longer
say
that
orientation
is
“required.”

The
university
is
now
concerned
that
 attendance
will
start
to
drop.
 
 This
study
will
perform
research
that
will
help
to
determine
what
motivation
or
activities
 that
BYU‐Idaho
can
use
in
order
to
encourage
its
students
to
attend
new
student
 orientation
in
order
to
increase
attendance.
 
 Is
the
topic
too
broad?
 
 
No,
this
topic
is
not
too
broad.
This
study
is
focusing
on
the
freshmen
students
of
colleges
 across
the
United
States.
This
study
has
a
specific
question,
a
specific
and
realistic
target
 audience,
and
new
student
orientation
attendance
is
something
that
colleges
probably
 record.
 
 Can
the
problem
really
be
investigated?

 
 Yes,
this
problem
can
be
investigated.
The
new
students
are
defined
as
any
incoming
 students
that
will
be
taking
at
least
12
credits
their
first
semester
and
have
never
attended
 the
particular
university
for
credit.
Four
year
universities
across
the
United
States
have
 new
student
orientation,
so
it
should
not
be
a
problem
to
do
the
study.

 
 Can
the
data
be
analyzed?

 
 Yes,
there
are
records
kept
of
how
many
students
are
attending
orientation,
and
the
 freshmen
students
on
campuses
can
easily
be
located
and
questioned
to
find
out
sources
of
 the
problem.
This
study
will
be
able
to
use
the
recorded
data
and
data
from
freshmen
 students
to
analyze
the
problem.



 Is
the
problem
significant?

 
 Yes,
the
problem
is
significant.
Campuses
across
the
United
States
want
their
students
to
be
 orientated
towards
the
schools
in
which
they
are
attending.

Many
studies
show
that
new
 student
orientation
is
a
vital
part
of
a
new
student’s
educational
experience.
 
 Most
universities
spend
a
lot
of
money
to
welcome
the
new
students
and
to
help
them
 discover
the
college
campus
and
all
it
has
to
offer.
If
students
are
not
attending
orientation,
 they
are
letting
good
money
go
to
waste
and
ignoring
an
opportunity
the
school
gives
them
 to
familiarize
themselves
with
the
school.
 
 Can
the
results
of
the
study
be
generalized?


 
 Yes,
this
study
can
be
generalized
and
has
external
validity.
This
study
will
be
able
to
be
 applied
to
schools
across
the
United
States
and
may
also
help
any
school,
company,
or
 other
group
in
helping
get
people
to
orientation
meetings.
 
 What
costs
and
time
are
involved
in
this
analysis?

 
 This
analysis
would
not
be
too
costly
because
the
research
methods
have
minimal
expense,
 but
it
would
require
some
time
that
would
have
to
be
invested
in
this
analysis.
The
 researcher
will
have
to
query
various
colleges
nationwide
and
record
the
resulting
data.
 Then
the
researcher
would
need
to
come
up
with
ways
to
question
and
survey
the
new
 students
about
why
they
are
not
attending
the
orientation.
 
 Is
the
planned
approach
appropriate
to
the
project?

 
 This
approach
is
appropriate
to
the
project.
The
researcher
will
have
to
come
up
with
some
 more
innovative
ways
to
survey
and
interview
the
students
to
get
accurate
information
of
 why
they
do
not
attend
new
student
orientation.
 
 Is
there
any
potential
harm
to
the
subject?

 
 No,
there
will
be
no
harm
to
the
subjects.
This
study
is
merely
trying
to
find
out
why
new
 students
are
not
attending
new
student
orientation
and
what
universities
can
do
to
 influence
new
students
to
attend.
 
 
 


Objectives
and
Parameters
 
 The
main
objective
of
this
study
is
to
find
out
why
students
are
not
attending
new
student
 orientation.
This
study
will
also
look
into
what
universities
are
doing
to
help
increase
 orientation
attendance.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Step
2:
Review
existing
research
and
theory.
 
 The
first
set
of
existing
research
compiled
in
this
folder
is
a
survey
done
by
Brigham
Young
 University‐Idaho’s
Student
Spirit
Events.

It
shows
how
students
that
attended
freshmen
 orientation
perceived
the
activities
they
attended.

These
survey
results
show
that
once
 students
attend
orientation
they
enjoy
it
and
feel
it
is
valuable,
but
the
school
is
still
 struggling
to
get
students
to
attend.

The
study
for
this
project
will
help
Brigham
Young
 University‐Idaho
find
an
effective
way
to
motivate
and
entice
their
new
students
to
attend
 new
student
orientation.


 
 The
next
case
study
is
called
“Integrating
Technology
into
new
student
orientation
 programs
at
community
colleges,”
by
Michael
T.
Miller
and
Myron
L.
Pope.

It
is
directly
 applicable
to
this
research
design
because
it
talks
about
the
process
of
implementing
new
 elements
into
new
student
orientation
programs
at
community
colleges.
This
research
 design
is
pursuing
a
similar
process,
except
with
privately
funded
universities.

 Here
are
a
few
quotes
from
this
case
study
that
helped
promote
the
credibility
of
this
 research
design:
 “New
student
orientation
programs
build
an
‘espirit
de
corps’
among
new
students,
 providing
them
the
confidence
and
social
support
network
necessary
for
their
academic
 and
personal
success.”
(pg.
17)
 “Students
enrolled
in
an
extended
orientation
program
in
a
community
college
were
more
 likely
to
persist
and
actually
performed
academically
better
than
their
non‐enrolled
 counterparts.
Positive
orientation
program
experiences
have
also
been
correlated
to
 personal
self‐esteem
and
self‐image,
involvement
academic
performance
and
overall
 institutional
satisfaction.
“
(pg.
17)
 “Orientation
programs
do
a
great
deal
to
define
what
students
should
expect
from
their
 new
institution
and
in
turn
are
powerful
tools
for
defining
the
expected
behavior
of
new
 students.”

(pg.
17)
 This
case
study
also
utilized
a
survey
instrument
to
gain
student
opinions
on
how
to
 incorporate
new
technology
programs
into
new
student
orientation
programs.
This
is
 similar
to
this
research
design
as
it
is
incorporating
student
suggestions
on
what
elements
 to
include
in
orientations
to
motivate
more
students
to
attend.

 The
third
study
found
is
called
“Evaluating
Orientation
Week
Program,"
by
William
S.
 Guthrie.
It
is
relevant
to
this
research
because
it
shows
how
important
it
is
to
survey
 students
on
specific
parts
of
orientation.


It
is
important
and
helpful
to
this
study
because
it
 gives
the
researcher
data
to
compare
in
the
evaluation
stage
of
the
project.



The
fourth
study
found
is
entitled
"Orientation
to
College
and
Freshman
year
 Persistence/Withdrawal
Decisions,"
by
Ernest
T.
Pascarella.
This
study
investigates
the
 impact
of
orientation
attendance
upon
a
student’s
college
life.

This
study
helps
to
show
 that
this
problem
is
significant
because
it
has
an
impact
on
thousands
of
students
every
 year.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Step
3:
Research
questions.
 
 
Why
don’t
all
new
students
in
the
United
States
attend
new
student
orientation
at
his
or
 her
chosen
university?
What
would
motivate
them
to
attend?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Step
4:
Determine
an
appropriate
methodology/research
design.
 1. 
Explain
in
detail
what/who
constitutes
your
total
populations.
How
are
we
going
 to
obtain
a
list
of
universities
and
will
you
utilize
a
census
of
your
population?
 Will
you
utilize
sampling?

What
type
of
sampling
will
you
use?

Will
it
be
 probability
or
non
probability
sampling?

Can
you
compute
your
sampling
error?
 
 
The
population
for
part
one
of
the
study,
the
experiment,
will
come
from
20
randomly
 selected
religiously
affiliated
private
universities
with
tuition
between
$1,000
and
 $10,000
a
semester.

The
students
randomly
chosen
for
this
study
will
consist
of
500
 incoming
new
students
from
these
universities.


 
 The
universities
will
be
chosen
from
the
list
by
simple
random
sampling.

All
of
the
 universities
that
fit
the
sample
qualifications
will
be
put
into
a
pool
on
Excel
and
20
of
 the
universities
will
be
randomly
selected
for
this
study.
 
 To
obtain
a
random
sample
of
students
from
the
list
of
students
obtained
from
each
 selected
university,
systematic
random
sampling
will
be
used.

All
of
the
admitted
 incoming
new
students
will
be
compiled
into
one
list
that
will
be
put
into
alphabetical
 order
by
last
name.

Every
nth
subject
(depending
on
how
many
subjects
are
in
our
 lists)
will
be
chosen
from
the
list
to
obtain
the
500
members
of
the
sample.
 
 The
population
for
part
two
of
this
study
will
be
chosen
in
a
non‐random
manner.

The
 studies
population
will
consist
of
21
religiously
affiliated
private
universities
with
 tuition
between
$1,000
and
$10,000
a
semester.

The
population
will
include
seven
 universities
in
each
category
that
have
the
following
percent
of
students
that
attend
 freshmen
orientation:
 
 • Below
33.33%
 • Between
33.34%‐66.67%
 • Between
66.68%‐
100%
 
 A
list
of
private
universities
within
the
population
criteria
will
be
obtained
through
 internet
research.

There
is
no
known
list
of
these
universities
already
compiled,
so
the
 researcher
will
have
to
compile
it
themselves.


 
 After
a
list
of
the
universities
is
obtained,
a
list
of
the
incoming
new
students
for
each
 university
will
be
obtained
from
the
admissions
office
at
each
university.

This
study
 will
not
include
a
census
of
every
student
at
each
of
the
schools.

The
students
and
 universities
will
be
chosen
by
probability
sampling.
In
order
to
persuade
the
 universities
to
give
the
researcher
the
lists,
they
will
promise
a
copy
of
their
results
to
 the
universities
who
participate,
therefore
increasing
their
ability
to
reform
their
new
 student
orientation
programs.
 


For
the
first
part
of
the
study
the
researcher
will
be
able
to
know
what
their
sampling
 error
is
because
it
is
random.

The
second
part
of
the
study
is
non‐random,
so
the
 researcher
will
not
be
able
to
know
what
his
sampling
error
is.
 
 2. 

Will
you
use
qualitative
or
quantitative
(or
both)
research?

What
type
of
 qualitative/quantitative
research
will
you
use?
 This
research
design
will
incorporate
both
qualitative
and
quantitative
research.

This
 triangulation
will
be
important
to
help
gain
an
accurate
measurement
and
 understanding
of
why
students
are
not
attending
their
new
student
college
orientation
 programs,
and
how
to
increase
the
number
of
participants.

 The
main
source
of
information
gathering
that
will
be
used
in
this
design
will
be
 surveys,
since
the
purpose
will
be
to
gain
information
from
multiple
colleges
and
 universities
around
the
United
States.
The
structure
of
the
included
survey
will
provide
 this
study
with
both
qualitative
and
quantitative
information.

 There
will
be
places
on
the
survey
where
the
respondent
will
be
asked
to
fill
in
their
 opinion.

With
the
variety
of
answers
that
will
be
given
by
respondents
in
these
blanks,
 this
information
will
not
be
able
to
be
quantified.


The
information
can
be
quantified
 when
the
respondent
is
given
choices
to
select,
or
is
asked
to
rank
choices
on
the
 survey.

 Further
quantitative
information
will
be
gathered
by
personally
calling
the
second
 population
group,
the
selected
universities
in
each
percentage
group,
to
obtain
the
 percentage
of
attendance
at
their
new
student
orientations
over
the
past
three
years
 and
the
length
and
frequency
of
their
new
student
orientations.

Qualitative
information
 will
be
provided
when
asking
the
universities
about
motivations
the
universities
may
 be
using
to
get
their
students
to
the
orientation
and
what
events
and
information
their
 programs
provide
at
their
various
orientations.

 This
information
will
be
quantified
by
compiling
it
into
tables
so
the
researcher
can
 compare
what
activities/motivations
the
colleges
with
high
percentages
of
attendees
 are
utilizing
compared
to
what
the
universities
with
lower
percentages
of
attendees
are
 utilizing.
 The
qualitative
information
gathered
will
help
the
researcher
answer
the
second
part
of
 the
research
question
–
how
to
motivate
more
students
to
attend
their
new
student
 orientation
programs.
The
initial
surveys
will
contain
questions
inquiring
whether
each
 student
plans
on
attending
their
orientation,
why
or
why
not,
and
what
they
would
like
 included
in
their
orientation
program
that
would
further
motivate
them
to
attend.
The
 follow‐up
surveys
will
be
given
after
the
orientations
have
been
held.
They
will
ask
the
 participants
what
they
liked
and
didn’t
like
about
their
program
and
what
they
would
 change
to
make
it
more
effective
and
enticing
to
future
new
students.
This
information
 will
be
vital
in
making
the
design
effective
and
offering
colleges
with
proposed
solutions
 to
increase
the
attendance
at
their
new
student
orientation
programs.

 


3. Explain
how
you
will
ensure
internal
validity.
 To
ensure
internal
validity
researchers
want
to
make
sure
the
study
really
investigates
 the
proposed
research
question;
Why
don’t
all
freshmen
attend
new
student
orientation
 and
what
would
motivate
them
to
attend?
 
 In
doing
research,
the
researcher
will
have
to
be
aware
of
artifacts
that
may
arise.
To
 keep
internal
validity,
certain
emphasis
can
be
placed
on:
 1. 
Cross
Validation:
This
would
ensure
the
random
sample
of
students
is
 answering
questions
honestly.
This
will
help
researchers
to
find
real
and
 relevant
answers
to
why
students
don’t
attend
and
why
they
would
want
to
 attend.

 This
study
will
cross
validate
by
gaining
information
from
university
officials
 through
phone
inquiries
and
also
from
students
survey
results.
When
 researchers
collect
they
data,
they
can
compare
it
to
see
if
any
patterns
 emerge.
This
will
help
researchers
to
see
if
the
universities
tactics
are
 matching
up
with
student
opinions,
needs
and
expectations.





2. Put
Aside
Bias:
Researchers
all
have
preconceived
notions
about
the
 number
of
students
who
attend
orientation
and
why
they
attend.
During
the
 research
they
will
be
required
to
set
aside
their
opinions
and
rely
on
the
facts
 and
information
they
discover
as
they
are
researching.
 
 3. Careful
Selection
of
Schools
Sampled
and
Careful
Analyzing
of
New
 Student
Orientation
Statistics
Gained
from
Them:
Researchers
will
want
 to
make
sure
the
schools
they
choose
are
related
either
by
size,
tuition
cost,
 morals,
or
some
other
factor.
When
they
gain
statistics
about
their
new
 student
orientation
they
will
make
sure
they
only
use
those
that
answer
the
 research
question
or
help
them
have
an
understanding
of
vital
information
 relating
to
their
research
question.
The
schools
in
the
population
for
this
 study
are
related
by
tuition
costs,
religious
affiliation,
and
the
number
of
 students
who
have
previously
attended
new
student
orientation.
 
 4. Explain
how
you
will
ensure
external
validity?
 
 
To
keep
this
study
externally
valid,
random
samples
from
a
population
that
is
 representative
of
the
universities
being
studied
will
be
utilized.

The
reason
why
this
 study
is
being
compiled
is
to
help
Brigham
Young
University‐Idaho
increase
their
new
 student
orientation
numbers.

Since
our
population
will
be
randomly
selected,
private
 religiously
affiliated
universities,
this
study
will
be
able
to
be
utilized
by
any
private
 religiously
affiliated
university
in
the
United
States
within
the
population
specifications.
 
 
 


5. Will
you
use
an
experiment?
What
will
be
your
independent
and
dependent
 variables?
What
type
of
manipulation
will
you
use?
 
 The
first
part
of
the
study
will
be
an
experiment
utilizing
surveys.
There
will
be
an
 experiment
incorporated
into
this
research
design
that
will
gather
information
to
 answer
the
research
question.
The
format
of
the
experiment
will
go
as
follows:
 


R



O1











O2
 R



O3



X1



O4
 R



O5



X2



O6
 R



O7



X3



O8
 


The
Rs
represent
the
random
samples
that
will
be
obtained
from
each
of
the
target
 schools.
Each
random
sample
will
consist
of
125
new
students
who
fit
into
the
 population
for
this
study.
 
 The
Os
represent
the
observations
that
will
be
made
on
each
of
the
groups
of
students.
 The
first
set
of
observations
will
consist
of
an
initial
survey
sent
by
email
to
each
of
the
 125
sample
students.
The
questions
will
include
inquiries
of
whether
they
plan
on
 attending
their
new
student
orientation,
why
or
why
not,
what
they
would
like
to
see
 included
in
their
program
and
if
they
are
not
planning
on
attending
what
would
 motivate
them
to
attend
(see
survey).
 
 The
Xs
represent
the
manipulation
which
will
be
placed
on
each
of
the
random
samples.
 Each
group
will
receive
a
different
manipulation,
which
will
consist
of
an
addition
to
 their
orientation
program.
These
manipulations
will
be
determined
according
to
the
top
 three
responses
received
in
the
ranking
section
on
the
pre
survey.

 
 The
second
set
of
observation
will
consist
of
a
follow‐up
survey
sent
to
each
of
the
same
 125
sample
students
from
each
target
school.
The
surveys
will
ask
if
they
participated
 in
their
new
student
orientation,
how
effective
they
thought
the
addition
to
their
 orientation
(their
specific
manipulation)
was
and
what
they
would
do
to
further
 improve
their
school’s
orientation
program
to
be
more
beneficial
and
attractive
to
 future
students.

 
 The
first
group
will
be
the
control
group
as
it
does
not
include
a
manipulation.
The
 sample
from
that
school
will
receive
an
initial
and
follow
up
survey
as
well,
but
their
 orientation
will
have
no
additions
made
to
it.
It
will
take
place
as
it
always
has.
The
 results
from
the
remaining
groups
will
be
compared
to
see
which
manipulation,
or
 addition
to
their
orientation
program,
was
the
most
effective
in
increasing
the
number
 of
new
student
attendees.
This
will
help
target
motivational
techniques
to
recommend
 to
the
universities
to
increase
the
participation
in
their
new
student
orientations.

 
 The
independent
variables
in
this
experiment
are
the
activities
that
will
be
changed
at
 each
sample
orientation
to
test
motivational
effectiveness.
The
dependant
variables
are
 the
sample
students
from
each
of
the
target
schools.




 
 6. 
Explain
what
measurement
levels
(Nominal,
ordinal,
interval,
ratio)
you
will
use.
 Give
specific
examples.
 Researchers
will
use
the
following
measurement
levels:
 
 1.
Nominal:
 a.
When
compiling
the
research
results,
students
who
attend
new
student
 orientation
will
be
assigned
to
group
one
and
students
who
do
not
attend
new
 student
orientation
will
be
assigned
to
group
two.
 b.
Researchers
could
also
assign
different
schools
to
a
different
number
to
keep
 track
of
the
universities’
results.
 
 2.
Ordinal:
 a.

In
the
research
there
will
be
times,
like
on
the
survey,
where
researchers
will
be
 asking
the
students
to
rank
how
they
like
certain
orientation
activities
and
aspects.
 Because
they
may
like
some
aspects
more
than
others,
there
is
no
way
to
measure
 the
distance
between
the
things
they
like
the
most
and
the
least.
 b.
Researchers
will
also
be
ranking
different
activities
and
which
are
more
effective
 for
new
student
orientation.
There
is
not
a
certain
way
to
measure
how
much
more
 one
works,
so
this
is
ordinal.
 
 3.
Ratio:
 a.
In
collecting
data
for
attendance
researchers
will
use
measure
in
ratio.
How
many
 students
attended?
0,5,200
etc…
 b.
How
many
students
filled
out
surveys
and
how
many
people
answered
each
of
the
 questions
the
same?
 
 7. Explain
how
you
will
ensure
that
all
who
participate
in
your
research
project
will
 adhere
to
ethical
standards.

Are
there
any
potential
ethical
problems?
 
 
In
this
study
major
ethical
dilemmas
like
maleficence
probably
will
not
be
an
issue,
but
the
 researchers
that
are
a
part
of
this
study
will
need
to
make
sure
that
the
rights
of
the
 participants
are
adhered
to.

The
participants
of
this
study
will:
 
 • Not
be
coerced
to
participate
 • Not
be
harmed
 • Be
treated
with
respect
 • Be
informed
of
every
aspect
of
the
research
project
including
why
they
will
be
 studied
and
where
the
research
results
will
be
shown
 • Be
confidential
and
anonymous
 • Not
be
exposed
to
physical
or
mental
harm
of
an
kind
 • Not
be
lead
to
commit
acts
that
diminish
his
or
her
self
respect.
 


8. 
Will
you
utilize
longitudinal
research?
Content
Analysis?
 
 This
research
design
will
be
using
a
trend
study
as
its
longitudinal
research.
The
trend
 study
will
require
researchers
to
email
surveys
to
different
random
samples
of
new
college
 students
before
and
after
their
college
does
a
new
student
orientation
program.
As
this
 design
is
repeatable,
it
will
be
encouraged
that
the
researcher
distributes
these
surveys
to
 different
students
at
the
same
colleges
for
an
average
of
five
years.
This
will
enable
the
 researcher
to
compile
the
survey
results
and
analyze
the
data
to
be
able
to
advise
the
 colleges
which
elements
of
their
orientations
are
the
most
effective
and
suggest
different
 elements
to
include.
The
goal
is
to
improve
the
orientation
programs
each
year
and
see
the
 number
of
attendees
increase
accordingly.
 
 This
research
design
also
incorporates
cohort
analysis.
This
study
is
focusing
on
the
 traditional
new
students
who
are
entering
college
for
the
first
time,
and
are
therefore
in
the
 same
cohort.
This
is
an
advantage
for
this
study
because
it
will
enable
the
researcher
to
see
 if
any
patterns
emerge
that
can
be
attributed
to
the
subjects’
generational
habits
and
 opinions.

 
 There
is
no
content
analysis
to
be
utilized
in
this
research
design
because
it
is
not
analyzing
 any
form
of
the
media.

 
 9. 

Explain
what
basic
statistical
procedures
will
be
required
to
complete
your
 research
project.
 
 a.
Researchers
will
be
able
to
use
our
data
by
arranging
it
into
a
frequency
distribution.
 Researchers
can
use
this
when
we
are
looking
at
how
many
students
from
each
college
 attend
the
orientation
and
when
they
are
comparing
the
different
things
students
say
 would
encourage
them
to
attend.
 b.
Discovering
the
mean,
median,
and
mode
of
student’s
attendance
between
the
schools
 researchers
sample
will
also
help
them
to
complete
their
research.

 
 c.
Researchers
will
also
be
able
to
use
the
central
tendency
to
discover
the
typical
number
 of
students
who
generally
attend
new
student
orientation
between
the
schools
they
 sample.
Researchers
can
also
use
the
central
tendency
to
see
the
typical
answers
students
 are
giving
on
surveys
to
interpret
reasons
they
would
attend
new
student
orientation.
 
 
 
 
 


Step
5:

Collect
relevant
data.


 The
data
for
the
first
part
of
the
research
design
will
be
collected
in
the
form
of
surveys
 distributed
to
random
samples
of
new
students
from
each
of
our
target
universities.
The
 first
survey
will
be
given
to
the
students
prior
to
their
college’s
new
student
orientation
 program
to
get
a
sense
of
general
attitudes
toward
these
programs.
The
second
survey
will
 be
given
to
the
students
as
a
follow
up
after
their
orientation
programs
are
held
to
get
their
 feedback
and
see
if
attitudes
have
changed
at
all.
 
Both
sets
of
surveys
will
be
distributed
via
e‐mail.
The
researcher
will
obtain
a
list
of
 student
e‐mail
addresses
from
each
of
the
target
universities.
This
will
increase
the
 response
rate
because
the
upcoming
generations
are
very
technologically
inclined
and
 prefer
to
give
information
electronically.
This
generation
checks
their
e‐mail
very
 frequently
for
important
information.

The
electronic
format
of
the
surveys
will
make
it
 easier
for
the
students
to
fill
out
the
surveys
by
clicking
a
few
boxes
and
typing
a
few
short
 responses.
Because
they
can
types
their
responses,
the
students
do
not
have
to
worry
about
 their
spelling
or
handwriting.
To
return
the
surveys,
the
respondents
just
have
to
click
 send.


 For
the
second
part
of
the
research
design,
the
researcher
will
call
universities
within
the
 population
to
obtain
the
following
information:
 • Percentage
of
attendance
at
their
new
student
orientations
over
the
past
three
years
 • The
length
and
frequency
of
their
new
student
orientations
 • Motivations
the
universities
may
be
using
to
get
their
students
to
the
orientation
 • Events
and
information
their
programs
provide
at
their
various
orientations.

 This
information
will
be
relevant
to
this
study
because
it
will
help
the
researcher
to
see
 what
universities
are
doing
at
their
new
student
orientation
programs
that
are
encouraging
 attendance.
 
 



 
 








Post
Survey


Pre
Survey
 Do
you
plan
on
attending
your
new
student
college
 orientation?


Did
you
attend
your
new
student
college
orientation
 program?


YES




NO


YES


If
yes,
what
benefits
do
you
think
you
will
gain
by
 attending?


If
no,
why
didn’t
you
attend?


________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
 If
no,
why
don’t
you
plan
on
attending?
 ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
 Please
rank
the
top
3
elements
you
would

like
to
 see
included
in
your
orientation
program
in
order
 of
importance:
 ____
Sorority/Fraternity
involvement
 
 ____
Information
on
specific
major
requirements
 ____
Social
activities











____
Assigned
peer
groups
for
orientation
 ____
Free
food

















NO


________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
 Was
the
inclusion
of
(insert
specific
manipulation)
 effective
in
motivating
you
to
attend?
 YES





NO






SOMEWHAT


Do
you
think
it
would
be
beneficial
to
make
(insert
 specific
manipulation)
a
permanent
part
of
your
 school’s
orientation?
 YES





NO


Why?­ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
 What
other
elements
would
you
include
in
the
 orientation
program
to
motivate
future
new
 students
to
attend?


____
Tours
of
Housing
Complexes


________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________


Other
___________________________________


What
is
your
gender?


If
these
top
3
elements
were
included,
would
you
be
 more
likely
to
attend?


Male


YES





NO





POSSIBLY



What
is
your
gender?
 Male





Female





Female


Marital
Status?
 Single


Married
 Divorced





Widowed


Which
category
most
accurately
describes
your
 situation?


Marital
Status?


I
graduated
from
high
school
in
the
last
6
months


Single


Married
 Divorced





Widowed


I
am
transferring
from
another
college
or
university


Which
category
most
accurately
describes
your
 situation?


I
am
a
non‐traditional
student
starting
college
for
the
 first
time


I
graduated
from
high
school
in
the
last
6
months


Other
(please
list)______________________________________


I
am
transferring
from
another
college
or
university





I
am
a
non‐traditional
student
starting
college
for
the
 first
time
 Other
(please
list)______________________________________





Step
6:
Explain
how
you
will
analyze
and
interpret
your
results.
 For
the
first
part
of
the
study
the
surveys
will
be
filled
out
and
returned
via
e‐mail,
and
the
 results
will
be
inserted
into
a
Microsoft
Excel
spreadsheet.
There
will
be
a
separate
 spreadsheet
for
the
pre
and
post
orientation
surveys.
Once
the
responses
are
recorded
into
 the
spreadsheets,
the
results
can
be
figured
into
percentages
and
displayed
in
the
form
of
 pie
charts
and
bar
graphs.
This
will
allow
the
researcher
to
compare
results
and
analyze
 the
data
for
trends
that
emerge.
 For
the
second
part
of
the
study,
the
results
from
the
various
colleges
will
be
put
into
a
 table
where
the
researcher
can
cross
reference
the
data.

The
table
will
be
spilt
up
into
 three
columns.

The
first
column
will
list
colleges
with
below
33.33%
of
new
students
who
 attend
orientation.

The
second
column
will
list
colleges
with
between
33.34%
and
66.67%,
 and
the
last
column
will
list
colleges
with
above
66.68%
attendance.

Then
the
activities
 and
motivations
of
each
university
will
be
put
underneath
each
university,
so
the
 researcher
can
observe
the
information
to
see
if
there
are
any
patterns
or
trends
in
 activities
or
motivations
compared
to
how
many
students
attend
new
student
orientation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Step
7:
Explain
how
you
will
present
the
results
in
an
appropriate
form.
 
 To
present
the
results,
pie
charts
and
bar
graphs
will
be
used
to
show
the
number
of
 students
who
are
attending,
the
number
of
students
who
are
not
attending,
and
a
graph
 showing
the
correlation
between
certain
activities
available
at
new
student
orientation
and
 the
number
of
students
attending.
 
 This
study
will
also
include
a
brief
explanation
of
the
research
question,
research
methods,
 samples,
and
results.
It
will
be
given
to
those
interested
in
and
participating
in
the
study.
 
 The
results
will
be
published
on
the
Brigham
Young
University‐Idaho
website
and
will
also
 be
published
in
the
Journal
of
College
Student
Development.
Other
journals
may
also
be
 approached.
 
 A
newsletter
will
be
published
and
sent
to
colleges
used
in
the
sampling
and
research.
It
 will
also
be
sent
to
some
colleges
that
have
not
been
used
in
the
research,
but
could
find
the
 research
useful.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Step
8:

Will
the
study
need
to
be
replicated?
Why/why
not?


 
 The
study
will
not
need
to
be
replicated,
but
can
be
if
the
researcher
so
desires.

If
a
 researcher
wants
to
focus
on
schools
outside
of
private
and
religious
institutions,
the
 research
would
need
to
be
replicated
focusing
on
that
target.
 
 This
research
will
help
others
inquiring
new
freshman
orientation
programs
because
it
will
 help
them
see
the
motivations
or
activities
that
encourage
students
to
attend.

 
 Professionals
could
use
the
research
to
help
them
in
future
research
projects.
They
could
 take
the
results
of
the
study
and
incorporate
them
as
secondary
research
to
find
answers
to
 the
questions
and
research
they
are
seeking
answers
for.

Other
researchers
may
also
use
 this
study
as
a
template
for
other
studies.
They
can
use
our
research
methods
and
ideas
to
 make
a
new
study.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Step
9:
Budget.
 
 Preliminary
Research
 Researchers
time
for
finding
university
lists
$800
 (approximately
40
hours
@
$20
an
hour=
$800)
 Research
Supplier
 University
Interviews



$30.00
*
20
=
$600
 (10%
estimated
incidence
for
20
respondents
engaging
in
a
20
minute
interview
=
$30.00
CPI)
 E­mail
surveys
 E‐mail
lists
from
Universities
FREE
 (Universities
will
want
to
give
up
their
information
because
this
study
will
benefit
them)
 Researchers
time
for
sending
out
and
compiling
surveys


$600
 (approximately
30
hours
@
$20
an
hour
=
$800)
 Total
Cost
of
Project

 =
$800+600+600=
$2,000