Scientific Method

The making of the writer, Richard Wright In Richard Wright? s autobiography Black Boy Wright describes his life from a very young boy to his early twenties. He gives us a good perspective on what it is like to be a black person in the 1920? s. But not only that, he gives us a very good perspective on what it is like to be an individual. How did Wright become a writer? What events in this book described why Wright became a writer? Wright discovers the power of words at a young age and is a rebellious little kid. He kills a cat over one of his father? careless comments, “Kill that damn thing”, “Do anything, but get it away from here”. He gets drunk in a bar and starts whispering words he does not know to some of the women in the bar, “.. for a penny or nickel, I would repeat to anyone whatever was whispered to me”. He writes bad words he learns from his classmates on almost all the windows in the neighborhood without knowing what they mean. And when his grandma is cleaning his ass he says to her, “When you get through, kiss back there”. When Wright gets new words and expressions he uses them before knowing what they mean.

It is like you could give him a detonator to a bomb and he would push the button before asking what the button was for. But after all the punishment he gets for all the events he learns little by little that he need to think before speaking. It is not only from his family that he learns that, it is mostly strangers. Like when he was out on delivery for the clothing store and his bike brakes. Some white folks offer him a ride back to town, Wright says yes. When they offer him a drink he says “Oh, no”. He gets a whiskey bottle smashed between his eyes. The white man says “Nigger, ain? you learned no better sense? n that yet”. ”Ain? t you learned to say sir to a white man yet”. Wright realizes little by little that words are “weapons” and you get punished if you “shoot” the wrong person. Wright learns the power of words the tough way with beating and punishments. But when Wright discovers books, it changes his life. The first real story Wright writes is in 8th grade, the story is called “The Voodoo of Hell? s Half-Acre”. When the kids at school read the story in the newspaper they asked Wright why he wrote it and they think he copied it out of a book.

He doesn’t get any support from his family neither. Nobody in his society understands why he wants to become a writer. It sounds like it is the stupidest thing they ever heard. When Wright gets Ella to reads him a story from the book she is carrying, it is like a new reality to him. “She whispered to me the story of Bluebeard and His Seven Wives and I ceased to see the porch, the sunshine, her face, everything. As her words fell upon my new ears, I endowed them with a reality that welled up from somewhere within me”.

The story is so intriguing to him that he vows to himself that when he is old enough, he is buying all the novels he can. Nothing could change his mind after that. Wright realizes that books are a better reality that the reality he is living in now. It is his way of dreaming away from all the misery he is living in. But how is Wright so determined when most of the people he knows make fun of him and don’t understand why he wants to become a writer. Why can? t he just be like his family and the society around him wants him to be? Where is he getting all this inspiration? Anything seemed possible, likely, feasible, because I wanted everything to be possible … Because I had no power to make things happen outside of me in the objective world, I made things happen within”. It? s like he lives in his own nutshell, with windows and a door. He knows what’s outside and he even goes outside sometimes. But he just waits to find his place in society so he can leave his nutshell, come out and express everything on his mind. He hopes the north can give him that. The rumors Wright hears that in the north black people are treated better than in the south.

This makes Wright drops out of school so he can work more and save up more money to travel up there. When he gets there he is by himself for the first time in his life. No family or friends, we see that Wright is maturing and acting more like a man and not like the boy he used to be. When Wright first meets Mrs. Moss and her daughter Bess, he is really uncomfortable. He has no previous experience on how to deal with them. Mrs. Moss is like the complete opposite to his mother. But we see that during the stay in Memphis, he has more of a chance to stand up for himself.

He handles Bess? s overwhelming crush and establishes a workable relationship for all of them. Wright handles it like a more mature person. There is a transition from Richard as a boy to Mr. Wright, the writer he became when he wrote this book, two points of view going into one. When Wright gets help from his Catholic coworker to get a library card he finally fulfills his vow to himself to read all the novels he can get his hands on. This is the real beginning to his self-education. He reads and reads, every day he reads. He gets to know all the writers.

It is like he is swimming in parallel universes, but instead of universes he is swimming in different peoples? minds. “I was jarred and shocked by the style, the clear, clean, sweeping sentences”. He never read anything like it before. After reading book after books Wright gets a revelation. He is not alone anymore. There are other people like him out there, who feel and think like Wright does. They also feel like individuals in this society and the world they are living in. This makes Wright really satisfied. For the first time in his life he feels like he is part of a group, a society.

He wants to tell somebody about his discovery. He just wants to talk to somebody about this, tell about what he has learned and his dreams for the future. But Wright has nobody to talk to about this. His coworkers, friends, and family would not understand. They would ask Wright why he is reading, what? s the point? After Wright is satisfied he becomes sad. He knows he is not alone, but the people that share the same view and understanding as him are not around. He is still alone. Wright became a writer because that was his only way out.

He was an individual, trying to fit in to the society where he was born. It was the only way he could express himself, as an individual. Writing allowed him to say what was on his mind without getting punish for it. It was an escape from the reality he was living in. After learning more and more he became more secure on the path he had chosen. Words became his weapon in life. We see that writing and reading was his inspiration and motivation. He feels like he can do anything when he reads or writes. “Anything seemed possible, likely, feasible, because I wanted everything to be possible”.

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to explain in detail the research methods and the methodology implemented for this study. The chapter will explain first of all the choice of research approach, then the research design, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the research tools chosen. This will be followed by a discussion on their ability to produce valid results, meeting the aims and objectives set by this dissertation. The chapter then goes on to discuss the sample size and the sampling strategy applied by the author, and the data analysis methods which have been used. It concludes with a brief discussion on the ethical considerations and limitations posed by the research methodology, as well as problems encountered during the research.

Research Approach

This dissertation makes use of qualitative research strategy, where the research approach implemented has been that of interpretivism. Willis (2007) defines interpretivism as an approach which is implemented by the researcher in order to synthesize facts which are derived mainly from secondary sources, and which are qualitative in nature. He also observes that one characteristics of interpretivism is that these facts are abstract in nature, and governed by a variety of factors which are non-tangible and difficult to measure. These can be economic, social, or cultural factors. Therefore for the purposes of this research, the author chose the interpretivist approach, rather than the positivist and the pragmatist approaches, because abstract, non-quantifiable variables such as “”, “finding the arts in business and working with them to create a memorable experience”, comparing “traditional management” with “performing art management” and analysing whether performing techniques and their application into business can have positive influence on business practice were part of the objectives of the dissertation. These are all elements, which are not easily quantifiable (measureable), and between which different and complex connections were found to exist, therefore interpretivism was found to be most applicable.

Research Design

This research makes use of a qualitative research strategy in the sense that there will be no numeric data or quantitative data was produced (Bell, 2005; Sarantakos, 2013; Silverman, 2004). A qualitative research strategy is particularly applicable for the purposes of this research, where the connection between several different variables had to be established through interpretation. Also, the research makes use of triangulation because triangulation gives the opportunity to approach the research objectives from different viewpoints (Cohen and Manion, 2002; Altrichter et. al, 2008), obtaining a more nuanced view of the connections between the different variables. For this study, triangulation was very useful because the researcher aimed to find the intersection between two very different variables belonging to very distinct industries – the arts (performing arts in particular) and business. This necessitated questionnaires and interviews with the employees who have been recipients of the management with performing art model and with their managers as well.

The validity and the advantages and disadvantages of the tools used to implement the research strategy will be discussed next.

Research Methods

For the purposes of this research, the writer has decided to use a combination of two of the classic social sciences research tools – questionnaires and interviews (Winchester, 1999; Sarantakos, 2013; Silverman, 2004; Greenfield, 2002). The questionnaires will be distributed among managers from several companies which have used art elements as part of their management techniques, as well as among carefully selected employees of the same companies, who form part of the team of the same managers. As a complementary method, the writer conducted interviews with an equal number of representatives of each group. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed below.

Questionnaires

Questionnaires were chosen for this research because they are a reliable and quick method to collect information from multiple respondents in an efficient and timely manner. This is especially important when it comes to large projects, with several complex objectives, where time is one of the major constraints (Greenfield, 2002; Silverman, 2004; Bell, 2005). This study was no exception and questionnaires were a quick and effective way for the researcher to reach multiple respondents within several weeks. A general disadvantage of the questionnaires however is their fixed and strict format, which eliminates the possibility for more in-depth or abstract observation (Bell, 2005; Sarantakos, 2013). Again, this study was not an exception from this rule, as the questionnaires provided linear and clear results, but many elements from the research were left uncovered.

Interviews

In order to cover more abstract aspects of the research, the author chose as a complementary method structured interviews consisting of several questions, which were distributed among representatives of each participant group. Interviews are often used as complementary research method in the social sciences, because they give the opportunity for a more in-depth, open discussion, and more informal, free interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee (Potter, 2002; Winchester, 1999; Sarantakos, 2013). Despite being considered a disadvantage because it produces subjective results, the flexible format of the interviews was a major advantage for this study, as some nuances of the research such as exploring “emotions”, and “creating memorable experience” could not be properly captured with the questionnaire design. Of course the results from the interviews are not generalizable, because of the subjectivity of data obtained. On the other hand, their flexible format contributed for a deeper explanation and understanding of the connection between performing art and business performance, and if the researcher could have done the dissertation again, this would probably be chosen as the primary, not the secondary research method.

Other methods

Upon embarking on this research, the author initially considered focus groups and participant observation as possible research methods, due to the behavioural elements contained in this research.. However, because of time constraints and cost, these research methods were not opted for.

Initially the researcher also considered researching two groups of employees by comparison – one coming from an organisation where the performance management model is used, and another one, where this model is not used. They would be both given the same questionnaire. This approach was overruled however, because it does not reflect the interactive nature of the model being studied in which managers and business leaders play crucial role.

Sampling Strategy

For the purposes of this study, the writer had to examine two separate groups of participants. A method of stratified sampling has been used, as the relationships between different sub-groups had to be observed (Kirby et. al, 2000: 339). Furthermore, a particular group of the total population was invited to the interviews, forming a sub-group of the original population. Also, the participants were selected on the basis of specific criteria, such as company (organisation), where a particular type of model has been implemented.

The first group of participants consisted of managers from companies where the performance arts approached has been used. A total of 10 managers were involved in the study, and over 50 different managers from five different companies across the UK were contacted in order to reach the target group. The author tried to create as diverse a sample as possible, making sure there was an equal number of men and women represented, and more importantly thatthere were representatives of various industries: advertisingretail, finance, fashion and digital marketing. The other group of participants consisted of 30 employees, who were part of the teams of each one of the 10 managers. Not every team had the exact same number of people, as some teams were smaller and others larger. . However, the size of the teams was irrelevant to the purposes of this study as the participants had to complete individual questionnaires. All of the participants were approached via email, and the questionnaires were distributed via email, then completed by the participant and returned via email again. This took place in the course of four weeks. Five of the managers and five of the employees were invited for an interview, they were randomly selected from the questionnaire sample and the interviews took place took place over the phone/Skype and recorded then transcribed by the researcher. The interviews took place in the course of one month. The full transcripts of the interviews as well as the questionnaires are attached in the appendices.

Instrument Design

Questionnaires

For the purposes of this research the writer designed two separate questionnaire scripts and two brief interview scripts.

The questionnaire for the managers from the companies consisted of twenty open questions, related to the business performance of their employees. The first part of the questionnaire consisted of demographic questions, related to age, gender, and questions related to the professional role of the participants, such as length of their experience in the company, exact position and responsibilities. The core questions were divided into groups for clarity, addressing the main objectives of the research, through the perspective of the managers. More importantly, these questions were designed to address the core competencies, established in the previous chapter to assess business performance by art performance – leadership, communication, team-building, emotion management, and creativity.

The questionnaire for the employees consists of the same number of questions, and again combines open and closed questions. Apart from the demographic questions, the rest of the questions are organised into groups, addressing the objectives through the prism of the employees, and addressing individual narratives on important concepts such as creativity, improvisation, and team-building within the organisation.

Interviews

The interview scripts for both groups consist of six brief, but open questions.

The questions for the managers were designed to discuss in detail leadership as performance, and “business as show business”.

The questions for the employees were designed to reflect their experience as recipients of the performance bound management, and address specific components such as playing, rehearsing, performing in the workplace, with the purpose of team building and more effective task delivery/distribution.

The full scripts of the questionnaires and the interviews are available in the Appendices.

Data Collection

Most of the communication with the participants took place via email. Before that however, the author created a large database of companies, which met the research criteria using a simple google search. The author purposefully targeted smaller organisations, because the probability of being granted access to employees was higher, and the process – less time-consuming, which turned out to be the case. At first the writer contacted via the phone relevant people from each company, to make them acquainted with the purposes of the research and to ask for permission to conduct the research with representatives from their companies. For confidentiality, the job titles of the initial contacts are not disclosed, especially having in mind their job titles are not relevant to the research, as they are not direct participants in it. In some cases, the managers distributed the questionnaires to their employees, and in other cases the writer approached the employees directly via email. The questionnaires were distributed and completed in the course of four weeks. The interviews were conducted over the phone/Skype depending on the preferences of the participant. They were then recorded and transcribed by the researcher. The interviews were completed within four weeks.

Methods of Data Analysis

The analysis of the questionnaire results took place via thematic analysis. . Because of the small number of respondents and the diverse design and answer sets of the questions, and because of the qualitative research approach of the study, the author did not use any of the statistical software available such as SPSS or STRATA.

The results of the interviews were also analysed manually, where the author aimed to detect common words, phrases, and group or “cloud” them together, in order to be able to determine trends and tendencies in the answers of the respondents.

The results from the questionnaires were presented in the format of tables and charts. The major findings of this dissertation will be discussed in details in the next chapter.

Ethical Considerations

There were several types of ethical issues, which the researcher had to take into consideration for this project. The most important one was related with the informed consent of the participants. All of the participants (both managers and employees) were informed in advance about the purposes of this project, and gave their informed consent to participate in writing. Their identity as well as the names of the organisations they belong to has been kept in strict confidentiality, thus meeting the requirements of the code of ethics of the University.

In addition, the privacy and confidentiality policy of all of the companies had to be taken into consideration as well, as the companies have a very strict policy for access to their employees for research purposes. Therefore the researcher had to sign consent forms for confidentiality and privacy with the companies whose employees and managers agreed to participate in the study.

Consent forms are attached in the Appendices.

Finally, all the information collected in the course of this dissertation has been used only for the purposes of the study, and will be kept confidential.

Problems and Limitations

There were several problems and challenges which the researcher encountered while conducting the research for this dissertation.

The first challenge was recruiting a sufficient number of participants. The creation of the initial database of prospective companies took long time, and many times the requests of the researcher were turned down, because most of the companies rarely allow the opportunity for external research. Thus access to the participants and obtaining permission for the research was a major challenge.

Secondly the researcher was restricted by time and cost, which determined the choice of more efficient method, such as the questionnaire, instead of the more time consuming focus groups or participant observation.

In terms of the methodology chosen, there are several limitations which need to be mentioned. The first one is the fact that because of the small sample, the data collected and the findings made cannot be extrapolated on a broader scale. In other words, the generalizability of the results is questionable.

Another weakness of the methodology was related to the fact that the researcher used interpetivist approach, which was determined by the nature and the objectives of the research. In this sense the results and the achievements of this project can be deemed as biased, because the connections between the different variables have been determined not on the basis of empirical evidence, but on the basis of the analytical and judgemental skills of the researcher, in the context of a particular academic field.

Conclusion

This chapter has outlined and justified the research methodology implemented in this dissertation and its validity. Because of the nature of the research, the author opted for the qualitative strategy, bound by interpretivist approach. The key research tools were questionnaire, supplemented by interviews with two groups of participants – employees and managers. The participants were carefully targeted and recruited through stratified sampling technique. The results were analysed manually, due to the small sample of participants. The major results and findings of this dissertation are discussed in the following chapter.

References:

Altrichter, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P. & Somekh, B. (2008). Teachers investigate their work; An introduction to action research across the professions. London: Routledge. p. 147. (2nd edition).

Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project, Berkshire: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill Education

Cohen, L.,& Manion, L. (2000). Research methods in education. London: Routledge. p. 254. (5th edition).

Greenfield, T. (2002) Research Methods for Postgraduates, London: Arnold

Kirby, M., Konbel., F., Barter, J., Hope, T., Kirton, D., Madry, N., Manning, P., Trigges, K. (2000) Sociology in Perspective, Oxford: Heinnemann

Potter, S. (2002) Doing Postgraduate Research, London: Sage

Sarantakos, S. (2013) Social Research, Basingstoke: Macmillan

Silverman, D., (2004). Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and Practice. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publication.

Willis, J. W., (2007). Foundations of Qualitative Research: Interpretive and Critical Approaches. London: Sage

Winchester, H. P. M. (1999) ‘Interviews and Questionnaires as Mixed Methods in Population Geography: The Case of Lone Fathers in Newcastle, Australia’, The Professional Geographer, 51: 1, 60 — 67 DOI: 10.1111/0033-0124.00145 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0033-0124.00145

Objective

To image a sample of rhodamine-doped polystyrene etched with various shapes, using a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope and to analyse the sample topography by 2D and 3D reconstruction of the sample image.

Introduction

This CLSM design combined the laser scanning method with the 3D detection of biological objects labeled with fluorescent markers for the first time…..laser scanning microscopy, the object or specimen surface is scanned point by point by a focused laser beam. The image or other characteristic of the object is then generated by an electronic system. In a scanning laser microscope detecting fluorescent light from the specimen, the depth-discriminating property of confocal scanning has been used to carry out optical slicing of a thick specimen. The recorded digital images constitute a three-dimensional raster covering a volume of the specimen. The specimen has been visualized in stereo and rotation by making look-through projections of the digital data in different directions.

Materials and Devices

A rhodamine-doped polystyrene sample etched with different shapes mounted onto a glass slide has already been prepared. A Zeiss LSM 510 META Axiovert 200M confocal microscope is used for imaging the sample.

CLSM-principles,working of the technique

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy is a novel optical imaging technique that merges the technology of a Laser Scanning Microscope and a Confocal Microscope resulting in high resolution images CLSM enables to form images from selected depths from within the sample (z stacks) and generate a 3D image of a specimen by stacking 2D images from successive depths []. In this technique, a laser beam is passed through an aperture and focused by an objective lens onto a small area of the specimen. The reflected light (laser light and fluorescent light from illumination of the sample) is collected by the objective lens, and passed through a pinhole which removes ‘out of focus‘light and only allows light from the plane of focus to reach the detector which is a photo multiplier tube enabled with a filter that blocks the original laser light thus allowing the detection of the excited fluorescent wavelengths alone []. The laser beam scans the specimen point by point thus resulting in the formation of the images pixel by pixel, which can be viewed on a screen .

Since the scanning process in a CLSM is in a point wise fashion, in order to obtain data from, the entire sample, the specimen is moved relative to the laser beam or the laser beam is guided across the sample and CLSMs are as such also referred to as point-probing scanners.

The advantages of this imaging technique over other techniques are numerous such as obtaining high-resolution optical images with depth selectivity, higher level of sensitivity, less invasive form of imaging, ability to acquire in-focus images from selected depths ( a process known as optical sectioning) and thereby reconstructed with a computer to obtain three-dimensional reconstructions of samples.

For the study of the rhodamine-doped polystyrene sample, a 40x C-Apochromat water-based lens was used and the CLSM imaging specifications were set to a frame size of 512?512 pixels, the depth was set to 8 bit, scan direction was set to a single direction. By varying the pinhole diameter, the degree of confocality can be varied and here the pinhole was set to 1 Airy unit. Thus only the first order of the diffraction pattern reaches the detector while the higher orders are blocked, thus improves the resolution but also results in a slight decrease in brightness. Also the laser wavelength required to successfully image the rhodamine doped polystyrene sample is xxxxx.

Principle of Imaging in 3 Dimensions

Plan how to experimentally characterise the surface topography (height of the geometric structures) 5. Preparation of sample and Imaging and Characterisation of Surface Topography with astd errors

Imaging in 3 Dimensions

This is carried out by altering the level at which the sample is observed ie by altering the plane of focus. Thus by changing this, a series of images at different positions can be produced that ps through the through the sample thickness. Thus resulting in a series of X-Y images at different Z axis positions. Therefore by optical sectioning a series of images are obtained which are then digitally reconstructed by computer softwares to give 3D representations of the sample. In this experiment, the surface topography f the rhodamine doped polystyrene sample is carried out by performing a z- stack [][]. The boundaries of the scan are set by using the focus control and marking the top and bottom of the sample. Thus between these boundaries a series of images are taken at different z- axis and a projection of the images are performed. The parameters taken for the projection are- Initial Angle of 0°, number of projections is 64 and a Difference Angle of 6 degrees.

Data

2 D and 3 D images of a rhodamine doped polystyrene sample etched with various shapes were taken. The images show that the surface of the polystyrene sample consists of circular, triangular and square micropillars with varying heights. With the help of 3D reconstruction of the ample topography, the heights of the micropillars were calculated. A series of three z stacks were performed for each kind of micropillar (circular, square and triangular respectively) and their heights were determined.

Analysis

The errors associated with the measurement of the height of each micropillar has been calculated by using standard deviation method and the following bar graphs have been plotted with the error bars denoting the standard deviation.

1. The images obtained from the of rhodamine-doped polystyrene
2. The consequences of quenching and photobleaching are suffered in practically all forms of fluorescence microscopy,
3. The two phenomena are distinct in that quenching is often reversible whereas photobleaching is not .
4. Most quenching processes act to reduce the excited state lifetime and the quantum yield of the affected fluorophore.

photobleaching (also termed fading) occurs when a fluorophore permanently loses the ability to fluoresce due to photon-induced chemical damage and covalent modification An important class of photobleaching events is represented by events that are photodynamic, meaning they involve the interaction of the fluorophore with a combination of light and oxygen (158-161). Reactions between fluorophores and molecular oxygen permanently destroy fluorescence and yield a free radical singlet oxygen species that can chemically modify other molecules in living cell

Comparison of LSM with atomic force microscopy (AFM) in view of application to biology

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) has found tremendous application in the field of biology ranging from cell biology and genetics to microbiology and developmental biology. It allows imaging thin optical sections in living and fixed specimens ranging in thickness up to 100 micrometers. advantages, including the ability to control depth of field, 3D reconstrucyion of images, non-invasive nature, enables study of both living and fixed specimens with enhanced clarity.. Additional advantages of scanning confocal microscopy include the ability to adjust magnification electronically by varying the area scanned by the laser without having to change objectives (zoom factor).

CLSM has the advantage of not requiring a probe to be suspended nanometers from the surface, as in an AFM for example, where the image is obtained by scanning with a fine tip over a surface.

tomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a powerful form of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) that performs its imaging function by measuring a local property of the surface being inspected, such as its height, optical absorption, or magnetic properties. AFM employs a probe or tip that’s positioned very close to surface to get these measurements

The ability to monitor this deflection allows the AFM to create an image of the sample non-destructively even if the tip is continuously in contact with the sample. To prevent the cantilever tip from damaging the surface of the sample, it is maintained at a constant angular deflection so that the force applied by the tip on the surface is also kept constant. Contact mode imaging employs a soft cantilevered beam that has a sharp tip at its end, which is brought in contact with the surface of the sample. The force between the tip and the sample causes the cantilever to deflect in accordance with Hooke’s Law, exhibiting a spring constant th

The advantages of AFM include the following: 1) it generates true, 3-dimensional surface images; 2) it does not require special sample treatments that can result in the sample’s destruction or alteration; and 3) it does not require a vacuum environment in order to operate (it can operate in both air and liquid). On the other hand, itsdisadvantages include the following: it is slow in scanning an image

A stand-alone atomic force microscope (AFM) has been developed, which features a large scan area and which allows operation under liquid. This system was combined with a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Information about cell structures, obtained by CLSM, can be complemented with images of the cell surface obtained with the AFM.

References

1. Claxton N S, Fellers T J, Davidson M W. Laser scanning confocal microscopy. http://www.olympusconfocal.com/theory/LSCMIntro.pdf
2. S. Wilhelm, B. Grobler, M. Gluch, and Hartmut Heinz, Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy: Optical Image Formation and Electronic Signal Processing, Jena, Germany: Carl Zeiss Advanced Imaging Microscopy, 2003.
3. C. J. R. Sheppard and D. M. Shotton, Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy, Oxford, United Kingdom: BIOS Scientific Publishers, 1997.
4. T. Wilson (ed.), Confocal Microscopy, New York: Academic Press, 1990.
5. J. W. Lichtmann, Confocal Microscopy, Scientific American, 40-45, August, 1994.
6. A. R. Hibbs, Confocal Microscopy for Biologists, New York: Kluwer Academic, 2004.
7. W. B. Amos and J. G. White, How the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope entered Biological Research, Biology of the Cell, 95: 335-342, 2003.
8. J. B. Pawley (ed.), Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy, New York: Plenum Press, 1995.
9. Adhesion Enhancement through Micropatterning at Polydimethylsiloxane?Acrylic Adhesive Interface M. Lamblet,‡ E. Verneuil,†§ T. Vilmin,‡ A. Buguin,†P. Silberzan,† and L. Leger*‡.Langmuir, 2007, 23 (13), pp 6966–6974 DOI: 10.1021/la063104h….Publication Date (Web): May 19, 2007
10. T. Kodama, et al., Development of Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope/Atomic Force Microscope System for Force Curve Measurement, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 43, issue 7B, pp. 4580-4583, 2004.
11. C. A. J. Putman, et al., ‘Atomic force microscopy combined with confocal laser scanning microscopy: A new look at cells’, Bioimaging, vol. 1, issue 2, pp. 63–70, June 1993.[12] 13]
12. E. Meyer, ‘Atomic force microscopy’, Progress in Surface Science vol. 41, issue 1, pp. 3-49, 1992.

Descriptive and Inferential Statistics The world of science would find itself lost without research. Research alone however, oftentimes will not answer the questions or solve the problems that scientists set out to solve. Statistics is where research becomes applied and scientists can make educated guesses about future outcomes. “Formally, statistics is a branch of mathematics that focuses on organization, analysis, and interpretation of a group of numbers” (Aron, Aron, and Coups, 2006). There are two main branches of statistics that we will explore; descriptive and inferential statistics.

The main relationship between descriptive and inferential statistics is that they all include numbers from either actual given information or inferred assumptions that try to draw a conclusion or complete given data. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics is a method of research used by psychologists. Descriptive statistics make statistics understandable and describes a group of numbers for a research study (Aron, Aron and Coups,2006). Descriptive statistics are used in summarizing large sets of quantitative or numerical information.

If there is a large amount of information for measurement, the best way to show the information is by a graph (Boerre, 2005). Descriptive statistics provide a simple summary about the sample and the measurements. Descriptive statistics describes the data; it allows the researcher to understand a large amount of numbers or data in a simple way (Social Research, 2009). Central tendency refers to the idea that one number can summarize the entire set of measurement. This is a number that is in some way central to the set (Boerre, 2005).

The mode is the measurement that has been found to be the most frequent. Although the mode, or greatest frequency number, is not used very often, it is useful when differences are rare or non-numerical (Boerre, 2005). The median is the number which is half of the measurement, or midpointof the numbers. The median is a good measurement of the centrality of the numbers and is a better measurement in centrality that the mean when the data is skewed (Boerre, 2005). The mean is the average. The mean is the sum of all the measurements, divided by the numbers of the measured.

Mean is often used in central tendency (Boerre, 2005). Descriptive statistics may be used in measuring a person’s IQ. When intelligence testing is done, some of these tests are then shown in descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics might also be used in showing the GPA or grade point average of a class. Descriptive statistics makes information clear, concise, and easy to read (Social Research, 2009). An example of descriptive statistics would be tables and graphs which are used a lot in medical research studies. Descriptive statistics allow a researcher to describe or summarize their data. For example, descriptive statistics for a study using human subjects might include the sample size, mean age of participants, percentage of males and females, range of scores on a study measure, descriptive statistics are often briefly presented at the beginning of the Results”, according to, (Statistically Significant Consulting, LLC, 2003-2010). Inferential Statistics Conclusion Statistics gives form to research in that it organizes, analyzes, and interprets the data collected.

Descriptive statistics often describe groups or populations researched, whereas inferential statistics help its users draw conclusions about future events. Both of these statistical methods play valuable roles in science. References Aron, A. , Aron, E. , & Coups, E. (2006). Statistics for Psychology (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Statistically Significant Consulting, LLC, (2003-2010). Statistics Overview. Retrieved from http://www. statisticallysignificantconsulting. com/statistics101. htm

Understanding Research Methodology

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What is Research Methodology?

The research methodology is an integral part of your study, and explains the methods you are planning to use to prove your thesis or answer your research question. As an example, if you would like to research what customers think about a new product, you will need to design a research methodology that accurately answers the question: either interviews, focus groups, or questionnaires. The purpose of the research methodology chapter is to explain how you will conduct the research, and which data collection/analysis methods you will use.

The research methodology will detail:

The framework of the research, including philosophies, assumptions, and theories
The methods, procedures, and techniques you use to ensure the reliability and validity of the research
The philosophical orientation of the research
Justification for choosing the given research methodology
The ethical considerations and limitations of the selected research method.
Designing Your Methodology Research

When you write your methodology for your research, you must already have a clear working hypothesis and research questions. Preparing your research design is a challenging task, and involves the following tasks:

Defining the basis of information (qualitative, quantitative, or both)
Determining the subject matter of the research: basic, or experimental
Identifying the research methodology approach: longitudinal or cross-sectional
Determining the sample design:
Data collection methods
The plan for the data collection and analysis
Generalisation and interpretation

You have to justify your research methodology decisions by showing your understanding of different techniques. You also need to be aware of the risks and limitations of the selected data collection and analysis method, and show your competency in using different data analysis.

What to Include in Your Research Methodology

We have already covered mixed research methods in a different article, so be sure to check it out, however, in order to inform your readers about the study you have undertaken, you have to include the research strategy, research method, research approach and assumptions, data collection methods and tools, sample selection, research process, data analysis techniques, ethical considerations, and research limitations. Below you can see what to include in each part of your methodology research.

Research strategy

You need to state how you will gather information, complete your analysis, literature review, and how you will draw conclusions.

Research method

You must choose between qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research methods.

Research approach and assumptions

You need to state whether or not your research is based on any assumptions or hypotheses, and how you will approach the topic.

Data collection methods and tools

Detail the strategy you will use to collect information: surveys, observation, statistics, or interviews, and list the tools and software you will use.

Sample selection

Provide a sample selection and inclusion/exclusion criteria. In case you complete a research involving people, state the demographics of the sample.

Research process

Draw up a research process map that lists all the steps you have to ensure that the data will be reliable and delivered in a timely manner.

Data analysis techniques

State how you will analyse the results, for example software, spreadsheet, or thematic analysis in case you conduct a qualitative research.

Ethical considerations

Show your understanding of the ethical issues that might arise during the research and state how you will handle them.

Research limitations

You can state the limitations of the methodology uses, potential bias, or small sample size.

Research Methodology Examples

The research methodology is needed for most PhD Theses and dissertations. No matter if you are writing about patients’ experiences in a hospital or research new technologies in data protection, this chapter will be essential. Below you will find some examples of using methodology research descriptions the right way.

Nursing Research Methodology: Dementia Care

This study details the methods used for literature search for an empirical study focusing on different interventions for dementia care. The structure of this methodology chapter is different, as the study focuses on comparing existing research studies and drawing a conclusion. Check out the nursing research methodology to see the structure.

Quantitative Research Methodology Sample

Writing a quantitative research methodology chapter should justify the selection of the data collection and analysis tools, and detail the methods, sampling strategy, and instruments used for collecting information. As you can see, this methodology research chapter includes the ethical considerations and the problems and limitations at the end of the section.

Read a sample quantitative research methodology chapter.

Business Case Study Dissertation Research Methodology

As you can see, the research methodology chapter is uniquely designed for case studies. In this sample, the author provides dissertation philosophy and a clear description of the research approach: mixed methods research, as well as the research strategy, detailing each step’s aim, sample size, type of questions, and the method of data analysis. The writer also provides a detailed description of the sampling method, primary data collection, and data analysis methods separately for quantitative and qualitative information.

Read the full case study methodology chapter.

Research Methodology for Quantitative Surveys Including Time Horizons

In this quantitative survey dissertation methodology chapter, you will find an introduction that justifies the selection of the methods and research strategy, as well as a research philosophy, research approach, strategy, and time horizons. If you take on a large scale research that will take months to complete, it is a good idea to provide a time horizon. In this sample chapter, you can see that the author utilizes both primary and secondary research, and carries out a longitudinal research consisting of multiple phases. Therefore, a timeline helps planning all the steps and gives the reader a clear idea about the work involved in this study.

Do You Need Help with Writing Your Research Methodology?

If you are still confused about where to start writing your dissertation research methodology chapter, and would like some help selecting the right data collection and analysis methods, you can get in touch with our friendly team at our site, who have already helped many students in the past getting their research finished to a high standard, advising them on topics, methodology, and structure. Submit your question and get professional help from one of our academic researchers.

From the Scatterplot of Revenue vs. Circulation, it can be seen that the variance of the dependent variable, Revenue, is increasing. This is a violation of the Gauss-Markov condition of constant variance in the error terms. Also, since a linear relationship seems appropriate, transformation of both the dependent and independent variables are necessary. 2) Fitting polynomial models to the data may be better than fitting a straight line model to the untransformed data because this allows for curvature and can fit the data more closely.

However, this might not be sufficient because it does not account for nonconstant variance. 3) The natural log transformation of both variables provides the best model of the three. From the plot of the Regression Line for lnRevenue vs. lnCirculation, it can be seen that the points are relatively equally scattered around the regression line. Also, the nonconstant variance seems to be fixed. This is evident in the plot of the residuals vs. predicted values, as the points are randomly scattered about the center line.

The square root transformation of both variables improves linearity, as indicated in the plot of the Regression Line for sqrtRevenue vs. sqrtCirculation, but does not fix the problem of non-constant variance. This can be clearly seen in the plot of the residuals vs. predicted values. The points are not randomly scattered around the center line, but seem to be bunched up on the left side and spread outwards, indicating increasing variance. The inverse transformation of both variables does not improve linearity, as curvature can be seen in the plot of the Regression Line for invRevenue vs. invCirculation.

Although non-constant variance is slightly improved over the square root transformation, as can be seen in the plot of the residuals vs. predicted values, it is still insufficient. Therefore, both variables natural log transformed seems to be the best model of the three choices. 4) The model used is . This implies that . From this result, it can be seen that a k-fold change in the circulation in millions results in a change in revenue in thousands of dollars. From the regression, =0. 5334. This means that if circulation changes by a factor of k, its revenue will also change by a factor of k0. 334. 5) From SAS, a 95% prediction interval with a circulation of 1 million for the natural log of the revenue is (4. 3005, 5. 0202) with a predicted value of 4. 6604.

This translates to a prediction interval of ($73 736. 65, $151 441. 59) with a predicted revenue of $105 678. 35. 6) Since the threshold for Cook’s D is 4/(n-2), where n=70, the threshold is 0. 059. There are five values with Cook’s D greater than 0. 059, which indicates that they are influential points. From the normal Q-Q plot of the residuals, these 5 points can be seen to be utliers at the ends of the graph. Therefore, they can greatly affect the fit of the model. Also from the normal Q-Q plot, it can be seen that the residuals are not exactly normally distributed. The curvature at the ends of the plot indicates heavy tails in the distribution. By the Central Limit Theorem confidence intervals, and the values for , , and E(Y) are valid. However, since a prediction interval deals only with a single point, it is not valid. Due to the heavy tails in the distribution of the error terms, the prediction interval calculated in 5) may not be accurate.

The research was conducted in order to determine the factors that affect the selling price of Ford Mustang. In addition, the research was conducted to create a model that will predict the selling price of Ford Mustang. The test was conducted with a sample of 35 Ford Mustang cars and its corresponding car data. The analysis was done with the use of independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance to determine differences in the mean selling price between different categories.

On the other hand, multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors that affect the selling price of Ford Mustang and to create a model that will predict the selling price of the Ford Mustang. After conducting the analysis, the researcher has found out several significant results. The researcher found out that there is a significant difference in selling price between convertible and non-convertible Ford Mustangs (t = -2. 41 p = 0. 0216) and in the selling price between GT model Ford Mustangs and non-GT model Ford Mustangs (t = -2. 30 p = 0. 0279).

The researcher also found out convertibility (t = 6. 839 p < 0. 001), age (t = -9. 597 p < 0. 001) and GT type (t = 5. 525 p < 0. 001) of the Ford Mustang affects the selling price of the car. And lastly, the researcher created a significant model that can predict the selling price of the Ford Mustang (F = 53. 35 p < 0. 001). Introduction Background of the Problem Ford is a motor company in the United States. One of the main products of Ford Motors is the Ford Mustang. Although the car is already popular, the company still wants to determine the factors that affect the selling price of Ford Mustang.

The company wants to determine such factors in order to fully utilize the marketability and profits with the sales of Ford Mustang. In addition, the company wants to develop a model that will predict the price of Ford Mustang cars. Research Questions In order to determine such factors that affect the selling price of the Ford Mustang, the researcher formulated several questions that will be used as guide in order to solve the problem. The main concern of the researcher is to determine the factors that affect the selling price of the Ford Mustang and to create a model that will predict the selling price of the Ford Mustang.

To answer this concern, the researcher formulated the following research questions. • Is there a difference in the selling price between the categories in the following factors: a. Convertible Ford Mustangs and non-convertible Ford Mustangs b. Transmission type c. Air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned. d. GT and non-GT model. e. Ownership of the car. • Is there a difference in the selling price between the different colors of Ford Mustang? Using the above questions, the researcher came up with different hypotheses match for every question the researcher has formulated.

The following are the hypotheses of the research. • There is no difference in the selling price between the categories in the following factors: a. Convertible Ford Mustangs and non-convertible Ford Mustangs b. Transmission type c. Air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned. d. GT and non-GT model. e. Ownership of the car. • There is no difference in the selling price between the different colors of Ford Mustang? Nature of Data The researcher used a sample of 35 Ford Mustangs with all the information about the car that will be used for the research.

Some of the information given in the samples is the price of the car, age of the car, the odometer reading, convertibility, car color, air-conditioning, transmission type, GT-model type, and the ownership of the car. From the sample data, the researcher found out no missing values that might hinder the data analysis. Analysis and Methods Section The researcher used descriptive statistics in order to describe the data and to give the facts regarding the data used in the research. From the samples/data obtained, the researcher found out that the mean $8,193. 89.

This means that the average price of the Ford Mustang is $8,193. 89. The value has a standard deviation of $3,783. 47. The value means that an average spread of $3,783. 47 from the mean price was found from the data. With regard to the characteristics of the car, the researcher used histograms in order to describe the data. Figure 1. Convertible Ford Mustangs Histogram. The researcher has found out that most of the sample cars are non-convertible which accounts for 71. 4% of the total data. The convertible Ford Mustangs only accounts for 28. 6% of the total sample data. Most of the Ford Mustangs are non-convertible.

Figure 2. Ford Mustang Transmission Histogram. Most of the Ford Mustang from the sample has a manual transmission. The manual transmission Mustangs are 60% of the total sample. On the other hand, only 40% of the sample has an automatic transmission. Figure 3. Ford Mustang Air-conditioning Histogram. From the figure shows histogram of Ford Mustang Air-conditioning. From the figure, one can see that most of the Ford Mustang in the sample are air-conditioned which is 94. 3% of the total sample. One the other hand, only 5. 7% of the sample is non-air-conditioned. Figure 4. Ford Mustang GT Model Histogram.

The figure shows that most of the cars in the sample are non-GT model. The Non-GT model Mustang accounts for 62. 9% of the total sample while the GT model accounts for 37. 1% of the sample Ford Mustang cars. Figure 5. Histogram of Ownership of Ford Mustang. Ownership of Ford Mustang is one of the key factors considered in determining the selling price of the car. From the sample data, the researcher determined that most of the Ford Mustang is privately owned which sums up to 62. 9% of the total sample. On the other hand, dealer owned Ford Mustang has been added to 37. 1% of the total sample.

The colors of the cars were also considered to be one of the factors that affect the selling price of a Ford Mustang. Some of the colors of the cars in the sample are maroon, silver, gray, red, blue, black and white. Figure 6. Histogram of Ford Mustang Colors. Color might be a possible factor. According to the figure, blue and black Mustang is the most prevalent in the sample with 25. 7% of the total sample for each color. While, silver is the least prevalent with only 2. 9% of the total sample of cars. Hypothesis testing was used to determine differences in the prices of cars in different factors that might affect the car selling price.

One of the tests that were used is independent samples t-test. The t-test was used to determine difference in factors with only two categories. On the other hand, one-way analysis of variance was used to determine differences in the price of variables with more than two different categories. Lastly, the researcher will used multiple regression analysis to determine the factors that might affect the selling price of Ford Mustang. All the tests were conducted at significance level of 0. 05, with the decision to reject the null hypothesis when the p-value of the test is less than the 0. 05 significance level.

After conducting all the tests, the researcher obtained the following results from the tests (Peck, Olsen & Devore, 2008). Convertibility of Ford Mustangs The researcher obtained a t-statistic value of -2. 41 for the difference of the mean price between the convertibility of Ford Mustang. The corresponding p-value of the test was 0. 0216. Since the p-value of the t-statistic is less than the significance level of 0. 05, the researcher rejected the null hypothesis. Transmission of Ford Mustang The researcher obtained a t-statistic value of -0. 86 for the difference of the mean price between the transmissions of Ford Mustang.

The corresponding p-value of the test was 0. 3979. Since the p-value of the t-statistic is greater than the significance level of 0. 05, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis. Air-conditioning of Ford Mustangs The researcher obtained a t-statistic value of -0. 63 for the difference of the mean price between the air-conditioning of Ford Mustang. The corresponding p-value of the test was 0. 5336. Since the p-value of the t-statistic is greater than the significance level of 0. 05, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis. GT and Non-GT Ford Mustang The researcher obtained a t-statistic value of -2.

30 for the difference of the mean price between the GT and Non-GT model of Ford Mustang. The corresponding p-value of the test was 0. 0279. Since the p-value of the t-statistic is less than the significance level of 0. 05, the researcher rejected the null hypothesis. Ownership of Ford Mustang The researcher obtained a t-statistic value of -2. 01 for the difference of the mean price between the private ownerships and dealer ownerships of Ford Mustang. The corresponding p-value of the t-statistic was 0. 0526. Since the p-value of the test is greater than the significance level of 0.

05, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis. Color of Ford Mustang The researcher obtained an F-statistic value of 1. 73 for the difference of the mean price between different colors of Ford Mustang. The corresponding p-value of the test was 0. 1508. Since the p-value of the F-statistic is greater than the significance level of 0. 05, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis. Factors affecting Selling Price of Ford Mustang Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the factors that affect the selling price of the Ford Mustang. The regression analysis was conducted at 0.

05 significance level. The decision is to reject the null hypothesis that the coefficients of the variables are not equal to zero. After conducting multiple regression analysis, the following results are obtained. The researcher found out that the t-statistic associated with the reading of the odometer of Ford mustang is equal to -0. 035 with an associated p-value of 0. 9724. On the other hand, the t-statistic associated with the transmission type of Ford Mustang is 1. 169 with an associated p-value of 0. 2535. The researcher also found out that the type of air-conditioning of Ford Mustang has a t-statistic value of -0.

642 with a p-value of 0. 5267. In addition, the cylinder type of the Ford Mustang has a t-statistic value of 1. 582 with a corresponding p-value of 0. 1262. Lastly, the color and the ownership type of the Ford Mustang have a t-statistic value of -1. 198 and -1. 166 respectively. The variables also have a corresponding p-value of 0. 2420 and 0. 2548 respectively. Since the p-values of the stated variables are greater than 0. 05 significance level, the researcher failed to reject that the coefficients of the stated variables are does not differ to zero.

The researcher found out that the t-statistic associated with GT type of Ford Mustang has a t-statistic of 5. 525 with a corresponding p-value of less than 0. 001. In addition, the researcher also found out that the convertibility of the Ford Mustang has a correspond t-statistic of 6. 839 with a p-value of less than 0. 001. Lastly, the researcher found out that the age of the Ford Mustang has a t-statistic value of -9. 597 with a corresponding p-value of less than 0. 001. Since the p-values of the t-statistic are less than 0. 05, the researcher rejected the null hypothesis that the coefficients are not different to zero.

The researcher has also found out that the R2 value of the multiple regression analysis is equal to 0. 951. The value means that the model created by the researcher accounts for 95% of all the variations in the data. The researcher found out that the F-statistic associated with the model is equal to 53. 35 with a corresponding p-value of less than 0. 001. Thus, the researcher rejected the hypothesis that the coefficients of the model are equal to zero. Conclusion and Summary After analyzing the data regarding the factors that affect the selling price of Ford Mustang, the researcher found several findings regarding the data.

The researcher found out that there is a significant difference in selling price between convertible and non-convertible Ford Mustangs (t = -2. 41 p = 0. 0216). In addition, the researcher also found out that there is a significant difference in the selling price between GT model Ford Mustangs and non-GT model Ford Mustangs (t = -2. 30 p = 0. 0279). With regard to the factors that affect the selling price of Ford Mustang, the researcher has found out that from all the factors stated; only three of the factors have an effect to the selling price of Ford Mustang.

The researcher found out that the GT type of the Ford Mustang has a significant effect to the selling price of Ford Mustang (t = 5. 525 p < 0. 001). On the other hand, the researcher also found that convertibility (t = 6. 839 p < 0. 001) and age (t = -9. 597 p < 0. 001) of the Ford Mustang have a significant effect to the selling price of the Ford Mustang. Lastly, the researcher found out a model that can be used to predict the selling price of a Ford Mustang. The model is given below. PRICE = 3,119. 3379*CONVERT – 1,277. 2089*AGE – 0. 00032349*MILES + 493. 6525*TRANS – 512.

3901*AIR + 227. 3458*CYL – 108. 1700*COLOR + 2,790. 5210*GT – 490. 3302*OWNER + 10,788. 9800 Although the researcher has found only three significant factors that affect the selling price, the model still includes the other insignificant variables since the model is significant predictor of selling price of Ford Mustang (F = 53. 35 p < 0. 001). The analysis of the selling price of Ford Mustang was done to determine factors that affect the selling price of the car. In addition, the research was done to create a model that will predict the future selling price of Ford Mustang cars.

The researcher has found out that although some factors affect the selling price of Ford Mustang, the model created is still considered even when there are other insignificant factors. This is because the researcher found the model to be significant due to hypothesis testing. However, the researcher suggests conducting several regression analyses to create a model that can predict the selling price of Ford Mustang better than the model created by the researcher. The idea is to use the significant factors that affect the selling price of the Ford Mustang.

The researcher was able to determine factors that affect the selling price of the Ford Mustang. The factors that affect the selling price are the convertibility of the car, the age of the car and whether the car is a GT or a non-GT type. The researcher was also able to create a model that will predict the selling price of Ford Mustang. References Peck, R. , Olsen, C. & Devore, J. (2008). Introduction to statistics and data analysis. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Garson, D. (2010). Multiple regression analysis. Statnotes. Retrieved August 25, 2010 from http://faculty. chass. ncsu. edu/garson/PA765/regress. htm.