Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.
Research is a fundamental process to any academic field because it it through it that
virtually all scholars get to learn about new developments in their areas of study. The process of
undertaking research entails the use of investigators who normally hypothesize the relationship
of various factors. The formulation of any hypothesis is normally done after samples are
collected and various measurements taken from the sampled people or objects. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay. It is from these
relationships that conclusions are drawn so that one can be able to establish whether the
hypothesis being tested was viable or not.
ORDER A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
In any form of qualitative research, the collection of
samples, their measurement and testing of hypothesis is an inevitable process. In particular, the
testing of hypothesis is overly important because it provides a tentative prediction of the outcome
that is expected. This paper is a research essay that examines an article that deals with adult
children of alcoholics. Specifically, the essay looks at the sampling methods that were used, the
measurement that the authors obtained and how they tested their hypothesis. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.
a) Focus of the Empirical Journal Article: Adult Children of Alcoholics
The article that is chosen for this research essay is titled “A Systematic Review of
Research on Adult Children of Alcoholics: Their Inherent Resilience and Vulnerability.” This
article is authored by Sihyun and Schepp (2014) and it focuses on the problems of vulnerability
that children of alcoholic parents go through in life. Alcoholism is one of the major problems
that are affecting the modern family unit (Cohen and Zhao 2015, p. 432). More specifically, the
consumption of alcohol among parents is a problem that has a negative impact on the children. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.
This explains why adult children of alcoholics or ACOAs tend to exhibit very negative outcomes
when they are growing up (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 4). These wayward traits can be seen in the form of stress, depression, suicidal thoughts or
intentions. Anxiety and even substance abuse. Moreover, some children of alcoholic parents
have been known to suffer from interpersonal difficulties such that they find it hard to relate to
other people (Haverfield and Theiss 2014, p. 169). Research has indicated that there are a
number of factors that directly affect adult children of alcoholics and their ability to realize their
potential (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 4). The understanding of some of these factors is critical
to the minimization of negative consequences that can affect the ACOAs.
This research paper examined the protective and risk factors of the children of alcoholics
that have a direct effect on their adverse outcome of behavior. Sihyun and Schepp (2014) carried
out a systematic review of the biological, protective and risk factors that affected adult children
of alcoholics. These factors were then categorized into four different levels that included
parental, individual, social and family groups (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 4). Each of these
groups had their own contribution towards the vulnerability and problems that ACOAs go
through in their daily life.
b) Sampling and measurement techniques
Sihyun and Schepp (2014) employed the use of relevant literature to carry out their study
and know whom to sample. The authors sampled a total of 39 individuals who took part in this
review. In addition, the authors also sampled from relevant literature and online databases such
as PubMed (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 4). These articles were researched on the basis of
whether they included any risk factors, vulnerability and negative outcomes on the lives of
children of alcoholic parents. In addition, the authors focused on whether there was any
resilience being exhibited by the ACOAs. The measurement techniques that the authors used depended on whether the risk factors and negative outcomes were being seen in these children
(Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 5).
For instance, a child had to come from an alcoholic family for them to qualify to be
sampled. The review process involved identifying the category of vulnerability that a child of an
alcoholic parent bonged to at a given moment. This vulnerability was in the form of risk factors,
biological contributions or even negative behavior. The sampled participants were categorized
according to whether they showed vulnerability or resilience traits. This was in relation to the
moderate relations between the problem of alcohol drinking and negative behavior in children of
alcoholics (Haverfield and Theiss 2014, p. 169). In addition to using these variables, this study
also employed an operational definition to measure the hypothetical constructs of the research.
The scale of measurement that was used rated the negative effects that children of
alcoholics suffered from in different age groups. For instance, children who were aged between 6
and 12 years were shown to have external problems and internalizing difficulties (Sihyun and
Schepp 2014, p. 5). This means that these children showed a lot of signs of anxiety and
depression at that tender age. Moreover, some ACOAs were shown to suffer from mental
disorders, lower academic performance in school and even cognitive problems (Sihyun and
Schepp 2014, p. 6). Another scale of measurement involved a different age group that a had
adults. In this study, adults were considered people above 18 years of age.
ORDER A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
Sihyun and Schepp (2014) showed that these adult children of alcoholics suffered from
low self-esteem and fear of attachment. In addition, most adults often felt ashamed of themselves
and this caused them to show interpersonal anxieties. The measurement of most of these factors
was mainly behavioral since the study focused on knowing the vulnerability and resilience
patterns of ACOAs (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 6). The measurement process aligned well with the research questions as well as the hypothesis. The two research questions that guided this
study included what risk factors make adult children of alcoholics more vulnerable than other
children. The second research question dealt with what protective factors make ACOAs more
resilient as compared to other adults (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 6). In the same way, the
research hypothesis that guided this study was that vulnerability and resilience are two important
risk factors that affect adult children of alcoholics. Most importantly, these research questions
and hypothesis did align with the measurement variables since the study endeavored to find out
how ACOAs could be salvaged.
c) Describe the potential measures to test your hypotheses. What are the external stimuli that
may influence these potential measures?
Hypotheses are tentative statements that are normally drawn from either direct
observations or theoretical concepts. In fact, a hypothesis is a clever prediction of the outcome of
any research study (Järvinen 2015, p. 806). The potential measures that are used to test a
hypothesis are based on two techniques of either rejecting or accepting this tentative statement.
The process of testing a hypothesis involves the formulation of either an alternative or a null
hypothesis. A good hypothesis needs to be very specific to carry the implications that are
required to test the expected relationships (Javanmard and Montanari 2014, p. 288). Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.Most
scholars normally derive or formulate their hypothesis from their research questions.
The same case is true in this study since the authors obtained their hypotheses from their
research questions (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 5). The hypothesis that guided this study was
that vulnerability and resilience are two important risk factors that affect adult children of
alcoholics (Sihyun and Schepp 2014, p. 5). Alternatively, this hypothesis could have also been
stated such that it could read “the two risk factors of resilience and vulnerability do not affect adult children of alcoholics.” The latter is a null hypothesis and it is usually abbreviated as H 0
and it mainly emphasizes that there is no significant difference between the factors being tested
(Javanmard and Montanari 2014, p. 288). The hypothesis that was earlier stated is an alternative
hypothesis that is mainly experimental in nature and it is abbreviated as H A.
The formulation of a research hypothesis is important because it normally guides the
selection of the observations, study design and additional methods of study (Meeden and
Noorbaloochi 2013, p. 816). To this effect, there are a couple of external stimuli that can affect
the measurement of a research hypothesis. One of these stimuli is the number of independent
variables that directly affect the study. What’s more, dependent variables can also influence the
outcome of hypothesis testing. Moreover, the process of testing a hypothesis is based largely on
probabilities and it can bring about a high amount of errors. These errors can fall in the category
of either type I or type II errors that directly affect the outcome of a study (Meeden and
Noorbaloochi 2013, p. 816). Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay. In this case study on the adult children of alcoholics, the variables
used in the study and the two types of errors can affect the potential measurement of a
hypothesis.
d) Several studies described in the readings are similar to the Milgram study in that
participants were given false information or a false impression about aspects of the study.
What ethical questions are raised by this practice? In what research situations, if any, can the
use of false or misleading information be defended? Justify your answers using the readings
for this assignment.
This research study provides an in-depth analysis of the numerous problems that adult
children of alcoholics go through due to their parents’ behavior. Sihyun and Schepp (2014) have
showed that ACOAs are vulnerable and resilient as a result of the drinking problems of their parents. This study has provided a lot of insights on the social issue of parental drinking and the
negative consequences it has on the children and adults (Javanmard and Montanari 2014, p. 288).
The results of this study clearly showed that adults suffer from anxiety, depression, and stress
and even esteem problems. Moreover, ACOAs are known to have numerous problems with
socialization and even trusting other people. Therefore, this study has no evidence of any false or
misleading information related to various aspects of the study. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.
Conclusion
Research is an important process of learning where academicians and scholars endeavor
to find answers to some confusing concepts. An effective research process requires sampling,
measurement and the testing of a hypothesis. Samples refer to the representative of a population,
which in this case study was the adult children of alcoholic parents. Measurement involves the
quantification of various elements that are important to the study. However, hypothesis testing is
the most fundamental and crucial part of any research as it determines whether the study being
done can be relied upon or not. This essay analyzed an article based on its sampling techniques,
measurement and testing of the hypothesis. Ultimately, it is up to the researcher to come up with
an empirical approach whose sampling and hypothesis are highly valuable. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.
ORDER A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
References
Cohen, K, & Zhao, Q 2015, 'Active Hypothesis Testing for Anomaly Detection', IEEE
Transactions On Information Theory, 61, 3, pp. 432-450, Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost, viewed 15 April 2015
Haverfield, M, & Theiss, J 2014, 'A theme analysis of experiences reported by adult children of
alcoholics in online support forums',Journal Of Family Studies, 20, 2, pp. 166-184,
Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 April 2015
Järvinen, M 2015, 'Understanding Addiction: Adult Children of Alcoholics Describing Their
Parents’ Drinking Problems', Journal Of Family Issues, 36, 6, pp. 805-825, Academic
Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 April 2015. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.
Javanmard, A, & Montanari, A 2014, 'Confidence Intervals and Hypothesis Testing for High-
Dimensional Regression', Journal Of Machine Learning Research, 15, pp. 286-290,
Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 April 2015.
Meeden, G, & Noorbaloochi, S 2013, 'Hypotheses Testing As A Fuzzy Set Estimation
Problem', Communications In Statistics: Theory & Methods, 42, 10, pp. 806-820,
Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 April 2015
Sihyun, P, & Schepp, K 2014, 'A Systematic Review of Research on Children of Alcoholics:
Their Inherent Resilience and Vulnerability',Journal Of Child & Family Studies, 23, 2,
pp. 1-10, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 April 2015. Sample, Measurement and Test for Hypothesis Essay.