The research study was specifically undertaken at one online university with students from diverse areas and faculties to explore and analyze modern conceptions and behaviors that center on social change. Simple ethnic, gender, and economic activism that looked into how diversity, globalization, the environment, and technology advancement affected social change was among the social developments that were examined (Ryan & Ruddy, 2015).
Research Questions
The study also looked at how important the ideas of social justice and equality are when discussing social transformation in a learning environment. The research questions for the study of working towards the public good with a perception of social change in an online university include:
- What are the primary mechanisms of social changes in an online university?
- What explanations can be provided in describing social changes in the online school community?
- Are the findings obtained from one research period valid to be applied in another season?
- Are the ideas and explanations provided for social changes in an online university applicable in the contemporary world?
Site Selection
The study is conducted in one online university with students from different ethnical backgrounds. The research targeted the understanding of the members of various faculties, students, and the school alumni who experienced social changes (Sewell, 2005). The site selected for this study was founded as a distance learning institution in the year 1970, which is comprehensively and regionally accredited. The selected online university is appropriate for creating positive social changes since it has a current population of about 60,000 students (Peterson, 2009). The chosen site is good for changing the mission of the university from its founding.
The Type of Sampling Strategy the Researchers Applied
From the table 4.3 of Ravitch and Carl's text, the purposeful sampling strategy that the researchers used to conduct the study of working toward the common good involves a single significant case, an exemplar of a phenomenon of interest, and full target population. The single significant case is a sampling strategy that was used by the researchers for the social changes in an online university to provide the rich and profound understanding of the subject (Patterson et al., 2014). For instance, the researchers focused on the social changes in one subject where they got breakthrough insights that can be applied in other communities (Moely, Furco & Reed, 2008). The researchers also used an exemplar of a phenomenon of interest as a purposeful sampling strategy. The plan helped them in examining the issue of social changes in a single case or subject. In this case, the researchers came to understand how social changes are manifested in members of a faculty, students, and school alumni. Another sampling strategy that was applied by the researchers is the entire target population (Nichols, Gaetz & Phipps, 2015). The researchers conducted interviews with selected students and alumni who presented a unique group of interests. The purposeful sampling strategy that best fit what the researchers described is the whole target population (Mitchell, 2008). The plan involved interviewing students with unique behaviors that are necessary for the study of social change activities in the community.
Alternative Data Collection Strategy
The researchers could have also considered time-location sample as another data collection strategy. The study of social changes in the community requires a longer period because advancement in technology has kept on changing people's behavior (Silverman & Xiaoming, 2015). The social activities that people execute in the contemporary world do change their lifestyle, and therefore, the data collection plan should probe a comparison between ancient and modern social changes (Taha, Hastings, & Minei, 2015). It should also provide a likely trend in social changes with the advancement in technology.
Data Saturation
Data saturation is a term used in qualitative research to refer to a point where a researcher reaches with the analysis of samples that no additional data is required to develop new information. For example, in the article of Yob and Brewer, the data gathered is sufficient for the time-location of samples in that obtaining more data would not alter the researchers' analysis of social changes in the institutions. The researchers would have used different methods of data collection to convince us of the emergence of new themes.
References
Mitchell, T. D. (2008). Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 14(2), 50-65.
Moely, B. E., Furco, A., & Reed, J. (2008). Charity and social change: The impact of individual preferences on service-learning outcomes. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 15(1), 37–48.
Nichols, N., Gaetz, S., & Phipps, D. (2015). Generating social change through communitycampus collaboration. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 19(3), 7-32.
Patterson, D. A., Cronley, C., West, S., & Lantz, J. (2014). Social justice manifest: A university-community partnership to promote the individual right to housing. Journal of Social Work Education, 50(2), 234-246.
Peterson, T. H. (2009). Engaged scholarship: Reflections and research on the pedagogy of social change. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(5), 541–552.
Ryan, T. G., & Ruddy, S. (2015). Restorative justice: A changing community response. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 7(2), 253-262.
Sewell, W. C. (2005). Affecting social change: The struggle for educators to transform society. Educational Foundations, 19(3/4), 5-14.
Silverman, J., & Xiaoming, Y. (2015). A cross-cultural collaboration exploring art literacy,creativity and social transformation in China. International Journal of Education Through Art, 11(2), 193-212.
Taha, D. E., Hastings, S. O., & Minei, E. M. (2015). Shaping student activists: Discursive sensemaking of activism and participation research. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 15(6), 1-15.
