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PROPOSING EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Proposing Empirical Research: A Guide to the Fundamentals provides

step-by-step instructions for students who will be writing their first
research proposal in the social and behavioral sciences and using
both quantitative and qualitative methods.
The structure of the book enables students to work
independently with confidence while writing the first drafts of their
proposals. Each major section is divided into short topics and for
each topic, students are asked to complete an exercise that leads
them toward the goal of preparing a proposal. Numerous illustrative
examples throughout the book make the recommendations for
proposal writing come alive. In addition, the 10 model proposals
provided at the end of the book illustrate proposal writing and
provide material for classroom discussions.
New to the Sixth Edition:
• Updates throughout to reflect research and learning in the

digital/online environment, e.g., online surveys, digital
organization tools, digital recruitment methods for research, and
digital databases, records, and archives.
• Discussion of qualitative methods.
• Updated references, model proposals, end of chapter exercises
etc.
Proposing Empirical Research is ideal for use in research methods

classes where students write a proposal as a term project,
thesis/dissertation preparation classes, senior research seminars
where proposing and conducting research is a culminating
undergraduate activity, and any graduate-level seminar in which the
instructor wants to incorporate a project that will engage students in
critical thinking about the content area.
Melisa C. Galvan is Assistant Professor at California State

University, Northridge.
PROPOSING EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Proposing Empirical Research: A Guide to the Fundamentals provides

step-by-step instructions for students who will be writing their first
research proposal in the social and behavioral sciences and using
both quantitative and qualitative methods.
The structure of the book enables students to work
independently with confidence while writing the first drafts of their
proposals. Each major section is divided into short topics and for
each topic, students are asked to complete an exercise that leads
them toward the goal of preparing a proposal. Numerous illustrative
examples throughout the book make the recommendations for
proposal writing come alive. In addition, the 10 model proposals
provided at the end of the book illustrate proposal writing and
provide material for classroom discussions.
New to the Sixth Edition:
• Updates throughout to reflect research and learning in the

digital/online environment, e.g., online surveys, digital
organization tools, digital recruitment methods for research, and
digital databases, records, and archives.
• Discussion of qualitative methods.
• Updated references, model proposals, end of chapter exercises
etc.
Proposing Empirical Research is ideal for use in research methods
classes where students write a proposal as a term project,
thesis/dissertation preparation classes, senior research seminars
where proposing and conducting research is a culminating
undergraduate activity, and any graduate-level seminar in which the
instructor wants to incorporate a project that will engage students in
critical thinking about the content area.
Melisa C. Galvan is Assistant Professor at California State

University, Northridge.
Sixth edition published 2020

by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Taylor & Francis
The right of Mildred L. Patten and Melisa C. Galvan to be identified as authors of this work
has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Pyrczak Publishing 2000
Fifth edition published by Routledge 2014
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Patten, Mildred L., author.
Title: Proposing empirical research : a guide to the fundamentals / Mildred L. Patten and
Melisa C. Galvan.
Description: Sixth edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019018232 | ISBN 9781138615670 (hbk) | ISBN 9781138615632 (pbk) |
ISBN 9780429463013 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Research–Methodology.
Classification: LCC Q180.55.M4 P378 2020 | DDC 001.4/2–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019018232
ISBN: 978-1-138-61567-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-61563-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-46301-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Stone Sans
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
To Emma Cristina, whose existence makes
every new day better than the last.
CONTENTS
Introduction to the Sixth Edition
Part A: Getting Started
Topic 1. What Is Empirical Research?

Topic 2. Identifying Broad Problem Areas
Topic 3. Evaluating Broad Problem Areas
Topic 4. Identifying and Combining Variables
Topic 5. Identifying Treatment Variables
Topic 6. Considering Demographic Variables
Topic 7. Writing Purposes and Hypotheses
Part B: A Closer Look at Problem Selection
Topic 8. Finding Ideas in the Literature

Topic 9. Considering a Body of Literature
Topic 10. Considering Theories and Frameworks
Topic 11. Determining Feasibility
Part C: Selecting a Research Approach
Topic 12. Qualitative Research

Topic 13. Survey Research
Topic 14. Correlational Research
Topic 15. Test Development Research
Topic 16. Experimental Research
Topic 17. Causal-Comparative Research
Topic 18. Program Evaluation
Part D: Organizing and Evaluating Literature
Topic 19. Organizing Literature by Topics

Topic 20. Evaluating Research Literature
Topic 21. Considering the History of a Topic
Part E: Application and Writing
Topic 22. A Separate Introduction

Topic 23. An Integrated Introduction and Literature Review
Topic 24. Writing the First Paragraph(s)
Topic 25. Using a Topic Outline
Topic 26. Being Selective and Critical
Part F: Proposing a Sample
Topic 27. Sampling in Qualitative Research

Topic 28. Random Sampling
Topic 29. Other Methods of Sampling: I
Topic 30. Other Methods of Sampling: II
Topic 31. Sample Size
Part G: Proposing Instrumentation

Topic 32. Qualitative Instrumentation
Topic 33. Proposing Published Instruments
Topic 34. Proposing New Instruments
Topic 35. Proposing to Measure Demographics
Topic 36. Ethical Issues in Measurement Methods
Part H: Proposing Procedures
Topic 37. Nonexperimental Procedures

Topic 38. Procedures in Experiments
Topic 39. Ethical Issues and Procedures
Part I: Proposing Methods of Analysis
Topic 40. Qualitative Analysis

Topic 41. Analysis of Demographics
Topic 42. Relationships: Nominal
Topic 43. Relationships: Equal Interval
Topic 44. Group Differences
Part J: Writing the Discussion and Other Concluding Tasks
Topic 45. Writing a Discussion Section

Topic 46. Giving the Proposal a Title
Topic 47. Preparing an Abstract
Topic 48. Developing a Timeline
Topic 49. Preparing a Reference List
Part K: Model Research Proposals for Discussion
Model Proposal 1: A Survey: Sexism in Online Video Games: The

Role of Conformity to Masculine Norms and Social Dominance
Orientation
Model Proposal 2: A Survey: Collegiate Athletic Trainers’ Knowledge
and Perceptions of Disordered Eating Behaviors in Athletes
Model Proposal 3: Test Development Research: The Americans With
Disabilities Act Knowledge Survey
Model Proposal 4: Single-Subject Research: The Effect of a Self-
Monitored Relaxation Breathing Exercise on Male Adolescent
Aggressive Behavior
Model Proposal 5: Quasi-Experimental Research: Intervening to
Decrease Alcohol Abuse at University Parties: Differential
Reinforcement of Intoxication Level
Model Proposal 6: True Experiment: The Influence of T-shirt
Graphics on Perceptions and Behavioral Intentions
Model Proposal 7: Qualitative Research with Focus Groups: In and
Out of Love with Hip-Hop: Saliency of Sexual Scripts for Young
Adult African American Women in Hip-Hop and Black-Oriented
Television
Model Proposal 8: Qualitative Research with Interviews: Being
Targeted as a “Severely Overweight Pregnant Woman”—A
Qualitative Interview Study
Model Proposal 9: Qualitative and Quantitative Research: Benefits of
Disease-Specific Summer Camps: Results from Quantitative and
Qualitative Studies at Roundup River Ranch
Model Proposal 10: Ethnographic Study: Ayahuasca’s Entwined
Efficacy: An Ethnographic Study of Ritual Healing from
“Addiction”
Appendix A: Locating Literature Electronically

Appendix B: Electronic Sources of Statistical Information
Index
INTRODUCTION TO THE SIXTH EDITION

This book was written for students writing their first proposals for
empirical research. Some students will be doing this as part of a
culminating undergraduate course such as a senior research seminar.
Others will be required to write a research proposal as a class
project at the graduate level. Still others will have their first
experience when they are required to prepare a proposal for their
thesis or dissertation research. Ideally, such students should have
taken at least one course in research methods and statistics, or
should be taking such courses concurrently while using this book.
It is also assumed that students using this book are already
familiar with the process of searching for academic literature through
online databases. Appendices A and B are included at the end of this
book for students who need to review the methods for locating
literature and related statistics electronically.
New Edition
When Proposing Empirical Research was first published in 2000,
university libraries had just begun to adopt online database tools,
and it was still expected that researchers would consult the print
form of journals. Today this landscape has changed dramatically, and
most, if not all, database searches are conducted entirely online.
With the addition of a new coauthor with expertise in the use of
modern research tools such as online surveys, the book has been
updated to reflect this digital turn.
Organization
Part A of this book is designed to help students select a problem
area and develop tentative research questions, purposes, and
hypotheses.
In Part B, students are encouraged to reevaluate and refine their
research questions, purposes, and hypotheses in light of the
literature on their topics, relevant theories, and the feasibility of
executing their research ideas.
In Part C, students are reminded of the major approaches to
research (e.g., types of research) and are encouraged to select a
suitable type. Sometimes the type of research methods selected
(e.g., qualitative) has implications for how research purposes,
questions, and hypotheses are conceptualized and stated. Hence,
some students will want to refine their research ideas further after
considering the material in this part.
In Part D, students are shown how to organize and evaluate the
literature they have collected in anticipation of the writing process.
The remaining parts of this book present guidelines for writing
various components of a standard research proposal. Throughout
these chapters, students will find short examples that illustrate
important writing techniques.
Model Proposals
Ten model proposals are included near the end of this book. They
are not presented as “ideal” proposals because a proposal that is a
model of excellence for one purpose (e.g., as a project for a senior
undergraduate seminar) may fall far short for another purpose (e.g.,
seeking major funding for research from a government agency).
Instead, they are presented as examples of solid proposals that are
consistent with the major recommendations in this book. Students
and instructors may react to the proposals in classroom discussions.
For example, instructors may wish to point out which parts of a
sample proposal are written in a manner suitable for the specific
purpose of a student’s proposal and which parts need more (or less)
explication and detail.
Benefits of Writing a Solid Proposal

Of course, a solid, well-formulated proposal is needed in order to
secure approval for the proposed research. In addition, a proposal
serves as an informal contract because those who approve the
proposal are agreeing that if the research is executed as planned,
the research will be approved when presented in a research report,
thesis, or dissertation. To avoid misunderstandings, this “contract,”
like all others, should be as explicit and specific as possible—even if
the proposed research is exploratory. Finally, a solid research
proposal can serve as the framework for writing the final research
report or thesis. For example, if a full-fledged literature review is
written for the proposal, it might end up being used as the literature
review in the research report.
Cautionary Notes
Students writing a proposal under the supervision of an instructor
should seek feedback throughout the process, especially while
selecting a research problem and formulating research purposes,
questions, or hypotheses. Writing a complete proposal without such
feedback could result in rejection of the entire work.
It is important to note that this book presents a framework and
guidelines for preparing a standard research proposal as envisioned
by the authors. As with evaluation of any type of writing, there may
be legitimate differences of opinion. Students should defer to their
instructors when this occurs.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank our partners at Routledge for their editorial
and conceptual assistance in preparing this new edition of our book.
In particular, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers who
provided extensive feedback and recommendations. We are grateful
for the research assistance of Heidi Schumacher, who was especially
helpful in identifying new references for the model proposals at the
end of the book.
In addition, Dr. Galvan is indebted to her colleagues on the
faculty of California State University, Northridge, especially the
College of Humanities, which has provided invaluable financial
support and release time so that she could finish this project. She
would also like to thank Jose L. Galvan, Janine A. Galvan, and
Bernardo Lopez, whose love, support, and willingness to play with
and care for Emma Cristina as she was attempting to write, made
this new edition possible.
Finally, both authors are forever indebted to Dr. Fred Pyrczak for
his original work on this book. Errors and omissions, of course,
remain our responsibility.
Melisa C. Galvan
Mildred L. Patten
PART A
GETTING STARTED
In this part of the book, you will learn how to identify and evaluate
broad problem areas in which you might want to conduct research. In
addition, you will learn how to combine variables of different types to
form research questions, purposes, and hypotheses.
While some of the exercises in this part ask you to practice writing
research questions, purposes, and hypotheses, you are strongly
urged to avoid making a final selection for your research proposal
until you have also completed Part B of this book, which will help you
evaluate your tentative ideas for research. To use an analogy, do not
marry yourself to a single idea. Date several ideas, get to know them
well, meet their families, and consider whether a future with them is
viable. Part B will help you with these activities.
Topic 1. What Is Empirical Research?

The term empiricism refers to making observations to obtain
knowledge. In everyday life, we all make informal observations of the
people and things around us, and, very often, we use these
observations as a basis for making decisions. For example, a teacher
might observe that their students seem bored and decide to switch to
a livelier instructional activity.
The term empirical research refers to making planned
observations. By following careful plans for making observations, we
engage in a systematic, thoughtful process that deserves to be called
research.
First, we need to plan what to observe. For example, we might
wish to observe boredom in the classroom. What other variables
should we plan to observe in order to aid our understanding of
boredom? Maybe we should consider skill areas, such as math versus
creative drawing. Maybe we should consider teaching styles or the
match between each student’s abilities and the instructional materials
that are assigned to them. The possibilities are almost endless, so a
researcher needs to select the variables that seem most promising.
Second, we need to plan whom to observe. For example, to study
boredom in the classroom, we would plan what types of students to
observe (e.g., elementary and/or secondary, middle-class and/or
lower-socioeconomic-status students, and so on).
Third, we need to plan how to observe. How will we measure
boredom (as well as other variables that might be related to
boredom)? Should we ask students directly if they are bored by using
a questionnaire? By interviewing them? Should we observe the
expressions on their faces and infer whether students are bored? If
so, who will make the observations, and on what basis will they make
the inferences (i.e., what types of facial expressions will be counted
as indicating boredom)?
Next, we need to plan when to observe. Observations made on a
hot Friday afternoon might yield very different results from those
made on a clear spring morning.
Finally, we should plan how to analyze the data and interpret
them. Will we calculate the percentage of students who appear bored
while participating in cooperative group activities versus how many
appear bored when working individually on an assignment? Will we
try to correlate boredom with other variables such as socioeconomic
status?
In this book, you will learn how to write a formal research
proposal in which all these elements are addressed.
Exercise for Topic 1

Directions: If you already have some ideas for empirical research
projects, briefly describe them. If possible, describe two or more. The
ideas you write for this exercise will give you talking points for
classroom discussions and should be thought of as only tentative. As
you work through this book, you will probably decide to greatly
modify or even abandon your responses to this exercise in favor of
more suitable ones.
Table A1 Sketching Out Project Ideas
Topic 2. Identifying Broad Problem Areas

Most beginning students should identify two or three broad problem
areas in which they might wish to conduct research. These are broad
areas in which many different types of specific research projects may
be undertaken. Examples that illustrate what is meant by broad
problem areas include the following:
• Attitudes toward mathematics.

• Alcohol abuse.
• Unemployment.
• Bullying.
• Environmental issues.
• Family violence.
• Immigration.
• Gender roles.
• Data privacy.
• Social media.
Among the sources of ideas for broad problem areas are textbooks
that were used in previous courses. Often, the authors of textbooks
point out areas in which there is controversy or areas that are not
fully fleshed out. For example, in the first chapter of their textbook on
educational and psychological measurement, the authors1 identify
“some current issues in measurement,” which include “testing
minority individuals” and “invasion of privacy.” In a later chapter, they
discuss “problems with personality and interest measures.”2 In each
of these sections, the textbook author identifies several broad areas
in need of additional research.
Other sources that may help in the identification of a broad
problem area for research include the following:
• Lecture notes from previous courses.

• Online database searches in your field using broad keywords such
as “current issues” or “new avenues of inquiry.”
• Review online reference websites such as PsycPORT.3 Run by the
American Psychological Association, it links to articles that cover
the latest psychology news.
• “Signature” publications and/or podcasts of major professional
associations, such as American Psychologist, published by the
American Psychological Association, which carries articles of broad
interest to psychologists and the public (as opposed to research
journals that carry reports on narrowly defined research).
• Journals that specialize in reviews of research, such as
Psychological Bulletin or Review of Educational Research.
Typically, these reviews provide a synthesis of research in a
variety of problem areas.
• Discussions with professors, especially those who might be
serving on your thesis or dissertation committee.
• Discussions with employers and colleagues.
• In addition, most academic fields have encyclopedias, dictionaries,
and/or handbooks that summarize research in broad areas.
Consult your reference librarian to see if these are available in
your discipline.
In Topic 3, we will consider how to evaluate problem areas you are

considering.

Directions: List three broad problem areas in which you might be
interested in conducting research. For each, indicate what brought
the area to your attention (e.g., textbooks, personal experience,
suggestions from others) and rate the degree of your interest in the
area on a scale from 1 to 5.
First Problem Area

1. What brought this area to your attention?
2. How interested are you in this area?
Very interested 5 4 3 2 1 Not at all interested
Second Problem Area

Third Problem Area


Topic 3. Evaluating Broad Problem Areas
Each of the broad problem areas you identified in the exercise for
Topic 2 should now be evaluated. Get feedback from professors,
other students, and colleagues. If you are proposing research for a
thesis or dissertation, you will want to very carefully consider the
interests of professors in your field who could potentially serve on
your committee.3
Other important criteria for evaluating a broad problem area
include:
1. Is the problem area in the mainstream of your field of study?
Beginners should consider working in the mainstream because

they normally have better academic backgrounds on mainstream
issues. Also, it is easier to locate faculty and other students to
help with research on mainstream issues. For example, the broad
problem area of “homelessness” is more of a mainstream issue for
a social work major than for a nursing major—although individuals
in both professions work with the homeless.
2. Is there a substantial body of literature on the problem area?4
At first, you might be tempted to think that an area with a

substantial body of literature is probably one in which researchers
have exhausted most of the interesting research possibilities.
However, the reverse is almost always true: As an area becomes
better researched, new and more interesting facets often emerge.
As one researcher builds on the research of another, complex
layers of information and data that reveal its complexity become
available—suggesting additional promising lines of research.
3. Is the problem area timely?
Timely issues are more likely to be of interest to potential readers

of your research. In addition, conducting research on them is
more likely to advance your career and lead to funding
opportunities for your research. Try to distinguish between timely
areas (on which there typically will be at least some published
research) and transient “sexy” topics that may not gain much
long-term momentum.
4. Is the research that you would need to conduct feasible?
While there may be many topics that one may wish to learn more
about, they may not always have the ability or access to the
communities necessary to conduct that research. When
brainstorming broad problem areas it is advisable to think about
your ability to conduct that research with the resources you
currently have available to you. For instance, while a historian
may feel that more information is needed on the lives of LGBTQ
prostitutes in the early twentieth century, they must ask
themselves first, whether there are sufficient primary sources
available on the topic, and, second, whether they have the means
to access those sources (e.g., if they are located in another state
or country). In many cases researchers will need to be creative in
identifying ways in which they can gain access to particular
populations that they are proposing to research. While you will
continue to narrow down your topics as you move forward, it is
important to keep these criteria in mind early on.

Directions: Write the names of the three broad problem areas you
identified in the exercise for Topic 2. Then briefly evaluate each one.
First Problem Area

Explain.
2. Is there a substantial body of literature on the problem area?
Explain.
3. Is the problem area timely? Explain.
Second Problem Area
Explain.
Explain.
Third Problem Area

Explain.
Explain.
Topic 4. Identifying and Combining Variables

To narrow a broad problem area down to a specific research topic, it
is helpful to brainstorm a list of variables within the area that might
be of interest. Others may choose to create a mind map that helps
them narrow down bigger problem areas. Regardless of how you
choose to organize the narrowing of your interests, most variables
can be thought of as belonging to one of three families:
1. Knowledge.
Research often focuses on what people know about some topic.
Examples of knowledge variables include:
• Knowledge of how undocumented minors arrive in the United

States. (Note that people will differ, or vary, in the amount of
this knowledge. Hence, it is called a variable.)
• Knowledge of community resources for undocumented minors.
• Knowledge of legal resources available for undocumented
minors.
2. Opinions and Feelings.
Considerable research deals with this family of variables.
Examples include:
• Attitudes toward undocumented minors.

• Opinions on federal support for research on undocumented
minors.
• Anxiety among children of undocumented parents.
3. Overt Behavior/Action.
What people do is also of considerable interest. Examples of
variables in this family include:
• Whether people would treat people differently who identify

themselves as undocumented.
• How much people donate to community organizations that
assist undocumented individuals.
• Use of free legal clinics by people who are undocumented.
We can combine variables to form interesting research questions.

Using two of the opinions and feelings variables mentioned earlier,
we could ask:
• Do those with more favorable attitudes toward undocumented

minors favor more federal support for research on
undocumented minors than those with less favorable
attitudes?
We can also combine variables across two different families of

variables and ask research questions such as:
• Do people with more knowledge of how undocumented minors

arrive in the United States have more favorable attitudes
toward undocumented minors than those with less knowledge?
The exercise for this topic will ask you to brainstorm some variables
from each of the three families and try combining them—but do not
fall in love yet, and do not marry yourself to a research question!
There is still quite a bit of work to do before making a long-term
commitment.

Directions: Complete this exercise using one of the broad problem
areas you named in your responses to the exercise for Topic 3. If you
are still considering more than one, you should complete this exercise
for each additional area.
Name a Broad Problem Area

1. List at least four knowledge variables within the problem area.
2. List at least four opinions and feelings variables within the
problem area.
3. List at least four overt behavior/action variables within the
problem area.
4. Combine two variables from one family of variables into a
research question.
5. Combine two variables from two different families of variables into
a research question.
Topic 5. Identifying Treatment Variables

When researchers give treatments such as an aspirin a day to one
group and a placebo to another, they create a variable known as an
independent variable. The people in the study vary (or differ)
because of what the researcher has done to them. (Those in one
group have thinner blood than those in the other because of the
blood-thinning effects of aspirin.) The formal name of a study in
which a researcher gives treatments is an experiment.
As you plan your research, you will need to decide whether you
wish to conduct an experiment. To make this decision, consider
possible treatments you might give to affect the variables you named
in your responses to Questions 1 through 3 in the exercise for Topic
4. In other words, consider what treatments you might give to affect
knowledge, or the opinions and feelings, or the overt behavior/action
of potential participants in your research.
At first, some students think that conducting an experiment is
inherently more difficult than conducting a nonexperimental study.
However, the research literature is full of simple, revealing
experimental studies.
Example
A researcher prepared two versions of a LinkedIn profile. The two were identical except
that one version stated “Always maintained an active and healthy lifestyle” and the other
stated “Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 4, I have always maintained an active
and healthy lifestyle.” Different versions were shared with different potential employers,
and the number of positive responses from employers was counted.
As you can see, the potential employers were “treated” with different
versions of the profile. Note that the effort to conduct the experiment
was not greater than the effort it would take to conduct an opinion
survey by email.
As you consider potential treatments, look for ones that might
produce a big bang— that is, those that have a good chance of being
highly effective. For example, tutoring children in math (the
treatment) for a few hours would be unlikely to produce much of an
effect on a nationally standardized math test. However, a few hours
of tutoring on the addition of simple fractions might produce a big
gain on a test that measures only this particular math skill. Of course,
it is sometimes hard to guess in advance if a particular treatment will
produce a big effect.
Although the exercise for this topic will ask you to identify some
potential independent variables, note that you should immerse
yourself in the literature on the topic that you eventually select to
identify which treatments have already been tried and how effective
they have been before making a final selection. Often, it is fruitful to
try a modification of a treatment that was used in published research
in order to see if the modified treatment is more or less effective than
the original one.
Note that an independent variable can have more than two types
of treatments. For instance, a researcher might administer three
types of counseling for reducing anxiety.

PART 1: Directions: This exercise is for practice only. If you will be
conducting an experiment, you will want to explore the research
literature carefully to identify promising treatments.
1. Select one of the knowledge variables that you listed in response

to Question 1 in the exercise for Topic 4 and write it down.
Name an independent variable (i.e., treatments) that might
increase the knowledge.
2. Select one of the opinions and feelings variables that you listed in
response to Question 2 in the exercise for Topic 4 and write it
down.
change the opinions and feelings.
3. Select one of the overt behavior/action variables that you listed in
response to Question 3 in the exercise for Topic 4 and write it
down.
change the overt behavior/action.
PART 2: Directions: On the following scale, rate how interested you

are in conducting an experiment at this point in your planning.
Explain the reason for your rating.
Topic 6. Considering Demographic Variables

Demographic variables are background characteristics of the
participants you will be studying. Many demographics are considered
in research in the social and behavioral sciences. Examples include:
• Highest (or current) educational level.

• Socioeconomic status.
• Age.
• Major in school.
• Employment status.
• Citizenship status.
• Gender.
You should consider demographics at this point in planning your

research because there probably will be some that you will want to
hold constant in the study you are planning. For example, you might
want to hold gender and educational level constant by studying only
women enrolled in college. If so, you will probably want to add this
information to your emerging research questions because it will be an
important restriction on what you will be studying. For instance, this
question might be posed:
• Among female college students, do those who have traveled

abroad have more knowledge of world geography than those who
have not traveled abroad?
Notice the three elements in the question: (1) two demographic

variables (gender and educational level) that are held constant, (2)
an overt behavior/action variable (traveling abroad), and (3) a
knowledge variable.
There are three important considerations in identifying
demographic variables to hold constant. First, there is the practical
matter of the types of individuals to whom you have access. For
example, if you teach fifth grade students, you may wish to confine
yourself to this readily available sample. Second, you should consider
the demographic types that are most likely to exhibit the behaviors
you wish to observe. For example, for a study on stress created by
cyberbullying, younger adults are more likely to have had relevant
experiences than older adults. Third, you should consider whether
holding a demographic variable constant will help to simplify your
study so that it is manageable. For example, a study on skin cancer
prevention using only males or only females is inherently simpler than
one with both males and females.
Note that important demographic variables that you do not hold
constant will need to be described in your research report. For
example, you may study college-level women who vary in age. You
will want to plan to collect information on age so that you can
describe this demographic characteristic in your research report. This
can easily be done by reporting the percentage in each of several age
categories or by reporting the average age of the participants in the
research.

Directions: Keep in mind that your responses to this exercise are for
practice only. Final selection of one or more research questions
should take place only after you complete Part B of this book.
1. Rewrite the research question that you wrote for Question 4 in

the exercise for Topic 4. Revise the research question to include
reference to one or more demographic variables that might be
held constant (e.g., “Among female college students …”).
the exercise for Topic 4. Revise the research question to include
reference to one or more demographic variables that might be
held constant (e.g., “Among female college students …”).
Topic 7. Writing Purposes and Hypotheses

In Topics 4 through 6, you saw how variables can be combined to
form research questions. Consider the following example of a
research question with two variables (depression and limiting
exposure time to social media) plus a demographic variable
(age/adulthood) that is held constant.
• Among adolescents, is there a relationship between depression

and success in limiting exposure time to social media?
Often, researchers prefer to state a research purpose (a statement

instead of a question). Using the same variables as in the previous
example, here is a research purpose:
• The purpose is to explore the relationship between depression

and success in limiting exposure to social media.
The choice between stating a research question and stating a

research purpose is largely a matter of personal preference. However,
notice that neither one predicts the outcome of the study. This is not
true of hypotheses, which are considered next.
Oftentimes with quantitative research, if you are willing to predict
the nature of the relationship, you should state a hypothesis instead
of a research question or purpose because a hypothesis indicates
what you expect to find. This is less recommended for qualitative
projects, since researchers are advised to allow their
participants/findings to speak for themselves. Using the same
variables as in the previous two examples, here is a research
hypothesis:
• Adolescents who are severely depressed will be less successful in

their attempts to limit exposure to social media than those with
fewer symptoms of depression.
While research questions, purposes, and hypotheses should be

reasonably specific, avoid being overly specific about the anticipated
statistical outcome. Here is one that is too specific:
• Adolescents who are more depressed will be 55% less successful

in limiting their exposure to social media than those with fewer
symptoms of depression.
It will be almost impossible for the data to support this hypothesis
because there will have to be exactly 55% less (not 54%, not 56%,
in fact, not any other percentage) for confirmation of the hypothesis.
Thus, the hypothesis that says simply that there will be less success
without quantification is a superior hypothesis.
As you consider possible research questions, purposes, and
hypotheses, keep in mind that a research proposal may be based on
more than one of them. Generally, however, they should be closely
related. Here is an example in which there are three related
hypotheses:
• Among adolescents, there is an inverse relationship between

success in limiting exposure to social media and
1. depression,
2. anxiety, and
3. interpersonal dependency needs.

Directions: You should still consider your responses to the following
questions highly tentative. Final selection of research questions,
purposes, and hypotheses should not be made until you have read
Part B of this book.

the exercise for Topic 4.
Revise the research question so that it is in the form of a research
purpose:
hypothesis:
the exercise for Topic 4.
purpose:
hypothesis:
Notes
1. Thorndike, R.M. and Tracy M. Thorndike-Christ (2010). Measurement and evaluation in
psychology and education (8th ed.). London: Pearson, 16.
2. Ibid., 475.
3. When you approach professors with a broad problem area, some of them might want to
dive into the thick of things and ask you for your specific research purposes or
hypotheses. If this happens, explain that you are not at that stage yet—that you are
considering broad areas and trying to identify faculty who might be interested in working
with you.
4. At this point in your academic career, you probably know how to search the major online
databases of literature in your academic area. For those who do not, Appendix A describes
the basics of this process.
PART B
A Closer Look at Problem Selection
Having completed Part A of this book, you should have several

tentative research questions, purposes, or hypotheses within one or
two broad problem areas. In this part, you will be encouraged to
consider other possibilities within the problem areas, evaluate them,
and make a final selection for your research proposal.
Note that the research questions, purposes, or hypotheses are
the heart of your proposal. If they are not solid and suitable, your
proposal will be unsatisfactory regardless of your excellence in
writing the other portions of the proposal.
Topic 8. Finding Ideas in the Literature

Before making a final selection of research questions, purposes, or
hypotheses on which to base your proposal, you should read
extensively on the problem area(s) that you have selected. While
reading books (especially textbooks) will give you a broad overview,
at this point you need to immerse yourself in the specifics of how
others have conducted research. These specifics can be found in
current reports of original research published in academic journals.
Such reports (called research articles) can be identified through
online databases available through your library’s website.1 Although
online databases often provide abstracts (summaries) of the articles,
it is essential that you obtain copies of the full articles and carefully
read them in their entirety.
As you read, pay special attention to the specific research
questions, purposes, or hypotheses stated in the article. Usually,
these can be found in the paragraph immediately above the heading
“Method” in an article.
• Are the questions, purposes, or hypotheses similar to ones you

have been considering for your research?
• Could any of them be modified to create a new problem that you
might want to investigate?
• Were any of them sufficiently important that a replication of the
study is warranted? Would you want to propose a replication
(i.e., another study designed to see if similar results are
obtained)? Can you get approval from your instructor to propose
a replication?2
You should also pay special attention to the discussion sections that
appear at the end of most research articles. In these discussions,
researchers often describe the limitations (e.g., weaknesses) of their
studies. Ask yourself whether you could propose research without
these limitations. If so, you may want to propose a modified
replication of a study in which you improve on the research
methodology.
In their discussions, researchers also often describe possible
directions for future research. Consider whether any are of sufficient
interest to you that you might want to propose research along the
lines suggested. These suggestions deserve careful consideration
because they are being made by experienced researchers who have
conducted publishable research on a topic within your problem area.
Contrary to what some beginning students think, most researchers
are more than happy to share their best research ideas with others.
There is no greater compliment than having others build on one’s
completed research and having the original research cited as the
inspiration.

Directions: Read at least three current reports of original research
(research articles) in one of your problem areas, and answer the
following questions.
1. Did the articles help you to refine the research questions,

purposes, or hypotheses that you have been considering?
Explain.
2. Did the articles give you ideas for new research questions,
purposes, or hypotheses? Explain.
3. What other benefits, if any, did you get from reading the articles?
4. Do you believe that you are closer to making a final selection of
research questions, purposes, or hypotheses to propose as a
result of reading the journal articles? Explain.
5. Practice making full bibliographic citations for the research
articles that you identify. Be sure to follow the conventions of
your field (e.g., APA, MLA, etc.).
Topic 9. Considering a Body of Literature

Before making a final selection of research questions, purposes, or
hypotheses on which to base your proposal, you should consider the
body of literature as a whole. In other words, read all the articles
you have collected on your general topic and reflect on them as a
group. Ask yourself the following questions:
• What are the trends in research perspectives over time? For

instance, does research published more recently use
conceptualizations different from older research? As a general
rule, you will want to use the newer conceptualizations unless
you have a very good reason for doing otherwise.
• Are there particular lines of research that have been especially
fruitful in uncovering important results? Are there unfruitful lines
that you will want to avoid?
• Are certain previous studies repeatedly cited by current
researchers? If so, this may point you to the historical roots of
current lines of research. You will want to read such landmark or
classic studies carefully for possible ideas for your proposed
research.
• Are there obvious gaps in the body of research literature? For
example, have all the researchers used only women athletes as
participants? Do you have access to other groups of women that
you might propose to study?
Often, those who write research articles will help you to answer
these questions. In Example 1, the researchers point out an
important gap in a body of literature.
Example 1
Several gaps in the current research literature regarding auditory memory and
earwitnesses are evident … Most previous studies test memory performance the same
day as encoding, often only minutes after initial presentation of the stimuli. There are
very few studies that have utilized longer delays of up to one week (Huss & Weaver,
1996; Lawrence et al., 1979).3
In Example 2, the researchers point out what has been established

as well as current trends, which might be considered as a topic for
research.
Example 2
Research on happiness and life satisfaction has established that subjective well-being is
shaped by social inequality (Clark, Frijters, and Shields, 2008) … Recently, this
interpretation of the effect of income on well-being has been challenged by aggregate,
cross-national analyses of the relationship between well-being and income, reopening
the question of the importance of relative versus absolute income for subjective well-
being (Easterlin et al., 2010) …4

Directions: After considering the body of research in your problem
area, answer the following questions.
1. Are there changes in the trends in research perspectives over
time? Explain. If yes, how will they affect your formulation of
research questions, purposes, or hypotheses?
2. Are there lines of research within your area that have been
particularly fruitful? Unfruitful?
3. Are certain previous studies repeatedly cited in current research?
If yes, have you read these landmark studies? Explain.
4. Have you found any obvious gaps in the research on your topic?
Explain. If yes, will you consider proposing research to fill one or
more of the gaps? Explain.
Topic 10. Considering Theories and

Frameworks
A theory is a unified explanation for discrete observations that might
otherwise be viewed as unrelated or contradictory. Frameworks can
be real or conceptual ways to help guide one’s understanding of a
particular topic. For instance, some tenets of objectification theory
are described in this example:
Example
Originally grounded in the experiences of women, objectification theory (Fredrickson &
Roberts, 1997) posits that sexual objectification of women’s bodies is omnipresent and
can be internalized. Internalization of cultural standard of attractiveness occurs through
constant exposure to socialization messages that promote compliance and identification
with those messages. Such internalization can promote the adoption of an observer’s
perspective on one’s own body, or self-objectification, which is manifested as persistent
body surveillance. Body surveillance involves habitual monitoring and comparison of
one’s body against the internalized standard of attractiveness with a focus on how
one’s body looks rather than how it feels or functions. Body surveillance can, in turn,
result in feelings of body shame for not meeting the (generally unattainable) cultural
standards of attractiveness.5
This theory has many implications for the study of body image. For
instance, a self-esteem program that helps clients to change their
objectification, internalization, and body surveillance should be more
effective than programs that involve only one or two of the factors.
Such a prediction could be the basis of an experiment in which two
or more types of self-esteem programs are devised and tested.
Note that being able to say in a proposal that the research either
will test some aspect of an important theory or has its origins in
such a theory is usually an excellent way to help justify proposed
research. This is true because the results are less likely to be viewed
as isolated data. Instead, they are likely to contribute to
understanding behavior in a larger context. Thus, you will want to
consider whether your research questions, purposes, or hypotheses
can be related to one or more theories.
Survey textbooks in most content areas usually cover only the
most important, well-established theories. However, research on
newer theories that are not as established may be more interesting
and make more substantial contributions. As you read research
articles in your problem area, you are likely to identify such theories.
In addition, you might conduct an online database search in which
you include the term theory. For example, a search of
PsycARTICLES, the major journal database in psychology, using the
terms “television,” “violence,” and “theory,” identified 13 research
articles, including one that explored the theory of vivid media
violence, which leads to the prediction that there are “gender
differences in memories for graphic media violence.”6 Of course,
those who conduct future research in this area might want to take
account of this theory.
Here is another example: Searching for “bullying” from 2010 to
2018 yielded 303 articles. Searching for “bullying” and “theory”
yielded a smaller, but still unmanageable, 42 articles. Restricting the
search by specifying that “theory” must appear in the titles of the
articles identified an even more manageable four articles. Note that
the word “theory” in the title of an article suggests that the article
emphasizes one or more underlying theories in the conceptualization
of the research. These would be good articles to examine if a
researcher wanted to relate their research to current theories.
Directions: Consider the problem area that you believe you are most
likely to pursue in your proposal.
1. In what problem area are you planning to conduct research? List

the major concepts associated with the problem area.
2. Are you aware of any theories that might help you in planning
your research?
3. Conduct an online database search for theories/frameworks
associated with the problem area. List at least three of your
results.
4. Briefly discuss two viable theories or frameworks associated with
your problem area and how they might be useful in your research
proposal.
Topic 11. Determining Feasibility

At this point, you should consider making a final selection of a
problem area within which to propose research. You should also
have a list of variables of interest within the area. The variables
should have been derived from your study of research articles,
including those with strong theoretical underpinnings. Also, you
should combine variables into research questions. You should try to
write a number of combinations so that you can evaluate them and
choose the best among them.
For example, suppose that your original broad problem area was
“homelessness,” and you narrowed it to “the origins of
homelessness.” Some of the variables you might consider are drug
abuse, mental illness, child abuse, strength of family ties, and so on.
Some research questions you might ask include:
• Do homeless adults tend to have a stronger history of drug abuse

than comparable people who are not homeless?
• Are the children of homeless parents more likely to become
homeless adults than are children of housed parents?
• To what factors do the “newly” homeless (i.e., those who have
been homeless for less than a year) attribute their
homelessness?
As you know from Topic 7, you can rephrase a research question as

a research purpose:
• The purpose is to identify the factors to which the “newly”

homeless attribute their homelessness.
Whether you use a question or a purpose is largely a matter of

personal preference. However, if you think that you know the answer
to a research question (i.e., you believe you can predict the answer),
you should state a research hypothesis:
• It is hypothesized that children of homeless parents are more

likely to become homeless adults than are children of housed
parents.
Your next step is to take your list of possible questions, purposes, or

hypotheses to experts (such as professors who have conducted
research) for feedback. Of course, you will want to ask them to help
you assess the importance of each in terms of making a contribution
to your discipline. In addition, you should ask them to consider the
feasibility of conducting research on each one. Having conducted
research, they are in a better position than you (if you are a first-
time researcher) to assess whether one question, purpose, or
hypothesis will be inherently more difficult to gather data on than
the others. This is important information if you will be conducting
research with limited resources. For instance, for the examples in
this topic, homeless participants will need to be contacted in person
(because it is likely they will not respond to emailed surveys).7 Do
you have the resources (and inclination) to personally contact them?
If you just want to study the “newly” homeless, how will you locate
them? Will you be able to find a sufficient number of willing
participants? Are the homeless likely to be willing to participate in
the type of study you are planning? These are examples of feasibility
questions that would need to be answered before a final selection is
made.
Once you have selected research questions, purposes, or
hypotheses that are both important and feasible, your next task is to
select the appropriate research approach, a topic considered in the
next section of this book.

1. Write the name of your problem area.
2. Write the research question(s), purpose(s), or hypothesis(es) on
which your research will be based. (Keep in mind that you may
wish to have a set of closely related ones that will be investigated
in a single study. See the example at the end of Topic 7.)
3. Get feedback on the importance and feasibility of conducting the
research suggested by your research questions, purposes, or
hypotheses. Briefly describe your reactions to this feedback. Did
it help you to make a final selection?
Notes
1. See Appendix A if you are unfamiliar with conducting online database searches.
2. Note that for a learning exercise, your instructor may want you to propose original
research rather than a replication. This is why you should consult with them before
proceeding.
3. Burrell, L.V., Johnson, M.S., & Melinder, A. (2016). Children as earwitnesses: Memory for
emotional auditory events. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30, 323–331.
4. Alderson, A.S., & Katz-Gerro, T. (2016). Compared to whom? Inequality, social
comparison, and happiness in the United States. Social Forces, 95, 25–54.
5. Parent, M.C., & Moradi, B. (2011). His biceps become him: A test of objectification
theory’s application to drive for muscularity and propensity for steroid use in college men.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58, 246–256.
6. Riddle, K. (2018). Men’s and women’s situation models for violent movies and television
programs. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7, 72–86.
7. If within the U.S., you should also take into consideration your university’s Institutional
Review Board (IRB) approval process and protocols. In some cases, specific populations
(e.g., minors or the “undocumented”) will be off limits for certain students. Make sure
you follow the regulations specific to your region and/or country.
PART C
Selecting a Research Approach
At this point, you should have selected a problem area and

formulated research questions, purposes, or hypotheses on which to
base your proposal.
In this part of the book, some important approaches to research
(often called types of research) will be briefly summarized.1 Because
it is assumed that you have already taken a research methods
course (or are taking one currently), the topics in this part of the
book are designed to be only reminders of the major approaches
and their characteristics. Logically, the selection of an approach
should be driven by the nature of the research questions, purposes,
or hypotheses. However, the entire process of planning research is
interactive. For example, a research purpose might logically lead to a
proposal to conduct qualitative research; yet, the potential
researcher may not have training in how to conduct this type of
research—leading to the need to revise or even abandon the initial
research purpose in favor of a different one.
Topic 12. Qualitative Research

The purpose of qualitative research is to gain an in-depth
understanding of purposively selected participants from their
perspective. The strength of a qualitative research method is its
ability to provide complex textual descriptions of how people
experience a given issue. In other words, it can provide information
about the “human” side of an issue.
The fact that it is in-depth rules out the use of typical surveys,
tests, and psychological scales. Instead, qualitative researchers use
techniques such as in-depth semistructured interviews, focus-group
discussions, and ethnographic direct observations over an extended
period of time. For example, some researchers choose to analyze
diaries and conduct more textual-based research. In fact, sometimes
qualitative researchers live with (such as living within a particular
community of people) and work with (such as helping teachers to
conduct lessons) their participants. The resulting data do not lend
themselves to easy quantification, so qualitative researchers usually
report on themes and trends using words instead of statistics.
The use of purposively selected participants requires the
researcher to have access to particular types of participants who are
especially likely to aid in the understanding of a phenomenon. For
example, if a research purpose is to understand the motivations of
high-achieving African-American women in the corporate world, the
researcher would need to have access to and deliberately select such
women. The purpose is to understand a research problem from the
perspectives of the population it involves. Qualitative research is
especially important when seeking culturally specific information
about the values, opinions, behaviors, or even social contexts of
particular populations.
Trying to understand participants from their perspective requires
the researcher to bring an open mind to the research setting. Thus,
hypotheses are usually an inappropriate basis for qualitative
research. (Remember that a hypothesis is a prediction of a particular
outcome, which implies prejudgment.) Rather, qualitative research
typically rests on broad research purposes (or questions) such as:
• The purpose is to explore the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational

factors to which high-achieving African-American women
attribute their success in the corporate world.
Because it is from the participants’ perspective, after conducting
research, qualitative researchers sometimes share their findings with
their participants and ask them for feedback (such as having them
read and react to the preliminary research report). Such feedback is
used in the revision of the results sections of their research reports.
Qualitative research is often recommended for new areas of
research or areas about which social and behavioral scientists have
little previous knowledge. (Note that it is difficult to draw up highly
structured instruments such as multiple-choice questionnaires to
conduct quantitative research in a new area.) The questions asked
are typically open-ended and researchers must remain flexible.
However, qualitative research is also desirable even in well-
researched areas whenever in-depth information is needed.
As you may know, the three most common qualitative methods
are participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups.
The data collected can take many forms, including field notes, audio
and/or video recordings, photographs, and transcripts.
Novice students who have limited knowledge of statistics may be
drawn to qualitative research simply because few statistics are
required in this type of research. There are advantages and
disadvantages to both approaches, and neither is easier than the
other. While qualitative methods use open-ended questions to allow
participants an opportunity to explain phenomena in their own
words, transcribing and extracting meaning from those data is not
an easy feat. At the end of the day, the open-ended nature to this
approach allows for responses that are meaningful and culturally
salient to participants, potentially unanticipated by the researcher,
and rich and detailed.
Those who choose to use both qualitative and quantitative
methods may choose to use a mixed-methods approach. The goal is
to provide a broader perspective on one’s research topic. It is
recommended that you consult with your instructor and/or research
advisors to determine whether this type of approach would make
sense for your project.
1. Does your research purpose or question lend itself to qualitative
research? Explain.
2. At this point, are you planning to propose qualitative research? If
yes, will you be able to justify its selection for reasons other than
merely a personal distaste for statistics? Explain.
3. If you are planning qualitative research, what type(s) of
purposively selected participants do you anticipate using?
Topic 13. Survey Research

The purpose of a typical survey is to collect information from a
sample and generalize it to a larger population. National political
polls are a prime example in which only a sample of potential voters
is questioned in order to estimate how all voters feel about
candidates or issues.
The desire to generalize from a survey requires that an adequate
sample be drawn. Ideally, a random sample (e.g., drawing names
out of a hat) or a stratified random sample (e.g., drawing names out
of several hats with particular categories of people, such as men and
women, in different hats) should be used. In institutional settings, it
is often possible for researchers with limited resources to obtain
such samples. For instance, with administrative approval, a teacher
may be permitted to survey a random sample of students in his or
her school in order to generalize to all students in the school.
Researchers interested in noninstitutionalized populations often
conduct their surveys by emailing or texting questionnaires. Many of
these surveys have notoriously low rates of return (even with follow-
up emails), leaving researchers with information on only those who
had sufficient time and interest to respond. If you conduct a survey
by email, you will probably need to warn your readers that the
results are highly tentative.
There are a number of websites that make it easy to survey
potential participants (if you have their email contact information).
SurveyMonkey, Typeform, and Google Forms are all used by
academics to conduct survey research and are easy to navigate.
Some websites offer these services free of charge (depending on
whether it is for personal use) and others charge a fee based on
how many people you will be trying to reach. You should consult
with your academic institution to see if they have site licenses you
could use to access these resources.
Here is an example of a set of research hypotheses that lend
themselves to survey research:
• It is hypothesized that the following groups of parents will be

more in favor of mandatory uniforms in public schools:
(a)parents with children attending academically troubled schools

(as opposed to those with children in high-achieving schools),
(b)parents with children in schools where there are patterns of
student conflict and violence (as opposed to those with
children in more peaceful schools), and
(c) parents whose economic resources are limited (as opposed to
wealthier parents).
Notice that these hypotheses require that different groups of parents

be compared with each other. For example, the attitudes of wealthier
parents toward uniforms will need to be compared with the attitudes
of poorer parents. Usually, surveys in which comparisons are made
are more interesting than surveys that ask a single global question,
such as, “What percentage of parents favor mandatory school
uniforms for students in public school?”

1. Does your research purpose or question lend itself to survey
research? Explain.
2. At this point, are you planning to propose survey research? If
yes, will you propose comparing two or more groups?
3. If you are planning survey research, how will you contact the
participants (email, telephone, etc.)?
4. If you have a low response rate, are you willing to advise your
readers that your results should be viewed with considerable
caution? Explain.
Topic 14. Correlational Research

In a simple correlational study, two quantitative variables are
measured and the degree of relationship between them is
determined by computing a correlation coefficient.
Most educational and psychological tests and scales yield
quantitative scores2 that could be used in correlational research. The
following hypotheses lend themselves to correlational research.
• It is hypothesized that there is a direct correlation between the

U.S. College Board S.A.T. scores and undergraduate first-year
G.P.A.
• It is hypothesized that depression and scholastic achievement are
inversely related.
A direct relationship is one in which those participants with high

scores on one variable tend to have high scores on the other
variable (and those with low scores on one variable tend to have low
scores on the other). For direct relationships, correlation coefficients
range from 0.00 (no relationship) to 1.00 (perfect, direct
relationship). It follows that values near 1.00 (such as .75 and
above) are often called “very strong,” and positive values near 0.00
(such as .25 and below) are often called “very weak.”
An inverse relationship is one in which those participants who
score high on one variable (such as being high in depression) score
low on the other (such as being low on scholastic achievement).
Another random document with
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the old man concluded to accept for a few days.
He had not been long with them when their supplies were about to
give out, and a consultation was had as to the best method of
replenishing the stock. It was soon agreed that Mr. Colburn should
go to the house of an old friend not far off, stay all night, and bring in
a sack of potatoes the next morning. With this intent he left the camp
late in the evening, and soon found himself in the comfortable home
of his friend, and in the most agreeable family intercourse around a
cheerful fire. Old times were talked over and present events
canvassed till a late hour, when the “family Bible,” the worship, the
good night and the downy bed closed the scene. A refreshing sleep
brought the old man to an early start, and the friendship of other
years filled his sack with fine potatoes; and, as the sun arose upon
the world, he hailed the smoke of the early camp fire, and pressed on
toward his hungry protectors.
Just at daylight the camp had been surprised and attacked by a
squad of Federal soldiers. The rebels fled in confusion, leaving the
camp in possession of the enemy, while they formed in the adjacent
brush and prepared to re-take the camp. Just as Mr. Colburn rode
into camp, all ignorant of what had occurred, Quantrell opened fire
on the enemy, which was promptly returned. The preacher
comprehended the situation in an instant, and, wheeling his horse,
started to retreat. He was followed by a volley of whistling minnie
balls from the new occupants of the camp, and fell from his horse
instantly, by his sack of potatoes, and “went dead.” The rebels re-
took their camp, and in the precipitate retreat of the enemy they rode
over the sack of potatoes and the body of the preacher, the horses
every time clearing both at a bound. When the preacher was assured
of safety, he got up, shouldered his potatoes and walked into camp
with a broad smile on his face, to the great joy of his friends. By a
timely ruse he saved both his bacon and potatoes.
Rev. J. M. Breeding.
The following account of the persecution of this excellent and
faithful local preacher of the M. E. Church, South, is quite an
abridgement of the statement furnished, but is amply sufficient to
show that very few men in these perilous times suffered more, and
escaped more frequently, as “with the skin of his teeth.” How
wonderful that special Providence which so often interposes to save
the lives of his chosen servants!
In March, 1863, Mr. Breeding was residing on Barker’s creek, in
Henry county, Mo. His wife was very ill—not able to raise her head
from her pillow. When they were alone, and at midnight, three
armed men opened the yard gate, rode rapidly up to the house, and
called for Mr. B. to come out. This he declined to do, telling them
that he could hear what they had to say where he was. He saw from
the door, which he held ajar, that they held their pistols well in hand,
as if awaiting an object to shoot. They ordered him to come out a
second time, and in no genteel language. He refused, saying to them
that if they would come to see him in the day time he would see and
talk with them like neighbors.
They asked him if he was armed. He told them that he was a civil
man, and had some plows with which he expected to cultivate the
ground in the summer; and did not let them know that he was wholly
unarmed. They asked his politics, and were informed that he never
meddled with the politics of the country; that his only platform was
“Repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“You are a preacher, then?”
“Yes, I try to preach sometimes.”
“A Southern Methodist preacher?”
“Yes, I belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South?”
“Well, that is just what we have understood, and we don’t intend to
let any such man live in this country. We have come with authority to
order you to leave in six days, and if you are here at the expiration of
that time it will not be well with you. We want to know whether you
intend to leave or not.”
Mr. B. asked for their authority, which they declined to give;
whereupon he told them as he had not meddled in any way with their
political strife he did not think any sane officer would send them at
such a time on such business. They remarked that he could either
obey or risk the consequences, and turned and rode off.
The excitement and alarm of this midnight interview proved well
nigh fatal to his wife. As soon as they were gone, and he could renew
his attentions to his wife, he thought that she was already passing
down into the shadow of death. The anxiety and agony of the
remaining part of that dreadful night no tongue can tell, no pen
describe. About daylight she began to revive, and then to rest. On his
knees, at her bedside, he determined that he would not leave her,
though they should kill him.
A few days after this occurrence, Mr. B. learned from the nearest
military post, through a friend, that no such order had been issued;
but that the commander of the post, Captain Gallihar, would not be
responsible for what his men did from under his eye.
During the following summer there were very few nights when one
or more of these lawless men was not seen prowling about the
premises and keeping the preacher in constant dread of arson or
assassination. He had no peace and felt no security.
They, doubtless, meditated midnight mischief, but had not the
courage to attempt it. They changed their plans, and began to report
to the military officers various things on Mr. Breeding, to influence
them to interfere for them and have him put out of the way.
In July his appointment in Calhoun was attended one Sabbath by a
Lieut. Combs, with his company of men, whom he stationed at
convenient places about the church and along the road near the
church, as though they expected to encounter a desperate enemy.
As he approached the church and began to comprehend the
situation, he discovered what he afterward learned were signals.
When these signals were made the whole force moved out to the road
and advanced rapidly toward the preacher; he was halted and his
name demanded.
“You pray for ‘Bushwhackers,’ I learn,” said the officer.
“No more than for other sinners,” the preacher answered.
“But,” said the officer, “some of the boys tell me they have heard
you pray for the success of Bushwhackers. They say they have known
you long, and that you are an original secessionist; that you have
always believed in secession,” &c.
The preacher appealed to those who had known him the longest, if
they ever heard him utter disloyal sentiments or knew him to attend
a political meeting of any kind. He was no political partisan, and
never had been. They finally told him that he was a Southern
Methodist preacher and that was enough, as they were all rebels.
While this conversation was going on and the most of the company
were in disorder, a squad of men were drawn up in line in front of
the preacher with their guns ready for use. Lieut. Combs stepped up
in front of these men, when the conversation closed with the
preacher, and talked to them for some time in a subdued tone of
voice. At the close of the interview one of the men said, in a low
voice: “Well, if you will not let us shoot him, we will egg him,” and
started off to a barn near by from which he soon returned with his
hands full of eggs. The officer would not let him use the eggs, and
after some further conversation he dismissed the preacher and took
his company back to headquarters.
A few days after this Mr. Breeding had occasion to go to Windsor
for medicine for his afflicted wife. There he again met these Calhoun
soldiers. They were very annoying and insulting. A mounted squad of
them started off before Mr. B. was ready and took the road leading to
his house. When the preacher started home and had reached the
forks of the road, he was minded to take the plainest and best road,
but his horse pulled so obstinately for the other that he finally
yielded and reached his home in safety. The next day a friend came
to see if he was safe, and informed him that the squad of soldiers that
left Windsor before him, waylaid the road to assassinate him. What a
providential deliverance!
The next Sabbath Mr. Breeding had a regular appointment to
preach at Windsor. With the Sabbath morning came a foraging party
to his house demanding breakfast. They stayed and detained the
preacher until it was too late to reach his appointment, and he had to
remain at home. This detention saved him further trouble, and
probably his life. He afterward learned that a band of twenty men
were all that morning on the road that he was expected to pass.
When it became so late that they supposed he had gone by some
other way, they went to the church, surrounded it and entered, but to
discover again their disappointment. The preacher was nowhere to
be found; and in consultation some wanted to go immediately to his
house and inflict summary punishment, but other counsels
prevailed, and they determined to try him again the next Sabbath at
his appointment at Moffat’s School house.
The Sabbath came, and with its earliest rays came a messenger
from a Mr. Owen, a Baptist friend, requesting Mr. Breeding to come
to his house immediately as his son was at the point of death. Mr. B.
went without delay several miles in a direction from the church. After
detaining him as long as he could, Mr. Owen informed him of a trap
set for him that day, and that he must remain at his house all day.
The preacher was not aware of any evil designs, and only yielded to
much earnest solicitation to keep out of harm’s way.
After having so often and so narrowly escaped, Mr. Breeding
thought it best to seek greater safety elsewhere. Accordingly he
disposed of his effects, packed up and journeyed to Macon county, in
North Missouri, and settled down near the old Hebron Church. This
move was attended with much privation, suffering, danger and
pecuniary loss. He found at his new home a faithful little band of
men and women who met every Sabbath where prayer was wont to
be made. To these he gladly joined himself.
By this time religious privileges were few and religious liberty
greatly abridged by the operation of the “new Constitution.”
Ministers were afraid to preach, and the membership discouraged
and depressed. The party in power were very vigilant in hunting out
and dragging before the civil courts all non-juring ministers.
Mr. Breeding could not take the oath, and he contented himself for
some time with an occasional exhortation to the faithful few who still
kept the altar fires burning in a quiet way.
The meetings for prayer began to attract the attention of those in
authority. They concluded that Mr. B. must be preaching, as the
meetings were so regular and so well attended. The super-loyalists
determined if such was the case they would take the law into their
own hands and see what virtue there was in powder and ball.
The next Sabbath found eight armed men on the front seat to
enforce the authority of the new Constitution. There appeared an
equal number of orderly citizens prepared to protect the peaceful
worship of the congregation. For a time matters wore quite a
menacing aspect.
The usual prayer meeting exercises were had, and Mr. Breeding
closed up with a warm and an earnest exhortation. The services were
somewhat abbreviated, that the unfriendly parties might the sooner
be separated.
The next Sabbath the same armed super-loyalists were present,
but the friends of peace and order were absent. The preacher had
great liberty in the service, and felt in no way intimidated by the
presence of armed men on the front bench. During his earnest
exhortation, founded upon a favorite text, the men became
somewhat excited, but they had either not chosen a leader or the
leader showed the white feather. They kept calling one upon the
other to start—“You start, and I will follow.” “No, you start, and I will
follow,” were expressions, though whispered, that could be distinctly
heard by those near them. Such things did not deter the preacher.
They could not browbeat him down, and finally, in their shame, they
vented their pique on a luckless dog that lay stretched out on the
floor near them.
After this fruitless attempt to frighten these faithful and devout
men and women, and to get some pretext for adding another name to
the list of Missouri Martyrs, they surceased their persecutions,
modified their prejudices, toned down their spirit, and from enemies
some of them have become the fast friends and even the zealous
converts of the sect that was “everywhere spoken against.”
Such scenes of suffering, trial and danger, simply because the
victim was a minister of the gospel, recalls the persecutions of other
times, and re-enacts a history which we had vainly hoped would not
darken the annals of the nineteenth century.
While the details of these dark scenes are stripped of all extra
coloring that the naked facts may appear, the ever active imagination
will, despite our soberest efforts, supply the want, and memory will
be busy with the history of other times and other countries until
Missouri is forgotten; the finest model of human government ever
devised by man crumbles into dust; the much vaunted religious
liberty expires upon its own desecrated altars; the light of a boasted
civilization fades into darkness; the noblest and freest institutions go
down in hopeless barbarism; a pure, non-political Christianity, with
a non-juring ministry, are called upon to reproduce the agony of the
Garden and the tragedy of Calvary without repeating the work and
grace of atonement, and in memory we are living over the times of
Charles the Fifth, Montmorenci and the Duke of Alva. The spirits of
the French Huguenots, the Waldenses, Vaudois Martyrs and
Bohemian Protestants have been reproduced in the ministry of
Missouri. “Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain
thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together against the Lord and against his annointed, saying,
‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from
us.’”
CHAPTER XIX.
REVS. R. N. T. HOLLIDAY AND GREEN
WOODS.
Rev. R. N. T. Holliday—Statement of his Persecutions Furnished

by Dr. Richmond, a Federal Officer—Could not War upon the
Institutions of Heaven—Mr. Holliday aloof from Politics—
Misconstrued—General W. P. Hall and his Militia Proclamation—
General Hall and Mr. Holliday—General Bassett—Rev. Wm.
Toole, Provost-Marshal, and Mr. Holliday—A Renegade—Platte
City Burned by Jennison and Mr. H. Ordered to be Shot on Sight
—He Escapes—Is Arrested in Clinton County—Again Ordered to
be Shot—Escapes to Illinois—Returns in 1865—Goes to
Shelbyville and is Indicted for Preaching Without Taking the
Oath—Crimes of the War—Common Law Maxim Reversed—
Prominent Ministers of the M. E. Church, South, Assumed to be
Guilty of Treason—Murder of Rev. Green Woods—Birth, Early
Ministry and General Character—Gives up his District—Retires
to his Farm in Dent County—Affecting Account of his Murder
given by his Daughter—Extract from a Letter Written by his Wife
—Details Published in the St. Louis Advocate of June 13, 1866—
Reflections.
Rev. R. N. T. Holliday.
The following account of the persecutions of this good and useful
minister of the gospel is furnished by Dr. Oregon Richmond, “who
was an officer in the Federal army, and always anxious for the
triumph of the Union forces.” Upon that ground he properly claims
the absence of undue bias from his statement. The whole case is so
fully and minutely reported that it needs neither introduction nor
comment to aid in a due appreciation of the facts:
“Canton, Mo., March 8, 1869.
“At the request of Rev. R. N. T. Holliday, I have consented to put

together and transmit the somewhat remarkable events of that
period of his life connected with the late war troubles. This request is
the result of an antipathy on his part to acting the part of a self-
eulogist. In my judgment no greater eulogy can be written of a
minister of the gospel than that of a calm, unvarnished recital of the
persecution to which that class of our citizens was subjected during
the prevalence of, and immediately subsequent to, the late war.
“And perhaps, after all, it is but simple justice that these facts
should be written by one who was an officer in the Federal army, and
always anxious for the triumph of the Union forces. Though an
officer in the Union army, he can thank God that his military life is
unstained by a single act of cruelty or persecution; and, above all, is
he thankful that he never made use of his military power to war
against the institutions of Heaven or the chosen instruments
ordained for their establishment amongst men. In other words, he
was not attached to a Missouri regiment, is not a son of Missouri,
and hence has never been instructed in the mysteries of that
department of military tactics that teaches the wonderful doctrine
that the truest patriotism consists in the abuse of defenseless women
and children, and the subversion of the sublimest precepts of religion
by the persecution and murder of its chosen apostles.
“In September, 1860, Rev. R. N. T. Holliday, the subject of this
sketch, was appointed by the Missouri Conference of the M. E.
Church, South, of which he has long been a member, to Rushville, in
Buchanan county, Mo. In the ensuing spring the war commenced,
but it was not until May, 1861, that he received the first intimation of
the approaching trouble that would draw him into its clutches, and
ultimately make him a wanderer and an exile from his chosen field of
usefulness.
“About that time a Union meeting was held near Rushville, and
addressed by Hon. Willard P. Hall and others from St. Joseph. Mr.
Holliday was urged to be present and reply on behalf of the South;
this he declined to do. He was not even present at the meeting,
believing that ministers of the gospel should keep themselves
unspotted from the political strifes of men. Yet his enemies said that
he stayed away through personal fear, and he was henceforth the
subject of various kinds of annoyances and petty persecutions.
“The Conference of September, 1861, returned Mr. Holliday to
Rushville. He was not molested until March, 1862, when Brig.-
General W. P. Hall issued a proclamation requiring all men subject
to military duty to enroll themselves in the State militia. Mr. Holliday
refused to enroll, upon the ground that ministers were exempt from
military duty. Gen. Hall sent him word at once, that if he did not
enroll he would have him arrested. Mr. Holliday replied that, being
exempt from military duty by the laws of the State, he could but
consider the demand extra-official, and if an arrest must be the
result of non-compliance with an illegal demand, he preferred to be
arrested. Upon this General Hall addressed a note to Mr. H. in the
politest terms, requesting an interview to arrange the difficulty.
Trusting the General’s honor, Mr. Holliday complied; but, upon
presenting himself at headquarters, the General refused to see him,
and ordered him taken to the Provost-Marshal’s office for
enrollment. Gen. Bassett, the Provost-Marshal, had the entrance to
his office securely guarded after Mr. H. was admitted, and informed
him that he must enroll under Order 19, as a Union man, and submit
to a physical examination, or under Order 24, as a rebel sympathize;
and pay a commutation fee of $30. Finding submission inevitable, or
something worse, Mr. H. registered under Order 24, but refused to
pay the commutation as an unlawful and an unauthorized exaction,
and demanded his exemption papers as a minister of the gospel, at
the same time producing his ordination parchments. General
Bassett, after some delay, gave him exemption papers, and, after
considerable annoyance, he gave him a pass also, which enabled him
to travel back and forth and fill his appointments without further
molestation than an occasional petty persecution, the instigation of
malice, and an occasional threat of being shot.
“During the summer of 1862 Mr. Bassett was superseded in the
office of Provost-Marshal by a Mr. W. Tool, who had been up to that
period a minister in the M. E. Church, South. He had, however,
apostatized, and joined the M. E. Church, North.
“Mr. Bassett’s brief apprenticeship in villainy fitted him for, and he
was appointed to, a higher office. Mr. Holliday was requested to fill
the pulpit made vacant by the military prohibition upon Rev. W. M.
Rush, of St. Joseph, and the ladies of the church in which Mr. Rush
had been silenced waited on Provost-Marshal Tool and requested
permission for Mr. Holliday to fill the silent pulpit. Mr. Tool, who
was acting in the interest of the North Methodists, refused to permit
Mr. H. to come to St. Joseph to preach the gospel.
“In September, 1862, Mr. Holliday was sent to Platte City, and
there remained unmolested until the following June, when soldiers
from Kansas took his horse, which he never saw afterward. He
borrowed another, which was also stolen and carried off. He thus lost
two horses in as many weeks.
“About the middle of July, 1863, Col. Jennison, of Kansas, went to
Platte City and burned the town. His men were ordered to shoot Mr.
Holliday down at sight. Knowing the character of Jennison’s men,
and being apprised of the order by a Union man, Mr. H. made good
his escape, leaving his family at Mr. Redman’s. On the evening of his
flight his house, containing all that he had in the world, except what
the family had on, was given to the flames. His family were thus
made destitute and reduced to beggary.
“The next day, at 3 P. M., Mr. Holliday was arrested, by order of a
Clinton county militia captain, and taken to Plattsburg. He was there
subject to some indignities, until Mr. Cockrell informed Captain
Irvine, commander of the post, of the facts, who, being a gentleman
and a Mason, ordered the instant release of Mr. Holliday.
“The next day Capt. Irvine was killed in an engagement with the
rebels. This very much enraged the militia, and an order was issued
again to shoot Mr. H. on sight. He again made his escape by flight
and concealment. He remained ten days at the residence of Mr.
Powell, of Clinton county, but upon hearing of the order to shoot
him, he, with two other ministers, Messrs. Tarwater and Jones, took
refuge in the woods, and made their way on foot to Osborn, where
Mr. Holliday met his family, and all took the train to Quincy, Ill.
They remained in Illinois until the war closed, in 1864, doing the best
he could as a minister of the gospel. Returning to Missouri in 1865,
he met the Conference at Hannibal, and was appointed to the
Shelbyville circuit.
“By this time the New Constitution had been declared the
fundamental law of the State, and under it all ministers of the gospel
were required to take the iron-clad ‘test oath’ as a qualification for
the work of the ministry, or subject themselves to arrest, indictment,
fine or imprisonment.
“Actuated by the same motives of conscience that impelled all true
ministers of the gospel, he promptly refused to take and subscribe
said oath. He was, therefore, arrested and indicted by the grand jury
of Shelby county for preaching and teaching as a minister of the
gospel without having, under oath, attested his past and present
loyalty to the Government of the United States. The said indictment
bore the signatures of Wm. M. Boulware, Circuit Attorney, E. S.
Holliday, Foreman of Grand Jury, and James Ralph, C. R. Colton
and Wm. Colton as witnesses. A copy of the indictment is in Mr.
Holliday’s possession, to be handed down to his children as a
memento of his sufferings and triumphs in the cause of his Master. It
will doubtless make their faith doubly strong in the principles of that
holy religion for which he endured so much privation, persecution
and personal danger.
“Mr. Holliday was subsequently indicted for the same offense, and
held in a bond of $500 for appearance at the November term of the
Shelby Court. Mr. M. C. Hawkins, a lawyer of Canton, made an able
argument on a motion to quash the indictment, which motion was
not sustained, and the case was continued to the ensuing May term,
when a nolle pros equi was entered and Mr. Holliday released.
“The facts above narrated I have received from Mr. Holliday’s own
lips. He was so reticent of matters concerning himself personally that
I can not but regard this as a very meagre epitome of all that he was
required to do and to suffer in the performance of the work his
Master gave him to do. He evidently is already richly rewarded in the
depths of his own consciousness, and justly decided that nothing
man may say for him can serve in the smallest degree to increase that
reward.
“[Signed] Oregon Richmond.”
The persecutions in the early part of the war were not without a
sharp discrimination in favor of the prominent ministers of the M. E.
Church, South. Few were exempt. The exceptional cases were either
in the large cities or under the protection of partisan loyalty. For
some reason the leading ministers of the Church, South, were looked
upon as the very ringleaders of the Southern revolt against the
Government. So general was this belief amongst the officers of the
Union army, that whoever escaped their surveillance had to prove a
negative in the face of the most unwarranted and unfounded
presumptions of guilt, supported and flanked by the deepest rooted
prejudices and the most blinded passion. Nor is this putting the case
too strongly. It is not in excess of the facts.
No matter how guarded, how prudent, how cautious in public or
private life, the tongue of the accuser always reached the official ear
before the accused was aware of his summons to the official bar.
That good old maxim of the English common law, that assumed a
man to be innocent until he was proven to be guilty, was reversed.
Men were assumed to be guilty, and they had to prove their
innocence if they could, or suffer the penalty of assumed guilt.
And, indeed, the right of trial was granted to but few. Many, very
many, suffered imprisonment and death without ever being so much
as informed of the crime for which they suffered.
The day of eternity alone will reveal the nameless crimes which
men in authority, and men without authority, committed during the
late civil war. May a merciful Providence forever spare the country a
repetition of the horrible scenes through which it has so recently
passed. These reflections are suggested by the murder of the
Rev. Green Woods.
The subject of this sketch was born in Bellevue, Washington
county, Missouri, Feb. 27, 1814, where he grew up on a farm in sight
of Caledonia.
He was received on trial in the Missouri Annual Conference M. E.
Church in the fall of 1836, when the Conference was held in St. Louis,
and was appointed by Bishop Roberts, junior preacher on the
Farmington Circuit, with George Smith as his senior.
The next year he was returned by Bishop Soule to Farmington,
with Alvin Baird as his senior.
The next year his name does not appear in the minutes, nor does it
appear again until the year 1853, when he rejoined the St. Louis
Conference and was appointed by Bishop Andrew to Cape Girardeau
and Jackson.
In 1854 he was appointed to Ste. Genevieve Circuit, and at the
Conference of 1855, at Springfield, he was received into full
connection, and returned to Ste. Genevieve Circuit, with J. H.
Cumming as junior preacher.
It is needless to follow his appointments in the Conference further
than to say that everywhere he was well received and always well
reported of for good works. He was a diligent and faithful laborer in
his Master’s vineyard, and few men stood higher in the estimation of
the people or was more securely enthroned in their affections. He
was a man of unblemished character, unswerving integrity,
unwavering fidelity, deep and fervent piety, and of good preaching
ability. He was unobtrusive, unostentatious, civil, courteous, gentle
and kind to all; had many friends and few enemies—lived for his
work, and attended strictly to his own business. The last man who
would ever intermeddle with politics or make himself officious or
offensive to any man or party of men. He had charity for all, and
malice for none. This is written by one who knew him well, and loved
him much, and was a member of the same class of undergraduates in
the Conference.
When the war broke out Mr. Woods was Presiding Elder on the
Greenville District, St. Louis Conference; was extensively known in
Southern and Southeastern Missouri, and had been just as
extensively useful. But the troubles thickened so fast and the country
was so generally disturbed and distracted that with a heavy heart he
gave up his regular work on the district and contented himself with
such preaching as he could do near his home in Dent county, while
he attended to the cultivation of his little farm.
The following account of the events of 1862, furnished by his eldest
daughter, will be read with deep interest, as they culminate in the
awful tragedy of his murder:
“In the spring of 1862 the excitement in the country became so
intense that my father could no longer travel his district, so he
thought he would stay at home and try to make enough to support
his family on his farm. As the people in the neighborhood desired
him to preach to them, he made an appointment to preach, about
three miles from home, the second Sunday in May. He filled this
appointment, and announced another at the same place for the
second Sunday in June. Before that time arrived he was advised by
some of his friends not to go to his appointment, as they believed
that he would be taken prisoner, and perhaps killed, that day by the
soldiers if he attempted to preach. But he told them that he would go
and preach, and if the soldiers wished to arrest him they could do so;
that if necessary he could go to jail. He said that he did not believe
that they would kill him, as he had not done anything to be killed for.
A man by the name of Silas Hamby, a member of the Methodist
Church, North, had said some time before that no Southern
Methodist preacher should preach at Mount Pleasant again. But my
father thought it was an idle threat, as he had heard of no preacher
being killed because he was a preacher.
“When Sunday morning came, father and my sister, younger than
myself, went to Mount Pleasant, and he preached to a small
congregation—the people being afraid to turn out on account of the
soldiers—and returned home the same evening unmolested. The next
morning he took my sister—just thirteen—and two little boys he had
hired, and went out to a field one mile from home to finish planting
corn. While they were at work the mother of the boys came by the
field on her way to our house. She saw that they were nearly done, so
she thought she would wait till they finished and come along with
them. By this means there was one grown person present to witness
his arrest. I think it was about the middle of the forenoon of that
Monday, June 9, 1862, when sixteen men, armed and uniformed as
Federal soldiers, came to our house and surrounded it. They inquired
for father. Mother told them that he was not at home, but out in the
field (father told her if they came and called for him, to tell them
where he was). They made a general search, and then huddled up out
in the yard and held a council a few minutes. Five of them were sent
to the field, and while they were gone those at the house were
stealing everything they could get their hands on that belonged to
father, leaving very few things behind.
“When the five soldiers got to the field father was not quite done
planting. They rode up and asked if his name was Green Woods; he
told them it was. They told him that he was the man they were after,
and ordered him to alight over the fence. He asked them if they
would not wait until he could finish planting, as he had then but a
few short rows; but they told him, with an oath, that they were in a
hurry, and kept hurrying him while he was getting his horse ready to
start. When they started from the field my sister asked them what
they intended to do with father. They told her, with an oath, that it
was uncertain where he would get to before he came back. They
brought him to the house and allowed him to eat his dinner. But
when he went to dress himself, he could not find a change of clothes,
as the soldiers had taken all that he had, and would not even give
him his pants and hat. They took him about three miles from home,
to a man’s house by the name of Jones, and pretended to get
evidence against him. (This was northwest from where we live). They
then took him about three miles from home, to where a man lived
named Peter Skiles, who kept a blacksmith’s shop. They stopped and
staid there awhile, and searched the house, as Skiles was a Southern
man. They then took father about half a mile and killed him, and left
him lying out in the woods away from the road—no one knew where
except those who placed him there. Two guns were heard after the
soldiers left Skiles’.
“This was done on Monday, and his body was not found till the
next Monday. We did not know that he was killed until his body was
found. When found he was lying on his back with his overcoat spread
on the ground under him; one arm was stretched out one way, and
the other stretched out the other way, his hat drawn down over his
face, his coat and vest and left glove lying on the ground near him,
his right glove on, his left shirt sleeve torn off, and his left hand off
and gone. He seemed to have been dragged some two or three
hundred yards before he was shot, as there was but little blood along
the trail, and was found as above described near a large tree and
among some low bushes.
“We have heard several times that the Northern Methodist
presiding elder, by the name of Ing, sent the men to kill my father. I
have given you the substance of what we know of father’s death.
(Signed) “Josephine M. A. M. Woods,

“Eldest Daughter,
“E. A. Woods, Wife, and
“Mary Louisa, Daughter of
“Rev. Green Woods.”
Mrs. Woods furnishes the following additional particulars:

“While eating his dinner the soldiers asked him if he did not think
he ought to have taken the oath—meaning the oath of allegiance
which all citizens were required to take. He replied that he would be
candid with them, as he tried to be with all men; that it afforded no
protection, as only the day before the soldiers had been taking the
property and breaking the guns of those who had taken the oath, and
he could not see that the oath had profited them any. They hurried
him much to finish his dinner. He asked them for his hat, which they
refused to give him. He said that he would then wear his old one, and
be with his equals—meaning that he was about as near worn out as
his hat.
“Thinking that it might have some good effect upon the soldiers, I
reminded him, in their presence, that the meal was out, and asked
what I must do, now that he was going away. He replied, ‘the Lord
will provide.’ And, so far, it is literally true; the Lord has been
merciful to give us our daily bread, as we have never had a single
meal without bread.
“When he started he told me to do the best I could, and seemed to
have a presentment that he would never return.
“On the way that evening he was stopped at the house of Dr. Boyd.
While there he said to Mrs. Boyd, ‘Tell Mrs. Woods that you saw me
here.’ Mrs. Boyd also heard him tell the soldiers to hurry up and take
him wherever they intended to take him; that they would keep him in
the hot sun till he would be down sick. They replied that they had a
good doctor. He had been very sick only a short time before. It was
his custom to hold family worship night and morning, no matter
what else was to do. The last day of his life he read for the morning
lesson the thirty-seventh Psalm.”
Strenuous efforts have been made to obtain the names of the guilty
parties, with but little success. The following statement is the latest
and most reliable:
“A man by the name of Dennis was the pilot, and it is said helped
do the shooting. A man named Wells was in the company. We can
not give the first names of either of these men now, but have the
promise of them.
“A young man named Bill Fudge, the son of North Methodists who
were once members of the Southern Methodist Church, and another
named Harrison Ratliff, it is said, helped commit the murder.”
To the question, “What evidence have you that Ing, the North
Methodist presiding elder, sent the men to commit the murder?” the
following reply was furnished:
“All the evidence we have that Ing sent the men is, that he was
their commander at the time; and it has been told, by those who said
they saw it, that father’s hand was carried to Ing as proof that they
had killed him, and that he still had it in his possession a year or two
ago.
“Respectfully, Josie M. A. M. Woods.”
When Mr. Woods’ dead body was found, “his left hand was off and
gone.” Common rumor in the community, and the statement of
several reliable gentlemen—which may hereafter be given—go to
confirm this horrible and savage report about the hand.
The following account of the affair was published in the St. Louis
Christian Advocate, of June 18, 1866, and signed “R.,” of Crawford
county:
“Rev. Green Woods.—Mr. Editor: In the letter of your California
correspondent, in last week’s Advocate, the names of several
ministers formerly connected with the St. Louis Conference are
mentioned with that of the lamented Green Woods, who the writer
too truly mentions as having been cruelly murdered in the summer
of 1862. And, as the writer of this sketch had known the deceased for
many years, and was living in an adjoining county at the time the
cruel murder was committed, he may be able to furnish some facts
relative thereto that would interest his many friends and
acquaintances of by-gone days. He was at the time (1862) living at
his home, in Dent county, Mo., on a little farm that he was quietly
cultivating with his own hands, and had been guilty of no other
offense that that of preaching through the county in which he lived
every Sunday, and oftener as he found opportunity. And, at the time
he was torn from his weeping wife and little ones, he was at home
plowing in his field, when suddenly he was surrounded by men
wearing the uniform of soldiers, and hailing from Kansas—regular
‘Jayhawkers.’ How many broken-hearted wives and mothers, and
destitute orphan children, throughout Missouri will have cause to
remember these cruel ‘Kansas Jayhawkers!’ The cruel assassination
of loved husbands and fathers; the burnt and blasted homesteads,
where lonely chimneys only are left to tell the tale of once happy and
contented households now scattered and torn by the ruthless storm
of war in the wake of these Kansas desperadoes. Truly the fate of
Missouri has been hard; and of many it may be said they are
strangers in their own land.
“When informed by them that he must go with them as a prisoner,
and probably knowing from the fate of others what he might expect
of them, he told them that he had violated no law, that he was a
minister of the Methodist Church, South, and that if they intended to
kill him, he was not afraid to die. Then taking, as he well believed, a
sad and final farewell of his wife and little children, he started with
his captors to the town of Salem, as he thought. But, alas! what must
have been the agony of the fond wife when she learned, several days
afterward, that he had not been taken to Salem at all! Diligent search
but confirmed her worst fears. He had been taken about two miles
from home by the road side and shot. There the mortal remains of
Green Woods were found—a cold and lifeless corpse—with the fatal
bullet shot through the head.

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Proposing Empirical Research A Guide

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Proposing Empirical Research: A Guide to the Fundamentals provides

• Updates throughout to reflect research and learning in the

Proposing Empirical Research is ideal for use in research methods

Melisa C. Galvan is Assistant Professor at California State

PROPOSING EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Proposing Empirical Research: A Guide to the Fundamentals provides

• Updates throughout to reflect research and learning in the

Melisa C. Galvan is Assistant Professor at California State

Sixth edition published 2020

Introduction to the Sixth Edition

Part A: Getting Started

Topic 1. What Is Empirical Research?

Part B: A Closer Look at Problem Selection

Topic 8. Finding Ideas in the Literature

Topic 12. Qualitative Research

Part D: Organizing and Evaluating Literature

Topic 19. Organizing Literature by Topics

Part E: Application and Writing

Topic 22. A Separate Introduction

Part F: Proposing a Sample

Topic 27. Sampling in Qualitative Research

Part G: Proposing Instrumentation

Part H: Proposing Procedures

Topic 37. Nonexperimental Procedures

Part I: Proposing Methods of Analysis

Topic 40. Qualitative Analysis

Part J: Writing the Discussion and Other Concluding Tasks

Topic 45. Writing a Discussion Section

Part K: Model Research Proposals for Discussion

Model Proposal 1: A Survey: Sexism in Online Video Games: The

Appendix A: Locating Literature Electronically

INTRODUCTION TO THE SIXTH EDITION

Benefits of Writing a Solid Proposal

Topic 1. What Is Empirical Research?

Exercise for Topic 1

Topic 2. Identifying Broad Problem Areas

• Attitudes toward mathematics.

• Lecture notes from previous courses.

In Topic 3, we will consider how to evaluate problem areas you are

Exercise for Topic 2

First Problem Area

Very interested 5 4 3 2 1 Not at all interested

Second Problem Area

Very interested 5 4 3 2 1 Not at all interested

Third Problem Area

Very interested 5 4 3 2 1 Not at all interested

1. Is the problem area in the mainstream of your field of study?

Beginners should consider working in the mainstream because

2. Is there a substantial body of literature on the problem area?4

At first, you might be tempted to think that an area with a

3. Is the problem area timely?

Timely issues are more likely to be of interest to potential readers

4. Is the research that you would need to conduct feasible?