Priyal Morjaria

Elements of Effective High School Service Learning Programs That Include Students
With and Without Disabilities is a quantitative research article in which the authors used a form
of nonprobability sampling known as purposeful sampling to select five schools from their
defined population. Dymond, Renzaglia, and Chun (2007) used snowball procedures and certain
specific criteria to select their sample. The researchers were purposeful in their methods because
they wanted to pinpoint schools that fit all of their specific criterion. Snowball procedures were
used to choose participants for their qualitative research. A service learning leader was chosen
from each of the five schools that participated and those leaders were given the task of finding
other participants. Teacher Retention: Why Do Beginning Teachers Remain In the Profession is a
quantitative research article in which the authors used probability sampling. Probability sampling
requires the use of random selection. Inman and Marlow (2004) used the Gays Table of Random
Numbers (1996) to randomly select counties within the state of Georgia. They also used a
random selection process to find five schools in each county. The selection of teachers within the
chosen schools was less random since each schools principal received the autonomy to make
this decision. Principals did not participate in the actual survey; however they used their own
methods to select teachers, making it hard to decipher if snowball sampling was used or not
Non probability sampling does not use random selection and this often times lowers the
probability that the sample is a true representation of the population, not to say that it diminishes
the likelihood. Dymond et al. (2007) mentions this specific fact in their paragraph on limitations.
The authors realize that by using purposeful sampling they ran the risk of not identifying the
most accurate representation of inclusive High School Service Learning Programs. The
qualitative research article studied participants with very similar ideologies and the results they
gained from each focus group showed a type of bandwagon going on where participants tended
to agree with each other. This puts limitations on the results and hinders accuracy. This
phenomenon also partially occurred because individuals from each school were put together in
one room instead of creating focus groups of participants from different schools together.
Inman and Marlow (2004) used random sampling to select the participating schools. Their
sample was a better representation of their population. They went on to randomly select their
sample in two different ways. The counties they included were randomly selected and the
schools from each county was randomly selected. The demographic breakdown of their
population shows the variety in their participants and how closely is represents their population.
The quantitative study conducted by Inman and Marlow (2004) ensured validity and
reliability because of their instrumentation and procedures. The researcher used a test retest
method to ensure that their results were stable over time. They had a group of teachers complete
the survey in September and again in November. This test-retest method was used in a pilot
study before the actual study was initiated. This ensured the validity of the experiment.
While analyzing and interpreting their data Inman and Marlow (2004) were able to divide
their sub sample into two group with various demographics differences. One group included
teachers with 0-3 years of experience and the other group included 4-9 years of experience. Their
total sub sample was defined as beginning teachers and had less than 10 years of experience. The
tables they provided show the differences in important defined factors (job security, working
conditions and collegiality) between both of the groups. The change of views among recent
teachers and teachers with a few more years of experience reflects the data analysis. Those

Priyal Morjaria
teachers with 4-9 years of experience showed a higher affinity towards relationships between
colleagues, work conditions and prestige as being factors that may motivate them to continue
teaching. The difference between what the two groups valued played a role in deducing what is
required to retain teachers over time.
The Qualitative Research study does not necessary require probability sampling however
their method of sampling needs to require more participants, a better demographic breakdown
and reliable and valid procedures. They concluded in their limitations section that their method
of providing participants with the elements of HSSLPs they may have caused some form of bias
in their results. They were also unaware of the actual status of each participating institution.
Including participants in the focus groups that knew each other and had working relationships
also caused participants to agree with one another questioning the validity of their response. The
Qualitative research study used a random selection approach however by allowing principals of
each school to choose the teachers they included a slight chance of studying a sample that might
not be the closest representation of the population. Inman and Marlow (2004) also had the
opportunity to try stratified random sampling because they needed a division in groups and
demographics.
Inman and Marlow (2004) provided better procedures, specific techniques and tested the
validity and reliability of their own study before initiating the actual study. Their purpose of
study and intent of study was also clearer in comparison to the qualitative research study. They
clearly used previous research to define what factors teachers provided as reasons to leave their
profession. They also had a larger sample and were able to get a better sub sample. The methods
they used are suitable to replicate because their sample comes from a broader population and
they were able to sufficiently use random selection. The provided their results and demographic
breakdown in form of charts that are easy to analyze.