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Topics
Intro to Research
Critiquing research
Descriptive statistics
Research Design
Mixed Methods
Case Study
Action Research
Comparing groups
Intro to Research
1. What is research? Why is it important in your discipline?
2. What are the steps in the research process? Explain what
each step involves, in your own words.
3. Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research.
What criteria would you use to categorize a study as qualitative
or quantitative?
Topics
Research problems (choosing qualitative versus
quantitative)
4. What kinds of research problems are best investigated using
a quantitative approach? A qualitative approach?
5. Using Figure 2.2 on pg. 58: What characteristics would you
use to categorize a study as quantitative or qualitative?
6. Generate one example of a research problem that is suited
to a quantitative approach, and one that is suited to a
qualitative approach.
7. What are some factors that you should take into account
when selecting a research topic? List as many as you can.
8. Define and distinguish between the following terms: theory,
purpose statement, research problem, research question,
hypothesis, and central phenomenon? What is the purpose of
each?
Topics
Literature review and Purpose statement
11. Whats the purpose of the literature review? Explain how the
purpose of the literature review for a quantitative study differs
from that of a qualitative study.
- The purpose of the lit review is to place our research in the
already existing theoretical framework. To help us define key
terms, definitions and terminology. It also gives an overview of
the existing literature to support the rationale of the study,
demonstrate existing gaps, contradicting stances and
opportunities for further development.
- While a Quantitative lit review pertains to substantiate the research problem,
identify variables of interest and provide a rationale for the studys purpose, a Qualitative
lit review documents the importance of the research problem, describes the conceptual
framework for the study and documents models for the methods. Also, a Quant. Lit
review is generally done only at the beginning of the of the study while the Qual lit review
is done throughout the execution of the study.
Topics
Critiquing research
14. What major elements should you look for in critiquing a
quantitative study? Explain
15. What major elements should you look for in critiquing a
qualitative study? Explain.
16. How does the writing style used in reports of quantitative
studies differ from that used for qualitative studies?
Topics
counting but not for ordering. For example American = 1; Canadian = 2; Mexican = 3. Ordinal
variables can be counted and ordered (ranked), but not measured. For example, house numbers or
grade level categories: freshman = 1, sophomore = 2, junior = 3, senior = 4.
Continuous variables refer to scores along a continuum of possible scores such as test performance
from 0% to 100% and level of satisfaction between 1 and 10.
**You can also describe variables based on their role in the research design:
Independent
Dependent
Confounding
Intervening
Internal validity refers to our ability to infer a causal relationship between independent and
dependent variables in an experimental study. Threats to internal validity therefore include outside
elements that might interfere in an experiment and have an impact on the dependent variable (ie: a
threat to internal validity is something that isn't successfully controlled for in an experiment).
External validity refers to our ability to generalize that causal relationship to a wider population in
different settings. Threats to external validity therefore include elements of the research design
which may impact our ability to generalize the study's findings. These include concerns about the
representativeness of a study's participants vis--vis the wider population, representativeness of the
study's setting, and generalizability of the study's time frame to different and/or broader periods.
Test-retest reliability
Inter-rater reliability
Split-half reliability
Topics
Descriptive statistics
22. Describe the three different ways in which a researcher
might use descriptive statistics.
23. What kind of descriptive statistics indicate: general
tendencies in the data? spread of scores? relative standing?
24. What are the key features of a histogram that you can use
to summarize or describe a distribution?
Topics
Collecting qualitative data
25. Briefly describe each of the qualitative research designs that
Plano Clark and Creswell discuss.
A narrative research design is a chronological retelling of the participants story. It provides a
description of the context and themes that emerged using a story-telling format. For example, in
Performing my Recovery: A Play of Chaos, Restitution and Quest After Traumatic Brain Injury, Claire
Smith (2008) uses a narrative approach to share her experiences from an equestrian accident on
September 13, 1997, throughout her recovery journey, and ending with her graduate studies.
A case study is an in-depth description of a specific situation and themes that emerged, and where
multiple cases were studied, the themes and a comparative analysis across the cases. For
example, in 2008, Dworsky wrote, Educating Homeless Children in Chicago: A Case Study of
Children in the Family Regeneration Program, which explored the educational experiences of the
children in the program. http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/ChapinHallDocument(2).pdf
Grounded theory is a qualitative research design that uses the principle of collecting data, coding the
data to create themes, then gathering more data. As more data is coded, as concepts become more
apparent, they are grouped further to result in categories, which form the basis for a new theory.
This is different from other approaches which select an existing theoretical framework then collect
data to show if the theory applies or does not apply to the phenomenon under study. More can be
learnt by watching, A Discussion with Prof Kathy Charmaz on Grounded Theory at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5AHmHQS6WQ .
An ethnography is a research design that provides a detailed description of a groups culture how it
behaves, thinks, or talks. In ethnography, researchers generate understandings of culture through
representation from the insiders point of view by exploring several sources of data. These sources
of data may come from interviews, participant observations, and artifacts such as newspaper
articles, government reports, and magazines. Several examples of ethnographic research can be
found on https://sites.google.com/a/bhmschools.org/cis-writing/samples-1/samples
Topics
Research Design
30. In your own words, whats the difference between internal
and external validity?
31. Distinguish between the instrumentation and testing threats
to validity in experimental design.
32. Name and describe the threats to validity according to
Campbell and Stanley. Explain how 2 of these threats might
alter the conditions of an experiment.
Topics
Mixed Methods
33. List and describe the different types of mixed methods
designs. Explain the rationale for each type.
34. Generate a unique scenario for a research study using a
mixed-method design. Describe why each method would be
used, using the scenario to provide concrete examples.
NOTE: If youre asked to GENERATE a mixed methods study, remember that we need
evidence that you understand the following:
1) Is there a clear need that justifies employing a mixed methods report? For instance, is it clear that
using a stand-alone quantitative or qualitative approach would have been insufficient to answer the
research question?
2) Is the mixed methods design appropriate? There are a variety of mixed methods designs which
vary the sequencing, priority and mixing of the qualitative and quantitative portions of the study. The
chosen design should be effective in answering the research question.
3) Are the qualitative and quantitative portions of the study mixed in a meaningful way? The results
of both portions should be discussed explicitly, and each portion should be explicitly and
meaningfully linked together.
Topics
Case Study
35. Cite three techniques to help increase rigour in a case
study. Give a simple example of each.
Site - good access to the site
Understanding the site - historical view/understanding the system
Triangulation across sources
From slides:
These choices are fine - anything that increases rigor for qual in general would be suitable. Any
suggestions from Stark & Torrance would also be acceptable. This style of question would be openended, so just ensure that your responses make sense.
37. What are three factors that influence the selection of sites in
case study research, and how can these influence the
trustworthiness of a study?
Stark & Torrance p. 36 has a discussion of site selection in case study, but you could
also discuss this in terms of purposeful sampling approaches. The connection to
trustworthiness is based on your own reasoning. If Richard didn't emphasize it, it's probably
not on the exam.
Topics
Action Research
38. In what situations would you choose to use an action
research approach? Give examples of research objectives that
you might have.
39. Bob teaches remedial literacy courses in a middle school.
Bob wonders how his students experience reading outside of
the classroom. He wants to know how he can use that
information to enhance his instruction, and to motivate his
students for class. Suggest an action research plan that would
be suitable for Bob. (Answer: what are the key characteristics of
your action research?)
Practical action research design - Bob is studying his own practice, the participants wont be
creating the action plan
Purposeful
-we want a Variety of students -> maximal variation sampling
-5
+
Thematic analysis
Develop the plan
Topics
Comparing groups & correlation
40. What is are the four main types of quantitative design? How
do they differ?
41. What key characteristics should you look for when
evaluating the quality of a survey research study?
42. What are some common errors in survey question
construction? How can you avoid making these errors when
creating your own survey instruments?
43. What information can the correlation coefficient tell you?
What does r2 mean?
Correlation coefficient is r
-1 to 1
Direction of the relation
Strength of the relationship ---- closer to 1 is stronger
Coefficient of determination r2
How much of the variation in y is explained by x
Exam-style questions
1. What procedures can increase a studys external validity?
a. Manipulating the conditions so they are as similar as possible between
groups
b. Randomly assigning individuals to treatment groups
c. Measuring other variables that need to be controlled
d. Encourage as many participants as possible to complete the instruments
Test-retest reliability
b.
Inter-rater reliability
c.
Construct validity
d.
Standardized procedures
Standard deviation
b.
Mode
c.
Mean
d.
Percentile rank
b.
c.
d.
Collect data
6. Below are listed four types of mixed methods research designs. Match the
design to the alternate name that best fits.
1.
2.
3.
4.
D
Exploratory
Convergent
Embedded
Explanatory
Description
a. Nested
Design #
Embedded
b. Two-phase
c. Triangulation
Convergent
d. Instrument development
Exploratory
QUAL
quan