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Lesson One
Pamela Minsch
William Howard Taft University
Sept. 30, 2018
ED 511 Research Methods: Dr.
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1. Why is it important for educators to rely on research as a way of knowing or
understanding?
What are the limitations of such reliance?
Educational research, according to the American Educational Research Association
(2016), is “the scientific field of study that examines education and learning processes and the
human attributes, interactions, organizations, and institutions that shape educational outcomes”
(p. 5). According to Gay, Mills, and Airasian (2009), relying on research as a way of knowing is
superior to using “experience, authority, inductive reasoning, and deductive reason to learn new
things and draw new conclusions” (p. 5) unless these approaches are combined as part of the
scientific method. As educators we are constantly seeking new and better ways to teach, to
evaluate, and to connect with students. When we rely exclusively on these approaches to make
these decisions, “the resulting knowledge is susceptible to error and may be of limited value to
understanding the world beyond our immediate experience” (p. 5). For example, the authors
point out that using inductive reasoning with a small sample population can lead to errors in our
outcomes. Likewise, using deductive reasoning can lead to generalizations that are totally
incorrect.
ESSA, and NCLB before that, requires teachers to use research-based methods and
materials to ensure the best outcomes for students. However, the authors describe four main
factors that limit the use of research. First, some questions are just unanswerable. Second, the
complexity of educational settings can be difficult to capture. Third, measuring instruments are
not all perfect. Lastly, “the need to address participants’ needs in ethical and responsible ways”
(p. 28) can limit the researcher’s ability to conduct a study.
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2. Describe a study you would be interested in conducting from a quantitative or qualitative
approach. Briefly describe the problem, choose a research design, and identify the
methods you would use to collect and analyze data.
The Mat-Su Borough has a graduation rate of 81 percent (Mackintosh, 2018). Of the
many factors affecting a student’s inability to graduate, Reschly (2010) suggests that difficulty
with reading has been identified as one important factor. According to the author, early reading
intervention and remediation is a key to student motivation and enthusiasm for school. Having
taught at the middle school level for seventeen years, I wonder about those students whose
reading scores are still low when they reach this level. If, for example, a student scores poorly on
the state’s mandated, norm-referenced standardized achievement test, is that an accurate
predictor of school drop out? And, if it is, should schools not be focusing on improving students’
reading abilities in middle school?
To study this, one would need to design a correlational study, “a quantitative measure of
the degree of correspondence” (Gay, Mills, Airasian, 2009, p. 9). The population for the study
would be the graduating classes of two Wasilla area high schools for the last five years. One of
the high schools is located in Wasilla, the other in Palmer; neither draws students from the same
middle school (except for a few transfers). The method for selecting a sample would be
Puposive sampling, “The process of selecting a sample that is believed to be representative of a
given population.” It would be necessary to select a sample of four types of students from
graduating classes: (1) graduates with high reading scores; (2) graduates with low reading scores;
(3) drop outs with high reading scores; and (4) drop outs with low reading scores. The instrument
needed to make a determination of correlation is the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test
given to all 7th grade students since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. To determine if
the MAP test can predict high school graduation, each of these four types of students needs to be
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studied. Because the study looks at data that is already collected and attempts to interpret the
correlation of one variable, nonrandom sampling is the only choice for this applied research
study.
3. The following are general educational research issues: (1) instructional leadership, (2)
instructional strategies, (3) technology in the classroom, and (4) high stakes testing.
Choose one of these issues and narrow it to a reasonable research topic and then a
specific hypothesis. Defend the problem as researchable and evaluate the quality of your
hypothesis.
Of the four general educational research issues, technology in the classroom is one that is
relevant to my situation. However, technology in the classroom is too broad a topic for research
and, according to Gay, Mills, and Airasian (2009) “tends to result in a study that is general,
difficult to carry out, and difficult to interpret” (p. 68). One aspect of technology in the
classroom that is interesting to me is that of gamification. Gamification can be defined as the use
of games as educational tools or it can be defined as the process of turning a learning
environment into a game as Johnson, Adams Becker, Cummins, Estrada, Freeman, and Ludgate
(2013) suggest:
Gamification aims to incorporate elements of games, such as levels and badges
(but also via quests and other strategies) into non-game activities. In gamified
curricula, students can accumulate points or other rewards by accepting different
challenges, and often have more freedom in choosing what kind of assignments
they undertake to earn them (p. 5).
A reasonable research topic for a quantitative study would be the extent to which
the implementation of gamification in a given classroom increased the academic
achievement of students. The specific hypothesis for this study would be: 7th grade
social studies students who participate in a classroom structured as a multi-player game
have higher end of unit assessment scores than 7th grade social studies students who do
not participate in a gamified classroom setting.
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This study would extend the research on gamification as a motivational strategy
in getting students engaged in learning. Many studies have been conducted on student
motivation as a condition of engagement, but despite the growing interest in gamifying
classrooms (Johnson et al., 2013) not a lot of research has been conducted on the
benefits of gamifying curricula.
The hypothesis is based on motivational theory, provides a reasonable
explanation for the predicted outcome (Gay et al., 2009), and clearly states the expected
relation between the variables.
4. You have been assigned the task of developing a research plan to investigate the
effectiveness of using laptops in high school English classes. How would you organize a
formal research plan? Identify the specific topics you would include in your plan and
discuss your reasons for including each one.
To investigate the effectiveness of using laptops in high school English classes, a formal
research plan would need to include an introduction, a methods section, a data analysis section, a
time schedule, and a budget section. Each of these sections is discussed in the following
paragraphs.
According to Gay et al. (2009) the introduction includes a statement of the topic, a review
of related literature, and a statement of the hypothesis. For this study, the topic statement would
be: The problem to be studied is the effect of using laptops on the quality of multiple paragraph
essays in high school English classes. The topic is included to focus the research. The topic also
guides the development of the hypothesis by identifying the variables; namely, the use of laptops
and the quality of high school essays. For a literature review, ERIC and related educational
databases would be searched for relevant prior studies. Including a literature review identifies
what has already been written and helps “justify the significance of” (p. 80) the current study.
Among other purposes, the literature review also ensures that the study will not duplicate one
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that has already been done. Finally, the hypothesis for this study would be: High school English
students who use laptops to compose multi-paragraph essays will make significantly fewer
convention errors than students who do not use laptops. The authors state that the hypothesis is a
necessary component of the research plan because it determines all aspects of the study. Without
the hypothesis this is no direction for the study.
The method section includes the participants, the instrument(s), the materials or apparatus
needed for the study, the design and the procedure. The participants and the larger population
from which they are drawn must be identified. The instrument subsection discusses specific tools
and how they will be used to measure the variables in your hypothesis. The materials subsection
describes what, if any, materials or apparatus will be developed or used to conduct the study. The
design subsection discusses “a general strategy or plan for conducting a research study” (p. 108).
Finally, the procedure subsection describes how the data will be collected including the steps
necessary for its collection. According to Kallett (2004), the methods section is the most
important part of the research plan because “it provides the information by which the validity of
a study is ultimately judged” (p. 1229).
The data analysis section includes a description of how the researcher will analyze the
data. Gay et al. (2009) suggest that the identification of “appropriate analysis techniques is
extremely important” (p. 109). The importance of this is to ensure that the data can be analyzed
prior to beginning the study.
The time schedule section includes a list of the major activities and an expected
completion date. It sets reasonable deadlines to keep the research moving forward and to give the
plan’s reviewer an understanding of when the study will be concluded.
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Finally, the budget section is required for governmental or private agencies who fund
research.
5. Choose two of the following probability sampling techniques: random sampling, cluster
sampling, multi-stage cluster sampling, proportional stratified sampling, nonproportional stratified sampling, and systematic sampling. List the steps necessary to
select a sample using each technique, and describe a situation in which you would use
each technique.
Two probability sampling techniques which can be used to ensure a reliable sample are
stratified random sampling and cluster sampling. “Stratified random sampling divides a large
population into homogenous subgroups called strata. Researchers then draw samples from each
of the strata” (Allison, 2017, p. 1). On the other hand, cluster sampling is a method of sampling
where “intact groups, not individuals, are randomly selected” (Gay et al., p. 129).
The steps necessary to select a viable stratified sample similar to those for a random
sample, according to the authors. The selection of the random samples, however, is done for each
subgroup. According to Allison (2017), stratified random sampling begins “by dividing the
population into homogeneous subgroups that do not overlap with one another” (p. 2). Gay et al.
(2009) suggest that once you have subgroups in place there are two methods of sampling thee
subgroups. These are proportional stratified sampling, where the size of each subgroup matches
the percentage of that group in the overall population, and equal-sized sampling. For either, a
random sample of the subgroups is selected using a table of random numbers. A reaearcher
would use this method of sampling when the population to be sampled is scattered over a large
area and the variables within the population, such as gender, age, years of experience, could
affect the study.
A second method of random sampling is cluster sampling. Cluster sampling selects
groups rather than individuals are randomly selected for the study. The steps necessary to obtain
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a viable sample begin with the identification and definition of the population. Next, a
determination of sample size must be made. The identification of “a logical cluster” (p. 130) and
a list of all the clusters within the target population are the next steps. An estimate of the number
of members per cluster and a determination of the number of clustered need to fulfill the sample
size is made. Using a table of random numbers, the clusters re selected and “all population
members in each selected cluster” (p. 130) are included. According to the authors, cluster
sampling is used by researchers who cannot get a list of all members of a population, when the
population is large, or when it is distributed over a large area.
6. A researcher is interested in describing the attitudes of teachers from rural, suburban,
and urban schools across Louisiana. Recommend a random sampling technique to her,
defend it as an appropriate way to meet her sampling needs, and describe the specific
steps you would take to actually identify subjects.
For an attitude study of teachers from rural, suburban, and urban schools across
Louisiana, the researcher should use equal-sized groups in a stratified sample. One of the
important variables in this study is the location of each of the schools as each represents a
different type of community, community expectations, financial considerations, student
populations, and other factors that makes each type of teaching situation unique. Because the
researcher wants input from all of Louisiana, a large geographical area, and from three different
types of teachers, the only method of that ensures that each group will be adequately represented
is stratified sampling. The reason the researcher should use equal-sized subgroups is to obtain a
large enough sample from each subgroup to make the study valid. Most likely there are many
more urban teachers than rural teachers, so a proportional stratified sampling technique would
mean that rural teachers were not adequately represented in the study.
Once the researcher has decided to use stratified sampling, and already having identified
his population, ie. all teachers from Louisiana, she must decide on a sample size. According to
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the authors, sample size is dependent upon the type of research and the size of the population,
but if there are upwards of 5,000 teachers a sample size of 400 to 500 teachers would suffice.
Next, deciding on how to organized the subgroups is necessary: for this study, the first level is
rural, suburban, and urban. The second subgrouping should be elementary, middle, and high
school levels (of course it could be private and public or some other grouping of interest to the
researcher). Next, the researcher must identify each of the teachers as belonging to a specific
subgroup. From these subgroups, she would randomly select his sample.
7. As the superintendent of a local school district, you are responsible for numerous
accountability issues, one of which is the standardized testing program. You must decide
on a test to be taken by all fifth graders in your district, but you are debating the merits of
using a norm-referenced or criterion-referenced test. Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of each in this situation.
There are two types of standardized achievement tests, norm-referenced and criterionreferenced. Norm-referenced tests compare the students who are tested to the performance of
others who have taken the same test and provide a percentile rank. Criterion-referenced tests
compare the students tested to a standard, giving specific information about specific learning
objectives. Norm-referenced tests can tell a superintendent how the students in his district
compare to others around the state, nation, or world, while criterion-referenced tests demonstrate
how much growth a student has made since the last test was administered.
There are advantages to both of these types of standardized tests. Schools and school
districts need to ensure that the curriculum their teachers teach is educating students to the level
necessary to be successful in college or a career. Norm-referenced tests give stakeholders a snap
shot of how well a particular school or district is doing compared to others around the nation.
Criterion-referenced tests tell the superintendent if the students in his district are moving along
the continuum toward mastery of content.
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There are disadvantages of both of these tests as well. Norm-referenced tests are much
more likely to be culturally biased as the one-size-fits-all basis of the test does not take into
account the regional differences among students of differing locals. Students in Texas and
California have a very different cultural background from those in Alaska’s rural villages. Even
students in the same location can have cultural differences that make a norm-referenced test
unfair. Criterion-referenced tests can have the same biases, depending upon where the test is
developed. The biggest drawback for criterion-referenced tests is that their outcomes cannot be
compared from location to location if they are not standardized like an AP assessment. Gay et al.
suggests that another drawback is that criterion-referenced tests do not grade using the same bell
curve as norm-referenced tests.
8. Explain why reliability is a necessary but not sufficient characteristic of a test.
(p. 158 – 163) Also see summary pg. 169
9. You are conducting a survey study of teachers' views of the leadership style of their
principals. You will sample teachers in 50 schools. You are aware that several of the
principals are unpopular with their staffs. Describe how you will draw a sample of 1000
teachers and ensure that you receive an acceptable response rate of at least 75%.
Survey research? (p. 133) and chpt. 7