Educational Research Methods
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Course Introduction
Educational Research Methods introduces students to the fundamental principles and techniques used in conducting research within educational settings. The course covers both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, offering insight into research design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of findings. Emphasis is placed on developing skills to critically evaluate existing research, formulate research questions, and apply ethical considerations in educational research. Students will gain practical experience in planning and conducting small-scale research projects, and learn how to present their findings effectively to various audiences.
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Educational Research Competencies for Analysis and Applications Global Edition 11th Edition by
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Educational Research
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Q1) Dean is a quantitative researcher who studies attitudes about computer use. Which of the following data collection strategies is most consistent with a quantitative research design?
A) Observe a few participants over an extended period of time as they work on computers.
B) Conduct focus group interviews to determine computer users' attitudes.
C) Interview a few participants and ask them to refer others to the study.
D) Develop and administer a Likert-type survey to collect attitude data.
Answer: D
Q2) The type of qualitative research that includes conducting research on a unit of study or bounded system is most often referred to as
A) narrative
B) case study
C) ethnography
D) survey
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: Selecting and Defining a Research Topic
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Q1) Which of the following is an example of a researchable problem?
A) Should we teach children formal reading skills before they enter school?
B) Is there a relationship between SES and children's amount of reading in the home?
C) Are high school students best served by taking numerous electives or a core curriculum?
D) Should all children be exposed to exercise at school daily?
Answer: B
Q2) According to your text the first step in applying the scientific method is A) searching the existing literature.
B) generating and testing a hypothesis.
C) selecting and defining a research problem.
D) drawing conclusions from data.
Answer: C
Q3) One drawback of initial research problems is that they are often
A) not relevant.
B) too broad.
C) too narrow.
D) not ethical.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Reviewing the Literature
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Q1) Kajol is reviewing the literature on teaching efficacy for his study of collective efficacy in middle school urban schools and has found some potential relationships between collective teaching efficacy research and organizational climate. Of the following, what would you suggest to Kajol regarding the inclusion of this content in his literature review?
A) He should include literature related to variables with relations to teaching efficacy in all settings.
B) He should ignore the organizational climate literature, it is not related enough to his review.
C) He should review only studies that address middle teachers in urban settings in his review.
D) He should mention a potential relationship in his review and provide citations for the reader.
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Preparing and Evaluating a Research Plan
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Q1) The data analysis strategies subsection in a qualitative research plan typically includes
A) the procedures for storing the data.
B) the procedures to collate and categorize the data.
C) the interview or survey questions.
D) the procedures to ensure validity and reliability.
Q2) Kim has developed a research plan and would like to critique it before submitting it to her advisor. Which of the following guidelines does the text recommend?
A) Engage a good editor to help with writing mechanics and flow.
B) Compare it to existing proposals available online.
C) Ask a colleague not involved in her research to review it critically.
D) Develop a list of all potential problems that may arise in the study.
Q3) In which of the following qualitative research plan sections is the sample consent form generally presented?
A) Data collection
B) Site and sample selection
C) Data analysis
D) Appendixes
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Chapter 5: Selecting a Sample
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Q1) Ken randomly selected 75 students to participate in his study and then randomly assigned them to one of three conditions. When he examined his groups he found he had very unequal gender by condition. Ken's samples illustrate
A) sampling bias.
B) sampling error.
C) nonrandom sampling.
D) purposive sampling.
Q2) Sean knows a lot about racial tensions in public schools. He wants to conduct a quantitative study that examines the current state of affairs in public schools. He contacts two school districts that he identified, one has a history of problems and one does not. He randomly selects students from these schools to participate in his study. Sean used
A) convenience sampling.
B) purposive sampling.
C) quota sampling.
D) multistage sampling.
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Chapter 6: Selecting Measurement Instruments
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Q1) Of the following, which is an example of self-referenced approach?
A) Jon finished first in the race.
B) Jon performed worse than his teammates.
C) Jon ran the mile in less than 6 minutes.
D) Jon ran the mile faster than his last race.
Q2) The relationship between reliability and SE<sub>m</sub> is that
A) if reliability increases SE<sub>m</sub> increases.
B) if reliability increases SE<sub>m</sub> decreases.
C) if reliability is positive SE<sub>m</sub> is positive.
D) if reliability is positive SE<sub>m</sub> is negative.
Q3) Standardized test scores are often given as percentile ranks. These data are considered ________________ level measurement.
A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) interval
D) ratio
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Chapter 7: Survey Research
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Q1) According to your text which of the following should be included in the cover letter?
A) The human subjects protocol number
B) The purpose of the study if it is for your thesis or dissertation
C) The intended results of the study
D) The purpose of the study
Q2) A cross sectional survey design compared to cohort design differs in that cross sectional surveys collect data
A) more frequently than in a cohort design.
B) once compared to multiple times in a cohort.
C) from different groups compared to same group in a cohort.
D) twice as compared to once in a cohort.
Q3) Chuck administered a web-based survey and received a low response rate. What would be the best initial strategy to address the low response rate?
A) Draw a new sample from the population
B) Resend the initial cover letter
C) Send a reminder email
D) Mail a copy of the initial cover letter
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Chapter 8: Correlational Research
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Q1) Joni teaches a preschool class. She has eight students and ranks them based upon math and reading ability. She would like to see if there is a relationship between how well her students are ranked in math and in reading. Which of the following correlations should she use?
A) Kendall's tau
B) Phi coefficient
C) Biserial
D) Eta
Q2) Of the following, which is most likely an example of a correlational study?
A) A study that indicated differences in GPA between ROTC and non ROTC students.
B) A study that examines organizational variables that predict retention of special education teachers.
C) A study that examines characteristics of exchange student host families.
D) A study that examines the effect of overt displays of teacher empathy on student class behavior.
Q3) Which of the following demonstrates the strongest correlation coefficient?
A) 0.0
B) 1.5
C) .65
D) -.72
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Chapter 9: Causal-Comparative Research
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Q1) Given the following design, identify the most probable example of the study from the descriptions below. E X O
C O
A) Ned examines how fourth graders who were provided after school homework help and those who were not on the end of year mathematics test.
B) Ned describes the typical mathematics standardized test that fourth graders are required to take in his state.
C) Ned compares how fourth graders given either after school homework help via the phone or the Internet perform on the end of year mathematics test.
D) Ned examines how the amount of homework help available after school relates to performance on the end of year mathematics test.
Q2) Causal comparative and experimental research both
A) examine differences between groups.
B) manipulate the independent variable(s) in the study.
C) assign participants to conditions.
D) have the same ethical considerations when considering independent variables.
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Chapter 10: Experimental Research
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Q1) Audrey examines students' learning of science principles from interactive games. She randomly assigns the fifth grade students in her study to a control condition with no play time, a timed play condition, or an unlimited time play condition. She also groups her students into either high or low ability groups. She measures her students with a knowledge pretest, a post-test, and a delayed post-test. Which of the following is an independent variable in Audrey's study?
A) Ability
B) Fifth grade
C) Post-test exam
D) Science principles
Q2) Of the following, the design that best controls for internal validity threats is the A) posttest only control group design.
B) pretest-posttest group design.
C) time series design.
D) Solomon four-group design.
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Chapter 11: Single-Subject Experimental Research
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Q1) Millie is using a behavior checklist strategy as well as a prompted praise strategy when working with her second grade behavior disordered student, Kent, who exhibits behavior disorders. She uses both strategies within the same study going back and forth randomly between the two approaches, while recording his on task behavior. The benefits of Millie's design include all of the following EXCEPT
A) no withdrawal is necessary.
B) no baseline is necessary.
C) more than one treatment is considered.
D) multiple-treatment interference is controlled.
Q2) Another name for the simultaneous treatment design is the ________________ design.
A) alternating treatment
B) experimenter manipulated
C) multiple baseline
D) return to baseline
Q3) Which of the following is a benefit of the alternating treatment design?
A) There are rarely carryover effects.
B) No baseline data are necessary.
C) There is higher external validity than other designs.
D) The need for researcher intervention is diminished.
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Chapter 12: Narrative Research
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Q1) Which of the following is an element that characterizes narrative research?
A) Narrative research focuses on group experiences.
B) Narrative research relies heavily on triangulation.
C) Narrative research is constructed by the researcher.
D) Narrative research incorporates context and place.
Q2) Which of the following is the best strategy for collaborating with participants in a narrative research study?
A) Focus the restorying on times the participant collaborated
B) Negotiate relationship between the researcher and participant
C) Code the data into themes or categories
D) Organize the data into a chronology of events.
Q3) Which of the following best characterizes activities during the first phase of restorying?
A) The researcher shares his version of the narrative and solicits feedback.
B) The researcher conducts interviews and transcribes the recording.
C) The researcher constructs an initial narrative of the data.
D) The researcher presents her personal narrative to be ethical.
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Chapter 13: Ethnographic Research
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Q1) One of the goals while engaging in participant observation is to A) remain objective.
B) be brief.
C) engage in activities.
D) seek truth.
Q2) Millie is an ethnographic researcher studying the development of language in young children from bilingual homes. She takes down extensive notes in a notebook as she observes. She also often records small brief notes to herself on little green sheets that she keeps separate from her notebook. The extensive notes Millie records in her notebook best represent A) memos.
B) protocols.
C) field notes.
D) jottings.
Q3) Of the following, which is often considered a significant challenge of ethnographic research?
A) The lack of reliability in ethnographic research.
B) The lack of internal validity of ethnographic research.
C) The amount of time ethnographic research takes.
D) The number of instruments needed to conduct ethnographic research.
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Chapter 14: Case Study Research
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Q1) Which of the following represents the most appropriate application of case study research?
A) Donna studies how teachers use narrative stories in their content area teaching.
B) Lisa studies how middle school science teachers present Nanotechnology.
C) Chris studies how a four-year Liberal Arts school developed an MBA program.
D) Roger explores the experiences of authors as they publish through publishing houses.
Q2) Which of the following is a strategy for cross-site analysis?
A) Coordinate concept matrix
B) Cross-site analytic matrix
C) Unordered meta-matrix
D) Multi-dimensional site matrix
Q3) Which of the following is the most common form of sampling in case study research?
A) Random
B) Convenience
C) Purposive
D) Cluster
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Chapter 15: Mixed Methods Research
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Q1) Of the following, which best illustrates an example of a mixed methods study that addresses students' selection of a major at a large land-grant university?
A) Karen uses high school grades, university grades, and scores on a career placement survey to predict students' major.
B) Jonna uses high school grades, SAT scores, and university placement exam scores to classify likely success in a given major.
C) Bonnie interviews high school students about their career aspirations and follows them through their second year of university collecting interview data every 3 months..
D) Pui-wa collects career placement survey data and conducts follow-up interviews with a portion of the respondents selected based upon their major.
Q2) Dalina, a mixed methods researcher, first identifies the purpose of the study she will conduct. Next she will
A) state the design of the study.
B) state the research questions.
C) determine which data will have more weight.
D) begin to collect initial data.
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17
Chapter 16: Action Research
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Q1) According to your text, which of the following is a key characteristic of action research?
A) Action research is intricate.
B) Action research is positivist.
C) Action research is persuasive.
D) Action research is objective.
Q2) Which of the following is a component of a practical action research as presented in your text?
A) Teacher researchers are participatory and democratic.
B) Teacher researchers are socially responsive.
C) Teacher researchers want to reflect on their practices.
D) Teacher researchers conduct action research without compensation.
Q3) Which of the following is an action research reconnaissance activity as presented in your text?
A) Self-reflection
B) Pragmatic application
C) Taking action
D) Follow-through
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18
Chapter 17: Descriptive Statistics
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Q1) The measure of central tendency that represents the midpoint of the scores in a distribution is the
A) mode.
B) standard deviation.
C) mean.
D) median.
Q2) Logan accessed an existing database to answer his research question regarding the role of identification of a learning disability and odds of going to a private school. The variables of interest include category of disability, type of school, achievement scores in the first, third, and sixth grade, parents SES. Logan will report a measure of variability for each of the achievement scores. Which will he most likely report?
A) Mean
B) Range
C) Standard Deviation
D) Median
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Chapter 18: Inferential Statistics
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Q1) Given a set of scores with a mean of 25, standard deviation of 4 and a sample size of 50, calculate the standard error of the mean.
A) .36
B) .57
C) 1.75
D) 2.42
Q2) Anan conducted an experimental study in which students were randomly assigned to either 10 minutes of read aloud, 10 minutes of silent reading, 10 minutes of writing, or 10 minutes of free time. She concluded that there were significant differences among groups with the read aloud group outperforming others on a standardized reading assessment. However, there were not actual differences among groups. Anan conclusion represents
A) a Type I error.
B) a Type II error.
C) both a Type I and a Type II error.
D) a correct decision.
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Chapter 19: Qualitative Data Collection
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Q1) As a researcher interested in young children's motivation to read, Cynthia works as a volunteer in a pre-kindergarten setting for approximately 6 months as she collects data regarding children's reading motivation. In this scenario, Cynthia is best described as a A) participant observer.
B) nonparticipant observer.
C) covert observer.
D) experienced observer.
Q2) Of the following, the best way qualitative researchers can increase confirmability is to
A) triangulate data sources.
B) use covert observation.
C) use observations instead of interviews.
D) decrease the amount of time spent in the field.
Q3) In qualitative research, the primary data collection instrument is
A) the researcher.
B) the participant.
C) face-to-face interaction.
D) numerical data.
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21
Chapter 20: Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation
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Q1) In qualitative data analysis, the identification of potential themes occurs during which processes?
A) describing and classifying.
B) classifying and justifying.
C) memoing and reading.
D) describing and reading.
Q2) When a researcher categorizes and codes pieces of her data and groups them into themes, she is said to be
A) memoing the data.
B) classifying the data.
C) describing the data.
D) reading the data.
Q3) In Jack's study of school bus misconduct, he included observations but also relied heavily on structured interviews. Which of the following is something Jack might do to ensure credibility of his data?
A) Jack should assure that he has used a valid interview protocol.
B) Jack should make sure his statistics were accurately conducted.
C) Jack should reflect upon contextual circumstances during his study.
D) Jack should strive for an inter-rater reliability of at least .80.
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Chapter 21: Preparing a Research Report
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Q1) Of the following, which is the best example of a conclusion in a study that examined funding for extra-curricular activities?
A) The correlation between achievement and extra-curricular activities was statistically significant.
B) The results supported a difference in achievement between those who participated in extra-curricular activities and those who did not participate.
C) The effect size was .58.
D) The participant stated support for additional funding for extra-curricular activities.
Q2) The definition of important terms is found in the __________ section of a research report.
A) statement of problem
B) method
C) results
D) discussion
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Chapter 22: Evaluating a Research Report
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Q1) Maria has turned in her honor's thesis that considers the prevalence of ability grouping in local intermediate grades. One of her readers questions the prompts that might have been provided to the participants and how the participants' responses were coded. Given this information, what type of study did Maria conduct for her thesis?
A) Causal-Comparative
B) Ethnographic
C) Mixed methods
D) Experimental
Q2) When Michele reached the method section of the study she reviewed for a class assignment, she found that the researchers had clearly described the questionnaire And the pilot procedures used to test the items. This is a strength of this __________ research report.
A) observational
B) correlational
C) survey
D) causal-comparative
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