Graduate Seminar in Educational Research Solved Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth exploration of advanced methodologies, contemporary issues, and critical debates in educational research. Through readings, discussions, and presentations, students will engage with both qualitative and quantitative research paradigms, examine foundational and emerging research designs, and develop skills in critically evaluating scholarly literature. Emphasis is placed on ethical considerations, research proposal development, and the articulation of research questions aligned with diverse educational contexts. The seminar fosters a collaborative environment where students refine their research interests and prepare to contribute original insights to the field of education.
Recommended Textbook
Introduction to Educational Research Second Edition by Craig A. Mertler
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Chapter 1: What Is Educational Research
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Q1) Which of the following is true of educational research?
A) It is not scientific.
B) It is a process that begins with a question/problem.
C) It is a process that serves as the purpose/goal of the study.
D) It is a flawless process.
Answer: B
Q2) The goal of any research study includes ______.
A) practicing the scientific method
B) generating existing knowledge
C) gaining a better understanding of the issue/phenomenon under investigation
D) making money
Answer: C
Q3) Because educational research is scientific, it must be approached from the perspective of subjectivity.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Overview of the Educational Research Process
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Q1) What are the three broad categories of data collection suggested by Fraenkel and Wallen (2003)?
A) observation, interviews, and polling
B) observation, interviews, and existing documents
C) existing documents, polling, and review
D) interviews, polling, and review
Answer: B
Q2) Interview data must be collected orally and in-person.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Which section of an educational research reports do readers sometimes "skip ahead" and read?
A) data analysis
B) final conclusions
C) research questions
D) literature review
Answer: D
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4
Chapter 3: Identifying a Research Problem
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Q1) Demonstrate how to evaluate a research topic's level of appropriateness for becoming a study.
Answer: Answer would ideally include: By thoroughly thinking through the preliminary considerations in selecting a topic, researchers may adequately evaluate a research topic's level of appropriateness for becoming a study. These considerations include (1) having a personal interest in the topic, (2) the significance and helpfulness of the topic to others, (3) the newness or uniqueness of the research topic, (4) the amount of time a study will require, (5) the difficulty of studying the topic, (6) the financial costs, and (7) the research ethics. Any topic may be vetted through this process to result in a more informed decision as to whether the researcher will conduct a study on the chosen topic; results will rely on the researcher's ability to address each of the seven items, which is enhanced with knowledge and experience in research.
Q2) Identify two reasons why all educational researchers should be familiar with research-related terminology.
Answer: Answer would ideally include: The better we understand this terminology, the better we will be able to maneuver through the early--as well as latter--stages of research study development.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Ethics in Educational Research
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Q1) Explain how qualitative studies differ from quantitative studies regarding ethical considerations in research with human participants.
Q2) Imagine you are going to conduct a study using a web-based survey instrument. In this instance, an informed consent cover letter would suffice as a type of participant consent.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Minors involved in any research study can provide only ______, because they are not of legal ______ age.
A) assent; consenting
B) consent; assenting C) verbal permission; consenting D) verbal permission; assenting
Q4) What does IRB stand for and what is an IRB?
Q5) Educational researchers must adhere to ethical considerations and ensure that the participants in their studies are protected in a variety of ways.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 5: Reviewing Related Research Literature
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Q1) ProQuest contains thesis and dissertation studies.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Discuss the pertinence of academic databases to the literature review.
Q3) List at least three distinct features of Google Scholar that are helpful to researchers.
Q4) Your literature review should focus predominantly on ______ sources of research information.
A) tertiary
B) printed
C) secondary
D) primary
Q5) Develop a justification to complete this statement: The literature review is important because . . .
Q6) Before a researcher begins to search for literature related to his or her topic, he or she should be aware of several "characteristics" when reviewing the body of literature. Discuss these "characteristics" and their importance to conducting an effective literature review.
Q7) What are the three most commonly asked questions regarding the number of sources for a literature review?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Qualitative Research Methods
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Q1) The goal of grounded theory is to begin ______.
A) with a particular educational phenomenon in mind and permit those aspects that are relevant to the phenomenon to emerge during the study
B) with a theory and then set out to collect data that will support the components of that theory
C) with numerical data that need to be analyzed
D) with an existing need related to real and tangible inequality in the educational setting
Q2) Discuss the strengths of ethnographic research.
Q3) A ______ is defined as providing thick, rich details to describe a phenomenon or topic of interest.
A) summary
B) synopsis
C) proliferation
D) holistic description
Q4) It is recommended that we analyze ethnographic data with total objectivity.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain how qualitative researchers follow steps for conducting studies.
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Chapter 7: Quantitative Research Methods
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Q1) The purpose of quantitative studies is typically ______ and ______.
A) broad; specific
B) specific; narrow
C) fluid; specific
D) broad; fluid
Q2) Two commonly used descriptive designs are correlational research and survey research.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is not a threat to internal validity?
A) history
B) maturation
C) attrition
D) efficiency
Q4) ______ embody a group of techniques used to conduct quantitative research where there is no manipulation done to any variable in the study.
A) Experimental research designs
B) Nonexperimental research designs
C) Summative research designs
D) Formative research designs
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Mixed-Methods Research
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Q1) According to the text, there are six examples of research problems that are suited for mixed-methods techniques, including which of the following?
A) A need exists to explain the initial results.
B) A need exists to disprove the initial results.
C) A need exists because one data source is sufficient.
D) A need exists to satisfy the researcher.
Q2) What does mixed-methods research include?
A) observational design
B) transformative design
C) distinctive design
D) directional design
Q3) What is the major characteristic of mixed-methods research?
Q4) According to Creswell and Plano Clark, during the process of deciding on an appropriate mixed-methods research model to employ, the researcher must make four key decisions. List these decisions.
Q5) Exploratory design is conducted in the opposite sequence of explanatory design.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Explain the importance of identifying the appropriate mixed-methods design.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Action Research
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Q1) Which of the following is true regarding action research?
A) It should be evaluated on a different set of criteria than the criteria used to evaluate more traditional forms of research.
B) It should not be evaluated on a different set of criteria than the criteria used to evaluate more traditional forms of research.
C) It is not effective in many professional education settings.
D) It is the most effective approach to any study.
Q2) What is action research?
A) A process that improves education, in general, by incorporating change.
B) A process that is determined by the IRB.
C) A process that is practiced by all teachers.
D) A process that is only practiced by quantitative researchers.
Q3) Action research allows educators to study ______.
A) their own instructional methods
B) the world at large
C) the instructional methods of educators in a different state
D) the past
Q4) Discuss one weakness of action research.
Q5) Describe self-reflection in the process of action research.
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Chapter 10: Writing a Research Proposal
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Q1) Writing a research proposal provides opportunities to identify potential pitfalls and problems before they occur.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Literature reviews should be between three to five pages.
A)True
B)False
Q3) It is critical for the researcher to ensure that the analytical methods parallel the research question.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How can research proposals help research processes?
A) They can specify and clarify ideas.
B) They can narrow the number of participants.
C) They can control variables.
D) They can develop new methodological strategies.
Q5) Why should every researcher be able to write a research proposal?
Q6) List components commonly found in the introduction section of a research proposal.
Q7) Describe the instrumentation section in a quantitative research proposal.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis
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Q1) Theoretical validity refers to ______.
A) the accuracy of the interpretations of participants' behaviors and words
B) the factual accuracy of the account provided in the research
C) the extent to which the researcher behaved objectively enough to report the data and findings in an unbiased manner, without making judgments of the collected data
D) the extent to which the study, and its final report, relates the phenomenon being studied to a broader theory
Q2) Before we can collect data in qualitative studies, we must identify and select the participants.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Explain the rationale for the sample size in qualitative research.
Q4) Qualitative sample sizes typically do not vary.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the difference between structured, semistructured, and unstructured classroom observations.
Q6) Describe the purpose of observer's comments in field notes.
Q7) Explain the participant-observer continuum.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Quantitative Data Collection
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Q1) There are three types of measurement scales: ordinal, ratio, and interval.
A)True
B)False
Q2) One easy way to choose a sample from a population is ______.
A) to provide logic to the process
B) ongoing
C) definitive in nature
D) by using computer software
Q3) Which of the following options best matches this statement: "All members of the population have an equal chance of being selected for inclusion in the sample?"
A) random sampling
B) rationale sampling
C) scholarly sampling
D) none of these
Q4) Quantitative data are more efficient than qualitative data.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the weaknesses of quantitative data collection and analysis.
Q6) Describe a measurement scale.
Q7) Describe probability sampling techniques.
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Chapter 13: Quantitative Data Analysis
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Q1) A purpose of conducting statistical analysis procedures is not to ______.
A) conduct the study independently
B) show relationships among variables
C) show similarities and differences among groups
D) test for significance of findings
Q2) ______ is used to determine the degree of correlation between an interval or ratio dependent variable.
A) Stratified sampling
B) Multiple regression
C) Correlation coefficient
D) ANOVA test
Q3) A tabulation of the number of times each value of a variable occurs ______.
A) is more practical but less relevant
B) only exists in quantitative research
C) is a frequency distribution
D) is a standard deviation
Q4) Visual depictions constitute one category of techniques for describing data.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss the concept of standard error and how it is useful to researchers.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Writing a Final Research Report
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Q1) Readers of research rely on ______ to indicate whether reports deal with topics they specifically want to read about.
A) titles
B) results sections
C) abstracts alone
D) introductions
Q2) Quantitative research reports are written in passive voice.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Describe anonymity and confidentiality as they pertain to writing research reports.
Q4) Which of the following is not included in the author's tips for writing?
A) write as if you are talking to a friend
B) establish a writing routine
C) write as quickly as possible
D) begin with an outline and organize your thoughts accordingly
Q5) The APA manual is arguably the most commonly used style guide in the broad field of education.
A)True
B)False
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