Updated Information for EDUC 640

Pick a topic soon! Please visit the Vassar Stats web page noted below

It was good to meet you all last evening. I have listed a good number of research topics below information about APA references. It is imperative that you pick a topic soon. I have also included selected answers to questions in your book on this page.

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Vassar Stats:

http://faculty.vassar.edu/lowry/VassarStats.html

Answers to Text questions:

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Research Proposal HINTS:

Summary

At the least, your summary of each article should include the following:

Where the research took place

Subjects – number and ethnicity

Key question of interest

Critical components of the methods used in the research

(how data was collected)

Results

Critique

    You must critique the research methods. You should not comment on on how the writing style of the author. A critique should include both positive and negative points about the research. Some questions to think about:

    Was the sample large enough?
    Was the research conducted in a real school or health center?
    Did the sample include people from a variety of backgrounds?
    Did the research use valid and reliable instruments to measure the independent and dependent variables?

Sample APA references

Dewalt, M., & Rodwell, F. (1987). Effects of increased learning time in remedial math and science.
ERS Spectrum, 6(1), 33-36.

Dewalt, M., & Troxell, B. (1989). Old Order Mennonite one-room school: A case study.
Anthropology and Educational Quarterly, 20(4), 308-325.

Dewalt, M., Vare, J. & Dockery, E. (2001). Retaining teacher candidates in the new

American college. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED455197)

Hostetler, J. (Ed.). (1989). Amish roots: A treasury of history, wisdom, and lore.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Topic Ideas

What is the relationship between pet therapy and depression in people over 65?
What is the relationship between self-esteem score and reading achievement for elementary age students?
What is the relationship between walking 3 times per week and self-esteem?
What is the relationship between group therapy and self-esteem of COA’s
What is the relationship between participation in after school programs and delinquent behavior?
What is the relationship between age of first tobacco use and marijuana use as an adult?
What is the relationship between anxiety and SAT scores?
What is the relationship between birth order and SAT scores?
What is the relationship between SAT scores and GPA for college freshman?
What is the relationship between type of therapy (group vs. individual) and self-esteem?
What is the relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed per week and weight?
What is the relationship between eating half a cup of oatmeal each day and cholesterol score?
What is the relationship between weight training and bone density for people over 65 years of age?
What is the relationship between a school uniform policy and student behavior?
What is the effect of homework on academic achievement in mathematics?
What is the relationship between time spent watching TV and writing ability?
What is the relationship between the number of hours of after school employment and high school report card grades in academic subjects?
What is the relationship between birth order and SAT scores?
What is the relationship between IQ and PACT scores in mathematics?
What is the relationship between school attendance and report card grades in math?

Research Proposal

    Each summary should include the following information:
        Key question of interest
        Sample selection, size and ethnicity
        Location of the project
        Method (how was the research conducted)
            also include key instruments used to measure independent and dependent variables
        Results - what were the key findings
    Each critique should include the positive and negative aspects of the research method

Answers to selected questions in the text.

Understanding Research Methods: An Overview of the Essential
Selected Textbook Answers

Topic 1: Introduction to Empirical Research
1. Observation    2. Yes        3. The need for study 4. A Statement indicating what results are expected       5. Yes        6. Select among available instruments or develop new ones          7. Qualitative
8.Experimental Research     9. Nonexperimental Research

Topic 2: Experimental Vs. Nonexperimental Studies
1. No          2. Group B           3. No          4. To describe participants as they naturally exist without experimental intervention   5. No          6. No
7. To explore cause and effect relationships   8. Nonexperimental study
9. Experimental study

Topic 3: Experimental Vs. Causal-Comparative Studies
1. Causal-comparative          2. Causal-comparative 3. No        4. No
5. Experimental            6. Background characteristics such as socioeconomic status    7. Causal-comparative               8. Experimental
9. Ex post facto study

Topic 4: Types of Nonexperimental Research
1. Longitudinal
2. No
3. Survey
4. Correlational
5. Researchers gather data that are easy to quantify so that they can be analyzed with statistics.
6. Semi-structured interviews in which there is a core list of questions from which the interviewers may deviate as needed to obtain in-depth information.

Topic 5: Variables in Nonexperimental Studies
1. Two
2. Country of birth
3. Number of years of formal education
4. One Variable. (Note: The one variable [extent of agreement] has four categories: strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. All variables have two or more categories.)
5. Each respondent or participant will belong to only one category
6 Dependent
7. Grades in high school algebra
8. Yes
9. One. (Note that the one variable in the questions is “age.” Each of the four age groups is a category of the one variable.)
10. Two.

Topic 6: Variables in Experimental Studies
1. One
2. Independent
3. To physically administer treatments.
4. No
5. Yes
6. The type of coupon given
7. Whether two pairs of shoes are purchased
8. Knowledge of daily nutritional needs
9. An educational film on nutrition vs. the handout.

Topic 7: Research Hypotheses, Purposes, and Questions
1. Hypothesis
2. Directional
3. Nondirectional
4. Purpose
5. No, because it is stated in a way that can be answered with only a “yes” or “no”
6. Directional
7. Research purpose and research question
8. All three are acceptable in the scientific community

Topic 8: Operational Definitions of Variables
1. Operational
2. No
3. A
4. A
5. B
6. Operational
7. Yes

Topic 9: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research: I
1. Quantitative
2. Qualitative
3. Quantitative
4. Qualitative
5. Qualitative
6. Quantitative
7. Qualitative
8. Quantitative

Topic 10: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research: II
1. B
2. A
3. Qualitative
4. Qualitative
5. Qualitative
6. Quantitative

Topic 11: Program Evaluation
1. Program evaluation
2. Program evaluation
3. Yes
4. Summative
5. Formative. (Note: Measurement of job placement would be necessary to conduct a summative evaluation.)
6. Formative
7. Formative
8. Formative
9. Summative

Topic 12: Ethical Considerations in Research
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes
5. After
6. Reviewing the purposes of the study and the procedures used, offering to share the results when they become available, reassurances that the data will remain confidential, and information on how to contact the researchers in the future.
7. Yes.

Topic 13: The Role of Theory in Research
1. A unified explanation for discrete observations that might otherwise be viewed as unrelated or contradictory
2. Deduction
3. To test hypotheses derived from theory and to provide the observations and conclusions on which we can induce theory.
4. The theory may be wrong, assuming that the research methodology was strong.
5. Induction
6. Qualitative

Topic 14: Reasons for Reviewing Literature
1. Choice A
2. Modified replication
3. No
4. False
5. The introduction
6. You can use it to establish the importance of your topic and to show how your research flows from important research conducted by established researchers.

Topic 15: Locating Literature Electronically
1. ERIC
2. Examine its thesaurus
3. A brief definition
4. Keywords (formerly “descriptors”)
5. B. (Note that using OR identifies all articles containing either or both terms, while using AND identifies only articles containing both terms.)
6. NOT
7. Choice B

Topic 16: Organizing a literature Review
1. Describe the broad problem area and indicate why it is an important topic
2. Start with a conceptual definition of a key variable
3. The importance of the problem
4. Major headings and minor subheadings
5. Group references together when they have something in common
6. Yes

Topic 17: Preparing to Write a Critical Review
1. They often take the results of each study to be “facts” that have been proven.
2. They often discuss all studies as though they were equal in quality
3. True
4. False
5. Yes
6. That the writer believes the underlying methodology and logic are reasonably sound

Topic 18: Creating a Synthesis
1. False
2. True
3. Yes
4 Yes
5. No
6. When the work is both important and central to one or more points being made in the literature review
7. Because direct quotations break the flow of a presentation
8. A summary of the literature review

APA INFO:

If you quote material from an article, APA style requires you to list the page number where the quote can be found in the article. If you have an online article with no page numbers then you would list the paragraph number.

Example of APA citation for a quote:

Dewalt (2006, p. 2) stated, "In Pennsylvania, Amish parochial schools are generally one-teacher schools."

"Students in the study completed the written survey during a free period" (Conley, et al., 2006, p. 14).

Other citations in text:

APA manual page 208 & 209 - if a work has 6 or more authors you only cite the first author in the paragraph

Wonderlich et al. (2001) conducted a study

APA manual page 240 - In the reference section you will list the first six authors and then et al.

APA Info: Personal Communications

Personal communications may be letters, memos, some electronic communications (e.g., e-mail or messages from nonarchived discussion groups or electronic bulletin boards), personal interviews, telephone conversations, and the like. Because they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible:

B. Smith (personal communication, April 18, 2007)

(V. White, personal communication, September 28, 2006)

APA info:

When an article has one or two authors you will state both names every time you cite that article in your writing.

If an article has 3 - 5 authors you will only state all authors the first time you cite the article. In subsequent citations of the article you will state the first author's name and et al.

If an article has 6 or more authors you will only state the name of the first author and et al. when citing the article.

Check this link for more information relative to graduate students in the COE:
http://coe.winthrop.edu/graduate/announce.htm

The Statistics Homepage: http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html

The Learning Toolbox - Learning strategies for students, teachers and parents:

http://cep.jmu.edu/LearningToolbox/strategies.html

Research Proposal: The critique section should focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods. Did the project have a good sample? Was the sample large enough? Did they use reliable or valid tests?

Citation of a work discussed in a secondary source

Text citation:

Fisher and Stahl’s study (as cited in Dewalt and Troxell, 1989) found that Amish children spend two hours per day on individual study.

Reference Page:

Reference page will include Dewalt and Troxell but not Fisher and Stahl.

Dr. Dewalt's Home Page

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