EDUC 640: Educational Research   

Course Resources
updated 8/10/09

Helpful web pages related to course content.

Educational Research

Those Scary Statistics - explanations and examples for statistical concepts

Statistics Every Writer Should Know - A guide to understanding basic statistics

     Concepts in Statistics  

     Correlations Tutorial

       
When to report the median vs. the mean

Range

Standard deviation

Guidelines to help you write your research proposal.

* Have a clear focus
* Include all required information
* Plan time to collect information
* Plan time to write
* Plan time to edit
* Utilize a clear organizational pattern (examples below)

    Chronological order
    Most familiar to least familiar
    Most important to least important
    Easiest to comprehend to hardest to comprehend
    Most common to least common
    OR by location of study

Guidelines to help you review and edit your research proposal

The Big Picture

Purpose.  What is the purpose of this paper?  Have you achieved the purpose?  If not, what’s needed?

Thesis.  Is the thesis clearly stated?

Audience.  Who is the audience for this paper?  Did you leave out anything your audience needs to know?

Organization.  What is the central idea of each paragraph?  Does the idea contribute to the thesis?

Development.  Are there places where more details, examples, or specifics would help?  Are there details that are not relevant and should be omitted?

Edit and Proofread

·        Use reputable online tools.  Online spell-checkers cannot flag problems with wrong forms of words such as it’s/its or advice/advise.  Grammar-checkers catch some but not all grammar problems and can only offer suggestions.  For example, the program may highlight constructions such as there is or there are, but it cannot tell you whether your choice is appropriate.

·        Edit on a hard copy.  Print a draft and mark that for editing changes.

·        Put the paper aside for a bit.  It’s easier to see problems when the paper is not as fresh in your mind.

·        Slide a card down each line as you reread.  This will help your eye slow down.

·        Point to each word as you read if you tend to leave out words. Be sure that you see a written version of every word you say.

·        Have a trusted peer read your paper.

Writing Rubric - This rubric will assist you as you write and proofread your research proposal.

	Level 5 Exceptional	Level 4 Superior	Level 3 Commendable	Level 2 Rudimentary	Level 1 Minimal
Assignment
	Substantially exceeds requirements	Exceeds requirements	Meets requirements	Partially meets requirements	Does not meet requirements
Content
1.Audience/    Purpose	Addressed in manner appropriate to purpose.  Stance is that of an expert who consistently and skillfully anticipates reader’s needs. Rhetorically sophisticated.	Addressed in a manner appropriate to purpose.  Stance is somewhat tentative and meets readers’ needs with some skill but is not as consistently successful.	Addressed in a manner that shows some awareness of purpose.  Stance is that of a novice attempting to please an expert.	Addressed in a manner that demonstrates little awareness of purpose.  Stance is mostly egocentric with little awareness of reader’s needs.	Little or no awareness of audience or  form’s requirements. Egocentric. A written form of speech for one’s self.
2.Thesis	Insightful, logically and fully supported.	Clear, somewhat original, but not fully supported.	Predictable and/or general.  Unevenly supported.	Vague or implied.	Either not apparent or contradictory.
3.Ideas	Innovative, cogent, completely developed.	Specific, solid, less original. Less carefully developed.	Appropriate but lacking in complexity and/or specificity.	Vague, obvious, underdeveloped, or too broad.	Simplistic, underdeveloped, or cryptic.  Topic not thought through.
4.Details	Germane, original.  Convincingly interpreted and related to thesis.	Relevant and appropriately interpreted.	Not thoroughly interpreted or not clearly related to thesis.	Too general, not interpreted, irrelevant to thesis, or inappropriately repetitive.	Inappropriate and/or off-topic generalizations, faulty assumptions, and errors of fact.
5.Organization	Carefully planned.  Sections clearly relate to and support thesis.	Correct and appropriate with some weaknesses in strategy or its execution.	Present but unevenly developed and lacking transitions.	Inappropriate and/or inconsistent.	Inconsistent and/or absent.
6.Documentation	Correct & appropriate.	Correct and appropriate.	Appropriate. May have minor errors.	Inappropriate and/or absent.	Inappropriate or absent.
Style
1.Sentences	Varied, complex, controlled, and employed for effect.	Some variety and complexity.  Uneven control.	Little variety, simplistic, unsophisticated.	Little variety.	Superficial and stereotypical language.
2.Diction/Syntax	Precise, appropriate, advanced vocabulary.	Accurate, generally appropriate, less advanced.	Somewhat immature; relies on clichés?	Immature.	Oral rather than written language patterns predominate.
3.Tone/Voice	Mature, consistent, suitable for topic	Usually appropriate.	May have some inconsistencies in tense and person.	Inconsistencies are numerous.
Mechanics
Grammar Spelling/Usage Punctuation	Essentially error free. Carefully edited.	Very few errors. Carefully edited.	Errors do not interfere with readability. Shows evidence of some editing.	Patterns of error interfere with readability and indicate unfamiliarity with some aspects of Standard Written English.	Mechanically incompetent.  Numerous errors may interfere with reader comprehension, and indicate basic literacy problems.

Selected Internet Sites on Educational Testing, Research and Measurement  

Research for Better Schools http://www.rbs.org

National Center for Educational Statistics http://www.ed.gov/NCES/

Buros Institute  http://www.unl.edu/buros

National Center for Educational Statistics http://nces.ed.gov

Research for Better Schools http://www.rbs.org

PASS (PACT) test information http://sde.state.sc.us/reports/
 

Current research journals

on the shelves of Dacus Library

 These journals will contain numerous research based articles.

            Adolescence

            Adult Education Quarterly

            American Education Research Journal

            American Journal of Family Therapy

            American Journal of Psychology

            The American Journal of Sports Medicine

            Behavioral Disorders

            Behavior Research and Therapy

            Child Development

            Child Study Journal

            Developmental Psychology

            Educational Research

            Educational Research Quarterly

            Journal of Applied Psychology

            Journal of Athletic Training

            Journal of Child Psychology

            Journal of Counseling Psychology

            Journal of Educational Psychology

            Journal of Marital and Family Therapy

            Journal of Marriage and the Family

            Journal of Mental Health Counseling     

            Journal of Personality

            Learning and Motivation

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