EPY 702 chapter 1

Basic research

Research conducted to develop or refine theory, not to solve immediate practical problems.

Applied research

Research conducted to find solutions to current practical problems.

True experimental research

Research that investigates causal relations among variables.

Confidentiality

Researchers promise not to disclose participants' identities or information that could lead to discovery of those identities.

Causal-comparative research definition

Seeks to investigate differences between two or more different programs, methods, or groups.

Classification of research by purpose

1. Basic research 2. Applied research 3. Evaluation research 4. Research and development 5. Action research

Experimental researcher

1. Controls he selection of participants by choosing them from a single pool and assigning them at random to different causal treatments. 2. Also controls contextual variables that may interfere with the study. 3. Because participants are randomly selected and assigned to different treatments, experimental research permits researchers to make true cause-effect statements.

Key features of qual. Research

1. Defining the problem (but not necessarily at the start of the study) 2. Studying contextual factors in the participants' natural settings 3. Collecting data from a small number of purposely selected participants 4. Using nonnumeric, interpretive approaches to provide narrative descriptions of the participants and their contexts.

Sources of ethical guidelines for researchers

1. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2010) 2. American psychological Association and the Code of Ethics approved by the American Educational Research Association in 2011.

Key features of quant.

1. Hypotheses that predict the result so d the research before the study begins 2. Control of contextual factors that may influence the study 3. Collection of data from sufficient samples of participants 4. Use of numerical statistical approaches to analyze the collected data

Four limitations of scientific method

1. Inability to answer some types of questions 2. Inability to capture the full richness of the research site and the complexity of the participants 3. Limitations of measuring instruments 4. Need to address participants' needs in ethical and responsible ways

Types of qualitative research

1. Narrative research 2. Ethnographic research 3. Case study research

Philosophical assumptions

1. Ontology 2. Epistemology 3: methodology

Four parts of research process

1. Selection and definition of a problem 2. Execution of research procedures 3. Analysis of data 4. Drawing and stating conclusions

Quant. Approach: research by design

1. Survey research 2. Correlation all research 3. Causal-comparative 4. Experimental research 5. Single-subject experimental designs

Quant. Approach assumption

Assumes that the world is relatively stable, uniform, and coherent

Quant. Research

Collection and analysis of numerical data to explain, predict and control phenomena of interest

Mixed methods research

Combines qual and quant approaches by including both qual and quant data in a single study. The purpose of mixed methods research is to build on the synergy and strength that exists between quant. And qual. Research approaches to understand a phenomenon more fully than is possible using either quant. or qual. approaches alone.

Goal of scientific method

Describe, explain, presict, and/or control phenomena

Dependent variable

Effect of grouping variable. What changes and what is being measured in research.

Correlational research

Examines the relations between two or more variables. A variable is a placeholder (age, IQ, height), that can take on different values.

FERPA

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 protects the privacy of the educational records of students. Data that identify participants by name may not be made available to the researcher unless written permission is granted by the participants.

Characteristics of quant. and qual. Research approaches

Follows the same basic 6 steps in conducting research, although application of the steps may differ depending on the research design.

Educational research

Formal, systematic application of the scientific method to the study of educational problems

Epistemology

How researchers know what they know

Correlation coefficient

In correlational research, the degree of relation is measured by a correlation coefficient. If two variables are highly related, one is not necessarily the cause of the other.

Survey research

Involves collecting numerical data to answer questions about the current status of the subject of study.

Methodology

Methods used to study a particular phenomenon

Scientific method

Most efficient and reliable compared to other sources of knowledge. An orderly process that entails recognition and definition of a problem, formulation of hypotheses, collection and analysis of data, and statement of conclusions regarding confirmation or disconfirmation of the hypotheses

Ontology

Nature of reality

Case study research

Qual. Research approach to conducting research on a unit of study or bounded system (classroom, school).

Grouping variable

The activity thought to make a difference (the program, method, or group)

Qual. Research

The collection, analysis, and interpretation of comprehensive narrative and visual (nonnumeric) data to gain insights into a particular phenomenon of interest.

Qual. Approaches

The focus of these methods is on deep description of aspects of people's everyday perspectives and context.

Research

The formal, systematic application of the scientific method to the study of problems

Anonymity

The identities of anonymous participants are hidden from the researcher as well.

Research and development

The purpose of this research is to develop effective products for use in schools.

Evaluation research

The purpose of this research is to inform decision making about educational programs and practices.

Action research

The purpose of this research is to provide teachers-researchers with a method for solving everyday problems in their own settings.

Characteristics of causal-comparative

The researcher does not have control over the group variable because it already has occurred or cannot be manipulated This research is useful in those circumstances when it is impossible or unethical to manipulate an independent variable.

Narrative research

The study of how individuals experience the world. Researcher typically focuses on a single person and gathers data through the collection of stories.

Ethnographic research

The study of the cultural patterns and perspectives of participants in their natural settings. Focuses on a particular site or sites that provide the researcher with a context in which to study both the setting and the participants who inhabit it.

Assumption of qual. Research

The world is not stable, coherent, or uniform, and therefore there are many truths.

The National Research Act of 1974

This act led to the creation of a standard set of federal guidelines for the protection of human research participants.

Single-subject experimental designs

Type of experimental research that can be applied when the sample is one individual or group. This type of design is often used to study the behavior change that an individual or group exhibits as a result of some intervention or treatment.