EDUC 502 Class Session 3 September 19, 2005 Dr. Groth

Overview of Requirements for Article Presentations  Be prepared to present the article on the date corresponding to the number you drew on Sept. 12 (e.g., if you drew 1, 2, or 3, your present on Sept. 26; if you drew number 28 or higher, you present on Dec. 5.  Prepare a one-page handout containing the following information and it to me at least one hour (REQUIRED) before your presentation: (i) A summary of the article, including its main research questions/hypotheses, its relationship to previous literature, its methodology, its results, and its significance; (ii) 3-5 questions to engage your classmates in discussion of the article and issues surrounding it.

Overview of Requirements for Article Presentations  During your presentation, plan to spend minutes summarizing the article and minutes leading a class discussion. Try to ask questions that have a broad appeal, across disciplines.  OPTIONAL: You may wish to prepare a PowerPoint presentation to accompany your presentation. If so, please me the PowerPoint presentation and I will post it on our class website.

Further Resources for Locating Articles  ERIC through the library – can track down documents from  Ingenta (go to  Elsevier Science direct  JAKE  Research Port  Library online card catalog  Last resort: Interlibrary loan – need to have Gull Card activated at circulation desk.

Putting Together your Semester Project  Recall that there are five main sections to your semester project: Introduction, Research questions/hypotheses, Literature Review, Methodology, and Expected Significance.  Tonight, we will be discussing the first three components of the semester project.

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  General characteristics of research questions/hypotheses:  Implies the possibility of empirical investigation  Identifies a need for the research  Provides focus  Provides a concise overview of the research

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Sample research questions/statements:  This study examines the differences between males' and females' attitudes toward mandated high school drug testing programs.  What are the differences between freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior students' attitudes toward mandated high school drug testing programs?

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Researchable problems imply the possibility of empirical investigation  What are the achievement and social skill differences between children attending an academically or socially oriented pre- school program?  What is the relationship between teachers' knowledge of assessment methods and their use of them?

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Non-researchable problems include explanations of how to do something, vague propositions, and value-based concerns  Is democracy a good form of government?  Should values clarification be taught in public schools?  Can crime be prevented?  Should physical education classes be dropped from the high school curriculum?

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Sources of research questions/statements:  Casual observation  The relationships between the cognitive and affective realms  The effect of positive and negative reinforcement  Deductions from theory  Use of math manipulatives  Learning and instructional style congruence  Related literature  The use of math manipulatives in secondary schools  The comparison of state and national dropout profiles

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Current social and political issues  Gender and race equity  Inclusion policies  Practical situations  Evaluating a specific instructional program  Evaluating a specific school restructuring effort  Personal interests and experience  Teaching statistics from an applied perspective  Effectiveness of non-threatening classroom assessments

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Replication of previous studies  Checking the findings of a major study  Checking the validity of research findings with different subjects  Checking trends or changes over time  Checking important findings using different methodologies  Clarification of contradictory research results

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Hypotheses are tentative statements of the expected relationships between two or more variables  There is a significant positive relationship between self-concept and math achievement  The class using math manipulatives will show significantly higher levels of math achievement than the class using a traditional algorithm approach

Putting Together your Semester Project: Research Questions/Hypotheses (Ch.2)  Reasons for using hypotheses  Provides specific focus  Provides for testing of the relationships between variables  Directs the investigation  Allows the investigator to confirm or not confirm relationships  When supported provides empirical evidence of the predictive nature of the relationships between variables  Provides a useful framework for organizing and summarizing the results and conclusions

Putting Together Your Semester Project: Literature Review (Ch. 3)  General purpose of lit review - to relate previous research to the current problem being investigated  Provide contextual understanding  Contribute to the overall evaluation of the credibility of the research  Indicate whether the nature of the research is targeted to the reader's needs

Putting Together Your Semester Project: Literature Review (Ch. 3)  Criteria for evaluating the review of the literature  Does the review cover previous research adequately? (For our project, at least 10 relevant research articles needed)  Does the review cover the actual findings from other studies?  Is the review current? (For our project, inclusion of articles from the past 5 years)  Does the review summarize and analyze previous studies?  Is the review organized logically by topic, not author?

Putting Together Your Semester Project: Literature Review (Ch. 3)  Criteria for evaluating the review of the literature (contd.):  Does the review briefly summarize minor studies and discuss major studies in detail?  Is the review of major studies related explicitly to the current research problem?  Does the review provide a logical basis for the hypothesis/research question?  Does the review help to establish the significance of the research?

Putting Together Your Semester Project: Literature Review (Ch. 3)  DO NOT wait until the last week of the semester to start your literature review. You should really have it done before the midterm exam.  As you draft your Introduction, research questions/hypotheses, and literature review, you may send them to me to look over (up until Thanksgiving – after that, you’re on your own).

Class Exercise  Evaluate the quality of the research questions/hypotheses and the literature review in the following three studies beginning on the following pages printed in the text: Study 1, p. 316; Study 2, p. 327; Study 3, p  Be prepared to give the rest of the class your opinion on the quality of the Introduction, Research Questions/hypotheses, and Lit Review for each study.

Homework Assignment  Textbook p. 48 (4, 7, 8, 12) – answering some of these will require a bit of extra reading in the text.  Textbook p. 75 (8, 11) – these will also require a bit of extra reading in the text.

Class Session Part II: Ethics in Educational Research  Federally-funded institutions of higher learning must maintain ethics boards to monitor the research activities of faculty and students.  The Salisbury University board website is: e%20on%20Human%20Research/CHR %20Home%20Page.html e%20on%20Human%20Research/CHR %20Home%20Page.html e%20on%20Human%20Research/CHR %20Home%20Page.html

Class Session Part II: Ethics in Educational Research  In determining the ethics of a study, universities generally apply the following guidelines:  Participants understand the nature and purposes of the research and freely give their consent to take part in the study.  Research does not involve undue stress on study participants.  Risks/benefits analysis. How do the potential benefits compare to the risks for participants?  Privacy of subjects and confidentiality of identifiable information is maintained.

Additional Homework Exercise  Name four guidelines institutions of higher education apply to determine if a study is ethical (see previous slide). Choose a study and evaluate it against the guidelines.

In-class exercise  Using the four criteria specified, determine if the classroom research study shown in “A Class Divided” would be approved by a University ethics board. Be prepared to take a position and defend it in class discussion.