EDF
5481 METHODS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
FALL 2002
ASSIGNMENT THREE:
(A) DEVELOPING RESEARCH
PROCEDURES
(B) EXPERIENCE EVALUATING
ASPECTS OF SURVEY DESIGN
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FOCI:
This assignment will give you experience
in
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rewriting your research problem statement
(yes, again!), your operational definitions, and your hypotheses
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describing and justifying your choice of
study design to use
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defining your population of interest
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defining your sample (if appropriate) and
discussing logistic considerations, and
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examining issues in survey research design
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ASSIGNMENT THREE
IS DUE BY CLASS OCTOBER 23.
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Watch for examples of developing research
problem examples.
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Please remember to either link to the special
one-topic guides in Guide 5, which you can do either from Guide 5 or from
the Overview page (sampling, question construction, etc.), or access them
in their Blackboard folder under COURSE DOCUMENTS.
THESE
DIRECTIVES ARE DESIGNED FOR FLEXIBILITY
TO
REFLECT YOUR RESEARCH PROBLEM
For
example, if you only have one main independent variable, you do not need
to designate any additional independent variables. Space guidelines are
approximate.
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PART ONE: You
will rewrite your research statement where needed, taking into account
feedback and other prior information from assignments 1 and 2:
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introductory paragraph with justification
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identification of key conceptual dependent
variables (no more than 3)
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identification of
key conceptual independent variables (no more than 5)
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TWO DISTINCT hypotheses
that CONCEPTUALLY link your independent variables to your dependent variables.
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OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
of ONE or TWO dependent variables
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OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
of NO MORE THAN THREE independent variables
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TWO DISTINCT OPERATIONAL
HYPOTHESES, each one linking one operationalized independent variable
with one operationalized dependent variable.
At this point, your
rewritten total research problem statement with hypotheses should be less
than 2 double-spaced pages. This is
because you have eliminated all extraneous material that does not relate
to your research problem. You have also kept citations to a minimum.
PLEASE OMIT
NULL HYPOTHESES FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT.
PART TWO:
For
this assignment, you will also provide:
The kind of
STRUCTURED research design that you plan to use.
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Describe the design by name (e.g.,
experiment, quasi-experiment, time series, survey, focus group).
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Do NOT consider an ethnography,
content analysis or other less structured design for this Assignment Three.
You will get a chance to do so for Assignment Four.
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Describe why this type of design is
the best one to use for your particular research problem. It is OK
to reference logistical concerns such as finances or accessibility in your
decision. Make a phone call or check the Web or whatever is needed so that
these are realistic. It is definitely OK to describe what you want to know
in selecting a type of research design. For example, if you want to compare
two teaching techniques or two kinds of exercises, you will probably want
an experiment or quasi experiment; if you want to gauge teacher satisfaction
or the receptiveness of employees to a new training program, you will probably
consider a survey.
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Describe two different possible threats
to internal validity FOR
YOUR PROPOSED RESEARCH in
your choice of this particular kind of study design.
This section should be about one paragraph.
The general
site or population that you plan to study.
Many populations are tailored and eclectic,
for example, all friendship groups meeting in ichat rooms on Tuesday evenings
at 7 P.M. or all television situation comedies landing in the "weekly top
20" between 1955 and 2001.
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Describe the site or population that
you plan to use for YOUR research.
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How will you obtain this site or a list
of the population?
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What can you use as a list or a frame
for sampling?
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Why is this site or population a good
choice for your particular research problem?
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How will you sample sites or elements
from your population? Describe the name or type of the sample you will
use. Is this a probability sample or a non probability sample?
Or
will you take a census? Defend your choice.
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Describe one way in which using this
site or population will help your study's external
validity?
Describe any logistics problems
that you can anticipate such as access or availability. Be sure to point
out any biases that could result from using a non probability sample and/or
a poor response rate or restricted access.
This section should be about two
short paragraphs.
PART THREE:
Below is a survey which is in the planning
stages. Following it are a series of questions about this study design.
You will need to type or write out your answers to each question.
Turn your answers in together
with the rewritten and augmented research problem statement on October
23, 2002 by class.
THE PLANNED SURVEY
Jerry is planning a study on "coach
burnout" among high school football and basketball head coaches. "Burnout"
refers to a psychological phenomenon in which the individual is exhausted
and depressed about the demands placed upon them, typically by work, school,
or family. For example, a middle-aged couple might be "burned out" by simultaneously
taking care of their children and elderly parents. Or a worker might be
putting in excessive overtime because other employees were fired.
Jerry obtains a list of all public and
private high schools in his state, and, from them, a list of all basketball
and football head coaches. He decides to select only public schools and
male coaches. Using a random number table, he he selects 100 male, public
high school football or basketball coaches for his study. He decides to
send a questionnaire by mail to each selected coach. His budget only allows
him to send out one questionnaire per coach.
Here are some of Jerry's survey questions:
(1) How long have you been coaching?
(2) What is the primary sport that you
coach?
(3) How would you describe your mental
state (please just check one statement:)
[
]A. Every day I wake up happy and ready to tackle the day's work.
[
]B. Every day I wake up feeling "blah".
[
]C. Every day I wake up so sad I can hardly stand it.
[
]D. Other
(4) Do you agree or disagree with this
statement? "These days I am so tired and depressed I can hardly get anything
done."
(5) Sex
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The following are valid sources to use
to answer the critique questions:
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Both assigned textbooks for this course
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All WEB study guides (and explicit links)
for EDF 5481, Fall 2002
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Notes taken during class
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EVERYONE MUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS BASED ON JERRY'S SURVEY DESIGN
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1.
Is Jerry's sample a probability sample? Please answer YES or NO, then explain
in a sentence or two:
2.
Briefly give Jerry ONE SUGGESTION about how he can get a good RESPONSE
RATE for his survey.
3.
Do you think Jerry's design in the box above has relatively high or relatively
low EXTERNAL VALIDITY?
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Pick "high" or "low" and in then a sentence,
explain the basis for your decision.
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Briefly describe ONE possible threat to
EXTERNAL VALIDITY in Jerry's design. (You may elaborate on your answer
immediately above.)
4.
Briefly describe ONE problem that you see with the way each one
of Jerry's questions 1-5 have been written. Rewrite the question to solve
the problem, using techniques of good question construction. If the question
is OK, and you don't see any problems with it, then just say so and say
the question remains "AS IS".
Please be sure to address ALL FIVE of
Jerry's questions.
Susan Carol Losh
October 8 2002
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