EDF 5481 READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS

OVERVIEW

These examples are from real graduate students at Florida State University who elected earlier semesters of Methods of Educational Research. They represent a variety of topics, but notice that all clearly address the requirements for Assignment One. All these examples were A or A- papers. While it was not possible to give an example from all the majors in this class (as you know, there are over a dozen major areas represented), there are examples from Instructional Design, Sports Psychology, Elementary Education, and Art Education.

Each example does reference citations, but, you will notice, VERY FEW citations, because the purpose is to lay out a research problem statement, not to do a literature review. Thus, citations are only germane to establish "facts in the research literature" and a scholarship tradition. (Each student here presented the full reference for each citation in an appendix.)  American Psychological Assocation (APA) style is not necessary, although APA style is particularly useful for citation style.

Also notice that each student does not yet present a study design. Instead the emphasis in on the conceptual variables, what each one means, and its place in the research literature. However, because the research problem is so clearly stated, one can visualize what the next steps will be to actually design and conduct an actual research study.

    Recently, the Korean Air Force(KAF) adopted Web-Based Training(WBT) as a new training method to enhance its economical efficiency of training. The KAF invests a considerable budget in constructing the computer technology infrastructure. The budget is mainly spent on accelerating network accessing speed(change or lay fiberglass cable) and upgrading personal computers (HQ KAF, 2000). This investment is becoming more expensive each year in accordance with the technology development. It is believed that a better hardware environment in most web-based learning settings will produce better training outcomes (HQ USAF, 1996). However, because building and maintaining the WBT environment requires tremendous expense, research on cost-effectiveness is highly needed.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of the hardware environment on the training results in a WBT situation.

The research problems of this study are as follows:

1) To what extent does the computer hardware environment affect the Air Force trainees’ performance test scores?
2) To what extent does the computer hardware environment affect the trainees’ time spent on learning?

The key dependent variables of this study are as follows:

1) The trainees’ performance test scores at the end of course.
2) The Trainees’ time spent on learning

[Notice we don't know what the performance tests or the specific learning tasks are at this stage.]

The key independent variables of this study are as follows:

1) The accessing speed of the Base Learning Centers to the Defense Information and Communication Network
2) The type of personal computers at the the Base Learning Centers (e.g., complexity, speed)

The hypotheses of this study are as follows:

1) Higher network accessing speeds will lower the trainees’ time spent on learning
2) Higher network accessing speeds will raise the trainees’ test scores.
3) The type of personal computer will affect the trainees’ time spent on learning
4) The type of personal computer will affect the trainees’ test scores.
 

    The purpose of the present study is to establish the optimal level of concentration among soccer players when faced with a goal scoring opportunity.  Concentration, or the ability to focus one’s attention on the task at hand, has been found to be the major difference between expert and novice athletes (Moran, 1996; Nideffer, 1993b; Orlick, 1990).  Inexperienced (novice) athletes tend to differ (from experienced or elite athletes) in their attentional focus, direction, and flexibility (Summers & Ford, 1995).

    A soccer player who adopts a narrow attentional focus, will likely miss relevant cues and consequently, important goal scoring opportunities.  In contrast, a player who directs his or her attention to internal (versus external) sensations (e.g., hurt ankle, “butterflies in the stomach”, muscle cramp) while shooting on goal, will likely miss the goal altogether or shoot directly at the goalkeeper.  A third problem may arise when a player receives a ball and is unable to switch attention from one target (the ball) to another (the goal and position of the goalkeeper). In this instance, the player is likely to get “caught in possession”, or robbed of the ball by an opposing player.  Thus, it seems as if the ability to concentrate effectively is an important mental aspect in successful performance.

    It is hoped that with this study, numerous soccer players will benefit from the results and be able to achieve that next, formerly unattainable, level.  It is further hoped that this study will enable coaches and sport psychologists to use this learned knowledge to help soccer players achieve this goal.

Conceptual Dependent Variable

1.  Performance -- “The observable attempt of an individual to produce a voluntary action” (score a goal in soccer, act in a Broadway play, shoot a free throw in basketball) (Shea, Fall 2000).

Conceptual Independent Variable

1.  Concentration -- the ability “to focus one’s attention on the task at hand and thereby not be disturbed or affected by irrelevant external and internal stimuli” (Schmid & Peper, 1993).

Conceptual Hypotheses

1.  Concentration among soccer players in front of the goal has a direct, positive impact on performance.
2.  The level of concentration for soccer players faced with goal scoring opportunities has a curvilinear relationship with performance, with the highest performance occurring at medium levels of concentration. This is a direct application of the effects of arousal on performance derived from several learning theories.
 

    This research will examine gender and styles of aggression in 3-5 year-old-children. It is important to study gender and aggression as statistics reveal that the death rate of males to females in the age group 15-19 years is: 2.5:1 (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of the Census, 1996). Young male aggression is much more deadly and self-destructive than female aggression.  Therefore, we need to know much more about sex differences among young children in order to understand when and how these behavioral patterns are established and reinforced.

    Until recently, it has been believed that males are more aggressive than females, and that aggression is predominantly a male phenomenon (Macoby & Jacklin, 1974).  Past research has assessed overt aggression, which is more salient for boys than for girls. In recent research, aggression has been regarded as behavior that is intended to injure someone either physically or psychologically (Berkowitz, 1993 cited in Salmivalli, et al., 2000). Recent research indicated that a type of aggression has been shown to be more characteristic of girls, such as shunning behavior (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995, Lagerspetz, Björkqvist, & Peltonen, 1988). While Björkqvist called this type of aggression as indirect aggression, Crick called it as relational aggression.

    Kaukiainen et. al (1999) defined indirect aggression as “noxious behavior in which the target person is attacked not physically or directly through verbal intimidation but in a circuitous way, through social manipulation” (Kaukiainen, et. al, 1999, p. 83). Indirect aggression consists of such behaviors as character defamation (lies, gossip), betrayal of trust (revealing a peer’s secrets to others), social exclusion by the aggressor, and influencing others to shun the victim. Crick and Casas (1997) defined direct aggression as giving harm to others through physical damage or the threat of such damage, such as pushing, hitting, kicking, or threatening to beat up a peer.

    Studies on aggression indicated that there is gender differences in styles of aggressive behaviors beginning with early ages. Girls have been found to use more indirect forms of aggression, whereas boys perpetrate more direct aggressive behaviors. However, findings differ for young children, at age 8 and younger. Although some research has demonstrated gender difference in indirect aggression, others have not. The empirical evidence regarding gender differences in the use of indirect aggression by adults is not conclusive. For example, while Green et al. (1996) did not find such differences among college-age adults, Hines et al. (1994) did find sex differences among adults.

    One possible reason for gender differences in styles of aggression is that traditionally, in most cultures, it is believed that aggression is appropriate for boys, not for girls. Girls are labeled negatively when they perpetrate aggressive behaviors, so they prefer to use indirect styles in order to prevent themselves being criticized. The gap between the use of indirect forms of aggression among males and females decreases at adulthood, because direct aggression is not acceptable behavior for adult males either. These findings support Bandura’s social learning theory. According to Bandura aggressive behavior is learned and maintained through environmental experiences by reinforcements and punishments (Huesmann, L, R, 1994).

Independent Variable: Gender

Dependent Variable:  Types of Aggression

1. Direct Aggression:  (a) Physical Aggression; (b)Verbal Aggression
2. Indirect Aggression

Hypotheses for preschool children:

1. Girls use slightly more indirect aggression than boys.
2. There are not gender differencea in the use of verbal aggression.
3. Boys are slightly more physically aggressive than girls.
 

    This study will investigate the use of alternative mass media as opposed to mainstream mass media to teach art for students in different grades in elementary schools; in particular, this study concentrates on film. Mainstream mass media is the media professionally produced primarily in the U.S. by mainly high status Caucasian males; it often frequently portrays people of color as inferior and savage. Alternative mass media differs from mainstream mass media; it is more culturally diverse, perhaps because it is typically produced by non-Westerners—mostly the non-Americans in this study— and spontaneously by amateur media makers (Maeda, 2000). I define cultural sensitivity as one’s positive or negative reactions to other person’s morals, values, beliefs, performances, appearances or behaviors, especially when they are perceived to be different than one’s own (Plata and Robertson, 1998). Others are those people whose cultures are different from the dominant culture in which our research subjects (students) are located (Maeda, 2000).

    A final goal of this research is to enhance the cultural sensitivity of students.  Among other effects, it is expected that exposure to more culturally diverse media will raise student creativity. This study provides art educators with a possible approach to integrate multicultural education, media education and art education.  This study also gives elementary school students a chance to advance their understanding of other cultures as well as their own culture.

    Mass media shapes children’s everyday aesthetic experiences in terms of their perceptions of other cultures.  Children of different ages perceive and interpret information from mass media in dissimilar ways (Cebrián de la Serena, 1995).  School-aged children exposed to mainstream mass media will lose their cultural sensitivity (Maeda, 2000).  Maeda (2000) finds that alternative mass media changes Japanese middle school students’ perceptions about same aged African pupils significantly (p. 98).  Based on this premise, it is critical for art educators to understand the influences of alternative mass media in enhancing children’s cultural sensitivities in contradiction to what they perceive from those mainstream mass media.

The major questions for this study are:

(1) Do alternative mass media, as compared with mainstream mass media, enhance the cultural sensitivity of elementary school children?
(2) How do art teachers examine the enhancements of children’s cultural sensitivities from students’ art expression?
(3) What kinds of differences exist across the different grades?

Conceptual variables
Independent variables

(1) Alternative mass media.
(2) Mainstream mass media.
(3) Grade levels of students.

Dependent variables
Cultural sensitivity

Conceptual Hypotheses

(1) Following exposure to alternative mass media (in contrast to mainstream mass media), elementary school-aged students will change their perceptions in a more positive direction toward other cultures.
(2) After exposure to alternative mass media, elementary school-aged students will change their perceptions according to grade level.
 
 

EDF 5481 READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS

OVERVIEW

Susan Carol Losh September 1 2002
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