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 several topics, but notice that all clearly address the requirements for revised the research problem statement to include operational variables, and operational and null hypotheses. 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.

The research problem is clearly moving through the design and conduction of an empirical study. Also notice that each student does not yet present a study design. Instead the emphasis in on the conceptual variables, what each variable 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. Notice some of the changes from the first to the second assignment in terms of more clearly distinguishing between conceptual and operational variables.

    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. 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 conceptual dependent variables of this study are as follows:

1) The trainees’ achievement at the end of course.
2) The Trainees’ time efficiency.

The key conceptual independent variables of this study are as follows:

1. The network accessing speed.
2. The types of P.Cs.

The conceptual hypotheses of this study are as follows:

1. The more advanced hardware environment will positively affect the trainees’ achievement.
2. The more advanced hardware environment will positively affect the time efficiency of the training.

The key operational dependent variables of this study are as follows:.

1. The trainees’ summative test scores at the end of the course.
2. The time spent on mastery learning (95% of the trainees get over 80% of the maximum score).

The key operational independent variables of this study are as follows:

1. The network accessing speed of the Base Learning Centers to the Defense Information and Communication Network(T3, T1, or 56k).
2. The types of P.Cs at the Base Learning Centers(Pentium III, Pentium II, or lower).

The operational hypotheses of this study are as follows:

1. The higher network accessing speed will positively affect the trainees’ time spent on mastery learning.
2. The higher network accessing speed will positively affect the trainees’ test scores.
3. The Pentium III P.Cs will positively affect the trainees’ time spent on mastery learning.
4. The Pentium III P.Cs will positively affect the trainees’ test scores.

The null hypotheses of this study are as follows:

1. There will be no difference in the trainees’ summative test score between the higher network accessing speed and the lower network accessing speed.
2. There will be no difference in the trainees’ summative test score between the more advanced P.Cs and the less advanced P.Cs.
3. There will be no difference in the trainees’ time spent on mastery learning between the higher network accessing speed and the lower network accessing speed.
4. There will be no difference in the trainees’ time spent on mastery learning between the the more advanced P.Cs and the less advanced P.Cs.
 

    This study will 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 differentiate between expert and novice athletes (Moran, 1996; Nideffer, 1993b; Orlick, 1990).  Inexperienced (novice) athletes tend to differ from experienced athletes in their attentional focus, direction, and flexibility (Summers & Ford, 1995).

    A soccer player who adopts a narrow attentional focus, more often misses relevant cues and thus important goal scoring opportunities.  A player who directs his or her attention to internal (versus external) sensations (e.g., hurt ankle, “butterflies in the stomach”) 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 cannot 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.

    One would also expect that concentration will be related to self-efficicacy, which, in turn, should predict performance. Those with moderate concentration levels will be expected to feel more self-efficacious.

    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 Variables

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).

2.  Self-efficacy -- one’s belief about his or her ability to perform a certain task.

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.  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.

2. Concentration among soccer players in front of the goal has a direct, positive impact on one’s self-efficacy.

Operational Dependent Variables

1.  Performance -- measured by the number of goals a soccer player successfully scores on a given task (higher the score, the better the performance).

2.  Self - efficacy -- measured by a person’s score on the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale (PSE) developed by Ryckman, Robbins, Thornton, & Cantrell (1982).

Operational Independent Variable

1.  Concentration -- a subject’s score on the soccer version of the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (S-TAIS) developed by Robert Nideffer (1976).

Operational Hypotheses

1.  A soccer player’s score on the S-TAIS will have a curvilinear relationship with the number of goals he or she scores on a given task.

2.  Higher scores on the S-TAIS will predict a higher score on the PSE.

Null Hypotheses

1.  A soccer player’s score on the S-TAIS will have no relationship with the number of goals he or she scores on a given task.

2.  A soccer player’s score on the S-TAIS will have no relationship with his or her score on the PSE.

(Note: Personally, I am not a big proponent of studies which correlate one "test" with other "tests." However, note how clearly the student states exactly what she wants to examine. This example is a very good one of such a study. SCL)
 
 

    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) such as character defamation (lies, gossip), betrayal of trust (revealing a peer’s secrets to others), social exclusion by the aggressor, or influencing others to exclude 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 gender differences exist in styles of aggressive behaviors beginning with early ages. Girls tend 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. The research on gender differences in indirect aggression presents mixed results, whether one examines children or adults. 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.

According to Bandura aggressive behavior is learned and maintained through environmental experiences by reinforcements and punishments (Huesmann, L, R, 1994).

Conceptual Independent Variable: Gender

Conceptual Dependent Variable:  Types of Aggression

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

Conceptual 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.

Operational Independent Variable: Child's biological sex, male or female.

Operational Dependent Variable:

Preschool Aggressive Behavior Scale (peer form) developed by the researcher will be used to assess the types of the aggression children use.

Operational Hypotheses:

1. Girls will have higher scores on indirect aggression on peer assessment of Preschool Aggressive Behavior Scale.
2. Boys will have higher scores on physical aggression on peer assessment of Preschool Aggressive Behavior Scale.

Null Hypotheses:

1. There is no sex difference on indirect aggression assessed through Preschool Aggressive Behavior Scale.
2. There is no sex difference on physical aggression assessed through Preschool Aggressive Behavior Scale.
 
 

    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 students in different grades?

Conceptual variables
Independent variables

(1) Types of mass media (note change to a singular variable here!)
(2) Grade levels of students.

Dependent variables

Cultural sensitivity

Conceptual Hypotheses

(1) After 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 in contrast to mainstream mass media, elementary school-aged students will experience more diversity.
(3) After exposure to alternative mass media in contrast with mainstream mass media, elementary school-aged students will change their perceptions according to grade level.
 

Operational variables
Independent variables

(1) Alternative mass media: It is the art educational videotape produced by non-Western amateur filmmakers for teaching aesthetic traditions based on their cultures  (all videotapes are dubbed and captioned in English).
(2) Mainstream mass media: It is the art educational videotapes produced by American Caucasian filmmakers for teaching the aesthetic traditions of the same cultures (all videotapes are dubbed and captioned in English, if necessary).
(3) Students from 1st grade to 6th grade will be studied.

Dependent variables

(1) Student’s cultural sensitivity will be examined by their pictorial illustrations before and after watching the test videotapes.
(2) Student’s cultural sensitivity will be examined by their written descriptions before and after watching the test videotapes.
(3) Student’s cultural sensitivity will be examined by their answers to questionnaires before and after watching the test videotapes.

Operational Hypotheses

(1) Pictorial illustrations, written descriptions and answers to the questionnaires will be significantly changed in a positive direction toward other cultures after viewing the alternative videotapes in comparison with those changes after viewing the mainstream videotapes.
(2) The changes of pictorial illustrations, written descriptions and answers to the questionnaires will be  dissimilar between the students in different grade levels after viewing the test videotapes.

(NOTE: I would have preferred each of the operational hypotheses to have been broken into three separate hypotheses, one each for pictorial illustrations, written descriptions, and questionnaire responses. SCL)

Null Hypotheses

(1) There is no difference in pictorial illustrations, written descriptions and answers to the questionnaires between before- and after-viewing test mainstream or alternative videotapes.
(2) There is no difference in students’ initial perceptions of other cultures between those students viewing alternative videotapes and those students viewing mainstream videotapes.
 
 

EDF 5481 READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS

OVERVIEW

Susan Carol Losh September 15 2002
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