Assignment Number 2

Upon completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

1. Describe and cite the use and limitations of various methods of research.
2. Cite the general purpose of research goals.
3. List the type of research with which hypotheses are appropriately used.
4. List the type of research with which objectives and/or questions are appropriately used.
5. Assess research goals as they relate to research conclusions.
6. Establish your research problem with its research goals.

Reading Assignment

• Pyrczak and Bruce, pp. 7-18,19-25 and 27-34 (6th, 7th, and 8th editions)
• Lang and Heiss, pp. 63-76, 79-86, 89-92, 97-101.
• Isaac and Michael, p. 3, pp. 45-59, 192-194, 218-219.
• Tuckman, pp. 65-81.
• Research Goals (attached).
• Material presented on the web.

Evaluation

Successful completion of this assignment can be achieved by answering the following questions in typed format.

Your research problem and its goals (hypothesis or research objectives/questions) should be      stated proir you you answering the evaluation questions.

1. Cite an original example of each of the following research methods: Historical, Developmental, Survey, ExPost Facto, Experimental, and Quasi Experimental research.
2. Describe the use and limitations of the following research methods: Historical, Developmental, Survey, ExPost Facto, Experimental, and Quasi Experimental.
3. What are research goals and what is the purpose of establishing research goals?
4. In which types of research are hypotheses appropriately used?
5. Write an example of a research hypothesis.
6. In which types of research are objectives and/or questions used?
7. Write an example of research objectives.
8. Why do we develop research goals and how do research goals relate to the study?

RESEARCH GOALS

Research goals are projections of the possible outcomes of the research and are not biased pre- statements of conclusions. They present a framework for the analysis of the problems in relation to the plan of attack and indicate how the projected research must lead to one or another sets of conclusions.

Going hand in hand with the selection of a researchable problem is the formulation of the specific goals which the research wishes to obtain with respect to that problem. In the case of experimental and quasi-experimental research, which both deal exclusively in the search for cause-and-effect relationships, the appropriate methods of stating research goals is in the form of hypotheses. These hypotheses state specifically, the type of relationship that the research wishes to examine between two or more designated variables. In studies of a historical or descriptive nature, however, hypotheses are not appropriate. Here the problem is generally one of describing practices or conditions. In these types of studies, the research goals are more appropriately stated as research objectives to be reached or research questions to be answered.

It is important to keep in mind the research goals, whether stated as hypotheses or objectives, represent ends rather than means. Items such as: contact advisor for permission, interview clients, select questionnaire, and type final copy, are all examples of means and as such are not stated as research goals.

The purpose of research goals, whether hypotheses, objectives, or questions, is to provide direction to the research. They prevent the review of irrelevant literature, and the collection of useless or excess data, land should provide the framework for stating conclusions in a meaningful way, i.e., as a direct answer to the research goals of the study.

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RESEARCH GOAL EXAMPLES

Descriptive Studies

Statement of the Problem
The problem of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of block scheduling to determine what form of block scheduling should be adopted by Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, Virginia.
Research Goals
The goals of this study were to answer the following questions: Does a change to block scheduling provide more academic options for students? Does a change to block scheduling provide for greater academic success? Does a change to block scheduling reduce disciplinary and attendance problems? Does a change to block scheduling increase non-lecture teaching strategies? What form of block scheduling should be implemented at Lake Taylor High School?
Statement of the Problem
The problem of this study was to determine the effect of the PRIME Mentorship Program in the Norfolk Public Schools by the perceived attitudes of the volunteer United States Navy mentors, the students being mentored, and the teachers of mentored students.
Research Objectives
The objectives of this study were to explore the following questions: How the mentoring relationship was perceived by: a) mentors, b) mentees, and c) teachers? What effect did the mentorship program have on the mentees' social and academic skills as perceived by: a) mentors, b) mentees, and c) teachers? How effective the 2 + 2 Appraisal Form was in providing feedback on the mentorship activities?
Statement of the Problem
The problem of this study was to determine the types of computer applications training that are required for entry level positions by business employers of the Virginia Beach utility companies and compare them to the computer technology training that is offered in Virginia Beach City Schools.
Research Objectives
The following objectives were established to answer this problem. Identify the computer training required at the entry level positions of the Virginia Beach utility companies. Identify the types of computer technology training that are offered as part of business and computer application skills in Virginia Beach City Schools Determine the specific types of computer technology classes that should be offered in Virginia Beach City Schools to qualify students for possible employment at Virginia Beach utility companies.

Experimental Studies
 

Statement of the Problem

The problem of this study was to identify instructional strategies which help to increase mathematics achievement and enhance career interests of urban seventh graders by enabling them to apply academic concepts through exciting and challenging aerospace technology experiences.

Hypotheses

H1:	Within an urban middle school aerospace magnet program, interdisciplinary hands-on aerospace and computer-assisted instructional activities will affect larger gains in the mathematics achievement of urban seventh-grade students than will non-participation in such instruction.
H2:	Within an urban middle school aerospace magnet program, interdisciplinary hand- on aerospace and computer-assisted instructional activities will enhance career interests of seventh grade students toward mathematical/technical fields to a greater degree than will non-participation in such instruction.

Statement of the Problem

The problem of this study was to determine the correlation between Elizabeth City State University football players SAT scores to their university cumulative GPA's as a predictor of college success.

Hypotheses

H0:	There is no correlation between the SAT scores earned by student athletes and their accumulated GPA for football players at Elizabeth City State University.

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CHAPTER TWO - ISAAC AND MICHAEL (1972)

Guide to Research Designs, Methods, and Strategies

When the research study has been formulated, the next step is construct the research design. This is the plan of attack: what approach to the problem will be taken? what methods will be used? what strategies will be most effective?

Design decisions depend on the purposes of the study, the nature of the problem, and the alternatives appropriate for its investigation. Once the purposes have been specified, the study should have explicit scope and direction, and attention can be focused on a delimited target area. The nature of the problem then plays the major role in determining what approaches are suitable. Design alternatives can be organized into nine functional categories based on these differing problem characteristics:

1. Historical
2. Descriptive
3. Developmental
4. Case or Field
5. Correlational
6. Causal-comparative
7. True experimental
8. Quasi-experimental
9. Action

The most obvious characteristics of each of these categories are summarized in the chart on the next two pages. Each category, then, is individually presented in the series of pages following the chart.

NINE BASIC METHODS OF RESEARCH

Method	Purpose	Examples
Historical	To reconstruct the past objectively and accurately, often in relation to the tenability of an hypothesis.	A study reconstructing practices in teaching of spelling in the United States during the past fifty years; tracing the history of the civil rights in the United States education since the civil war; testing the hypothesis that Francis Bacon is the real author of the "works of William Shakespeare."
Descriptive Survey	To describe systematically a situation or area of interest factually and accurately.	Population census studies, public opinion surveys, fact-finding surveys, status studies, task analysis studies, questionnaire and interview studies, observation studies, job descriptions, surveys of the literature, documentary analyses, anecdotal records, critical incident reports, test score analyses, and normative data.
Developmental	To investigate patterns and sequences of growth and or change as a function of time.	A longitudinal growth study following an initial sample of 200 children from six months of age to adulthood; a cross-sectional growth study investigating changing patterns of intelligence by sampling groups of children at ten different age levels; a trend study projecting the future growth and educations needs of a community from past trends and recent building estimates.
Case and Field	To study intensively the background, current status, and environmental interactions of a given social unit: an individual, group, institution, or community.	The case history of a child with an above average IQ but with severe learning disabilities; an intensive study of a group of teenage youngsters on probation for drug abuse; an intensive study of a typical suburban community in the Midwest in terms of its socio-economic characteristics.
Correlational	To investigate the extent to which variations in one factor correspond with variations in one or more other factors based on correlation coefficients.	To investigate relationships between reading achievement scores and one or more other variables of interest; a factor-analytic study of several intelligence tests; a study to predict success in college based on intercorrelation patterns between college grades and selected high school variables.
Casual-Comparative or "Ex-Post Facto"	To investigate possible cause-and-effect relationships by observing some existing consequence and searching back through the data for plausible casual factors.	To identify factors related to the "drop-out" problem in a particular high school using data from records over the past ten years; to investigate similarities and differences between such groups as smokers and nonsmokers, or delinquents and non-delinquents, using data on file.
Experimental	To investigate possible cause-and-effect relationships by exposing one or more experimental groups to one or more treatment conditions and comparing the results to one or more control groups not receiving the treatment (random assignment being essential).	To investigate the effectiveness of three methods of teaching reading to first grade children using random assignments of children and teachers to groups and methods; to investigate the effects of a s specific tranquilizing drug on the learning Behavior of boys identified as "hyperactive" using random assignment to groups receiving three different levels of the drug and two control groups with and without a placebo, respectively.
Quasi-Experimental	To approximate the conditions of the true experiment in a setting which does not allow the control and/or manipulation of all relevant variables. The researcher must clearly understand what compromises exist in the internal and external validity of his design and proceed within these limitations.	Called field experiments, operational research, and even the more sophisticated forms of action research which attempt to get at causal factors in real life settings where only partial control is Possible; e.g., an investigation of the effectiveness of any method or treatment condition where random assignment of subjects to methods or condition where random assignment of subjects to methods or conditions is not possible.
Action	To develop new skills or new approaches and to solve problems with direct application to the classroom or other applied setting.	An in service training program to help develop new skills in facilitating class discussions; to experiment with new approaches to teaching reading to bilingual children; to develop more effective counseling techniques for underachievers.

BASIC STEPS IN THE PLANNING AND CONDUCT OF RESEARCH

1. Identify the problem area.
2. Survey the literature relating to it.
3. Define the actual problem for investigation in clear, specific terms.
4. Formulate testable hypotheses and define the basic concepts and variables.
5. State the underlying assumptions which govern the interpretation of results.
6. Construct the research design to maximize internal and external validity.
   1. Selection of subjects.
   2. Control and/or manipulation of relevant variables.
   3. Establishment of criteria to evaluate outcomes.
   4. Instrumentation--selection or development of the criterion measures.
7. Specify the data collection procedures.
8. Select the data analysis methodology.
9. Execute the research plan.
10. Evaluate the results and draw conclusions.

Variables can be classified into three categories:

1. Independent (input, manipulated, treatment, or stimulus) variables, so-called because they are "independent" of the outcome itself; instead, they are presumed to cause, effect, or influence the outcome.
2. Dependent (output, outcome, or response) variables, so-called because they are "dependent" on the independent variables independent variables: the outcome presumably depends on how these input variables are managed or manipulated.
3. Control (background, classificatory, or organismic) variables, so-called because the need to be controlled, held constant, or randomized so that their effects are neutralized, canceled out, or equated for all conditions. Typically included are such factors as age, sex, IQ, SES (socio- economic status), educational level, and motivational level; it is often possible to redefine these particular examples as either independent or dependent variables, according to the intent of the research.

A fourth category of variables often is cited having to do with conceptual states within the organism; intervening variables (higher order constructs). These cannot be directly observed or measured and are hypothetical conceptions intended to explain processes between the stimulus and response. Such concepts as learning, intelligence, perception, motivation, need, self, personality, trait, and feeling illustrate this category.

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HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Purpose:

To reconstruct the past systematically and objectively by collecting, evaluating, verifying, and synthesizing evidence to establish facts and reach defensible hypotheses.

Examples:

A study of the origins of grouping practices in elementary schools in the United States to understand their basis in the past and relevance to the present; to test the hypothesis that Francis Bacon was the real author of "the works of William Shakespeare."

Characteristics:

1. Historical research depends upon data observed by others rather than by the investigator. Good data result from painstaking detective work which analyzes the authenticity, accuracy, and significance of source material.
2. Contrary to popular notions, historical research must be rigorous, systematic, and exhaustive; much "research" claiming to be historical is an undisciplined collection of inappropriate, unreliable, or biased information.
3. Historical research depends upon two kinds of data: primary sources where the author was a direct observer of the recorded event, and secondary sources where the author is reporting the observations of others and is one or more times removed from the original event. Of the two, primary sources carry the authority of firsthand evidence and have priority in data collection.
4. Two basic form of criticism weigh the value of the data: external criticism which asks, "Is the document or relic authentic?" and internal criticism which asks, "If authentic, are the data accurate and relevant?" Internal criticism must examine the motives, biases, and limitations of the author which might cause him to exaggerate, distort, or overlook This critical evaluation of the data is what makes true historical research so rigorous--in many ways, more demanding than experimental methods.
5. While historical research is similar to the "reviews of the literature" which precede others forms of research, this historical approach is more exhaustive, seeking out information from a larger array of sources. It also tracks down information that is much older than required by most reviews and hunts for unpublished material not cited in the standard references.

Five Steps of Historical Research:

1. Define the problem. Ask yourself these questions: Is the historical approach best suited for this problem? Are pertinent data available? Will the findings be educationally significant?
2. State the research objectives and, if possible, the hypotheses that will give direction and focus to the research.
3. Collect the data, keeping in mind the distinction between primary and secondary sources. An important skill in historical research is not-taking--small file cards (3 X 5, 4 X 6), each containing one item of information and coded by topic, are easy to rearrange and convenient to file.
4. Evaluate the data, applying both internal and external criticism.
5. Report the findings, including a statement of the problem, a review of source material, a statement of underlying assumptions, basic hypotheses, and methods used to test the hypotheses, the findings obtained, the interpretations and conclusions reached, and a bibliography.

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DESCRIPTIVE (Survey) RESEARCH

Purpose:

To describe systematically the facts and characteristics of a given population or area of interest, factually and accurately.

Examples:

1. A public opinion survey to assess the pre-election status of voter attitudes toward a school bond election.
2. A community survey to establish the needs for a vocational education program.
3. A Study and definition of all personnel positions in an education center.
4. A report of test score results in a school district.

Characteristics:

1. Descriptive research is used in the literal sense of describing situations or events. It is the accumulation of a data base that is solely descriptive--it does not necessarily seek or explain relationships, test hypotheses, make predictions, or get at meanings and implications, although research aimed at these more powerful purposes may incorporate descriptive methods. Research authorities, however, are not in agreement on what constitutes "descriptive research" and often broaden the term to include all forms of research except historical and experimental.
2. Purpose of Survey Studies:
   1. To collect detailed factual information that describes existing phenomena.
   2. To identify problems of justify current conditions and practices.
   3. To make comparisons and evaluations.
   4. To determine what others are doing with similar problems or situations and benefit from their experience in making future plans and decisions.

Four Steps of Descriptive Research:

1. Define the objectives in clear, specific terms. What facts and characteristics are to be uncovered?
2. Design the approach. How will the data be collected? How will the subjects be selected to insure they represent the population to be described? What instruments or observations techniques are available or will need to be developed? Will the data collection methods need to be field-tested and will data gatherers need to be trained?
3. Collect the data.
4. Report the results.

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DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH

Purpose:

To investigate patterns and sequences of growth and or change as a function of time.

Examples:

1. Longitudinal growth studies directly measuring the nature and rate of changes in a sample of the same children at different stages of development.
2. Cross-sectional growth studies indirectly measuring the nature and rate of these same changes by drawing samples of different children from representative age levels.
3. Trend studies designed to establish patterns of change int he past in order to predict future patterns or conditions.

Characteristics:

1. Developmental research focuses on the study of variables and their development over a period of months or years. It asks, "What are the patterns of growth, their rates, their directions, their sequences, and the interrelated factors affecting these characteristics?
2. The sampling problems in the longitudinal method is complicated by the limited number of subjects it can follow over the years; any selective factor affecting attrition biases the longitudinal study. If the threat of attrition is avoided by sampling from a stable population, this introduces unknown biases associated with such populations. Furthermore, once underway, the longitudinal method does not lend itself to improvements in techniques without loosing the continuity of the procedures. Finally, this method required the continuity of staff and financial support over an extended period of time and typically is confined to university or foundation centers than can maintain such an effort.
3. Cross-sectional studies usually include more subjects, but describe fewer growth factors than longitudinal studies. While the latter is the only direct method of studying human development, the cross-sectional method is complicated because the same children are not involved at tech age level and may not be comparable. To generalize intrinsic developmental patterns from these sequential samples of children runs the risk of confusing differences due to development with other differences between the groups that are artifacts of the sampling process.
4. Trend studies are vulnerable to unpredictable factors that modify or invalidate trends based on the past. In general, long-range prediction is an educated guess while short range prediction is more reliable and valid.

Five Steps of Developmental Research:

1. Define the problem or state the objectives.
2. Review the literature to establish a baseline of existing information and to compare research methodologies including available instruments and data collection techniques.
3. Define the approach.
4. Collect the data.
5. Evaluate the data and report the results.

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CASE AND FIELD STUDY RESEARCH

Purpose:

To study intensively the background, current status, and environmental interactions of a given social unit: an individual, group, institution, or community.

Examples:

1. Piaget's studies of cognitive growth in children.
2. An in-depth study of a pupil with a learning disability by a school psychologist or a student on probation by a social worker.
3. An intensive study of the "inner city" culture and living conditions in a large metropolitan environment.
4. An anthropologist's exhaustive field study of cultural life on a remote Indian reservation in the Southwest.

Characteristics:

1. Case studies are in-depth investigations of a given social unit resulting in a complete, well- organized picture of that unit. Depending upon the purpose, the scope of the study may encompass an entire life cycle or only a selected segment; it may concentrate upon specific factors or take in the totality of elements and events.
2. Compared to a survey study which tends to examine a small number of variables across a large sample of units, the case study tends to examine a small number of units across a large number of variables and conditions.

Strengths:

1. Case studies are particularly useful as background information for planning major investigations in the social sciences. Because they are intensive, they bring to light the important variables, processes, and interactions that deserve more extensive attention. They pioneer new ground and often are the source of fruitful hypotheses for further study.
2. Case study data provide useful anecdotes or examples to illustrate mote generalized statistical findings.

Weaknesses:

1. Because of their narrow focus on a few units, case studies are limited in their representativeness. They do not allow valid generalizations to the population from which their units came until the appropriate follow-up research is accomplished, focusing on specific hypotheses and using proper sampling methods.
2. Case studies are particularly vulnerable to subjective biases. The case itself may be selected because of its dramatic, rather than typical, attributes; or because it neatly fits the researchers preconceptions. To the extent selective judgments rule certain data in or out, or assign a high or low value to their significance, or place them in one context rather than another, subjective interpretations is influencing the outcome.

Five Steps of Case and Field Study Research:

1. State the objectives. What is the unit of study and what characteristics, relationships, and processes will direct the investigation?
2. Design the approach. How will the units be selected? What sources of data are available? What data collection methods will be used?
3. Collect the data.
4. Organize the information to form a coherent, well-integrated reconstruction of the unit of study.
5. Report the results and discuss their significance.

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CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

Purpose:

1. A study investigating the relationship between grade point average as the criterion variable and a number of other variables of interest.
2. A factor-analytic study of several personality tests.
3. A study to predict success in graduate school bases on intercorrelation patterns for undergraduate variables.

Characteristics:

1. Appropriate when variables are very complex and/or do not lend themselves to the experimental method and controlled manipulation.
2. Permits the measurement of several variables and their interrelationships simultaneously and in a realistic setting.
3. Gets at the degrees of relationship rather than the all-or-nothing question posed by experimental design: "Is an effect present or absent?"
4. Among its limitations are the following:
   1. It only identifies what goes with what--it does not necessarily identify cause-and-effect relationships.
   2. It is less rigorous than the experimental approach because it exercises less control over the independent variables.
   3. It is prone to identify spurious relational patterns or elements which have little or no reliability or validity.
   4. The relational patterns are often arbitrary and ambiguous.
   5. It encourages a "shot-gun" approach to research, indiscriminately throwing in data from miscellaneous sources and defying any meaningful or useful interpretation.

Five Steps of Correlational Research:

1. Define the problem.
2. Review the literature.
3. Design the approach:
   1. Identify the relevant variables.
   2. Select appropriate subjects.
   3. Select or develop appropriate measuring instruments.
   4. Select the correlational approach that fits the problem.
4. Collect the data.
5. Analyze and interpret the results.

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CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH

Purpose:

To investigate possible cause-and-effect relationships; by observing some existing consequence and searching back through the data for plausible causal factors. This is in contrast to the experimental method which collects its data under controlled conditions in the present.

Examples:

1. To identify factors characterizing persons having either high or low accident rates, using data in insurance company records.
2. To determine the attributes of effective teachers as defined, for example, by their performance evaluations and other data in the personal files. Teacher records over the past ten years are then examined, comparing these data to the amount of summer school attendance or to each of several other factors.
3. To look for patterns of behavior and achievement associated with age differences at the time of school entrance, using descriptive data on behavior and achievement test scores in the cumulative pupil records of children currently in the sixth grade.

Principal Characteristics:

Causal-comparative research is "ex post facto" in nature, which means the data are collected after all the events of interest have occurred. The investigator then takes one or more effects (dependent variables) and examines the data by going back through time, seeking out causes, relationships, and their meanings.

Strengths:

1. The causal-comparative method is appropriate in many circumstances where the more powerful experimental method is not possible:
   1. When it is not always possible to select, control, and manipulate the factors necessary to study cause-and-effect relations directly.
   2. When the control of all variations except a single independent variable may be highly unrealistic and artificial, preventing the normal interaction with other influential variables.
   3. When laboratory controls for many research purposes would be impractical, costly, or ethically questionable.

   Note: The experimental method involves both an experimental and a control group. Some treatment "A" is given the experimental group, and the result "B" is observed. The control group is not exposed to "A" and their conditions is compared to the experimental group to see what effects "A" might have had in producing "B". In the causal-comparative method, the investigator reverses this process, observing a result "B" which already exists and searches back through several possible causes ("A" type of events) that are related to "B."

2. It yields useful information concerning the nature of phenomena: what goes with what, under what conditions, in what sequences and patterns, and the like.
3. Improvements in techniques, statistical methods, and designs with partial control features, in recent years, have made these studies more defensible.

Weaknesses:

1. The main weakness of any ex post facto design is the lack of control over independent variables. Within the limits of selection, the investigator must take the facts as he finds them with no opportunity to arrange the conditions or manipulate the variables that influenced the facts in the first place. To reach sound conclusions, the investigator must consider all the other possible reasons or plausible rival hypotheses which might account for the results obtained. To the extent that he can successfully justify his conclusions against these other alternatives, he is in a position of relative strength.
2. The difficulty in being certain that the relevant causative factor is actually included among the many factors under study.
3. The complication that no single factor is the cause of an outcome but some combination and interaction of factors go together under certain conditions to yield a given outcome.
4. A phenomenon may result not only from multiple causes but also from one cause in one instance and from another cause in another instance.
5. When a relationship between two variables is discovered, determining which is the cause and which the effect may be difficult.
6. The fact that two, or more, factors are related does not necessarily imply a cause-and-effect relationship. They all simply may be related to an additional factor not recognized or observed.
7. Classifying subjects into dichotomous groups (e.g. "Achievers" and "Nonachievers"), for the purpose of comparison, is fraught with problems, since categories like these are vague, variable, and transitory. Such investigations often do not yield useful findings.
8. Comparative studies in natural situations do not allow controlled selection of subjects. Locating existing groups of subjects who are similar in all respects except for their exposure to one variable is extremely difficult.

Five Steps of Casual-Comparative Research:

1. Define the problem.
2. Survey the literature.
3. State the hypotheses.
4. List the assumptions upon which the hypotheses and procedures will be based.
5. Design the approach:
   1. Select appropriate subjects and course materials.
   2. Select or construct techniques for collecting the data.
   3. Establish categories for classifying data that are unambiguous, appropriate for the purpose of the study, and capable of bringing out significant likenesses of relationships.
6. Validate the data-gathering techniques.
7. Describe, analyze, and interpret the findings in clear, precise terms.

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TRUE EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

Purpose:

To investigate possible cause-and-effect relationships by exposing one or more experimental groups to one or more treatment conditions and comparing the results to one or more control groups not receiving the treatment.

Examples:

1. To investigate the effects of two methods of teaching a twelfth grade history program as a function of class size (large and small) and levels of student intelligence (high, average, low), using random assignment of teachers and students-by-intelligence-level to method and class size.
2. To investigate the effects of a new drug abuse prevention program on the attitudes of junior high school students using experimental and control groups who are either exposed or not exposed to the program, respectively, and using a pretest-posttest design in which only half of the students randomly receive the pretest to determine how much of an attitude change can be attributed to pretesting or to the educational program.
3. To investigate the effects of two methods of pupil evaluation on the performance of children in the twenty-three elementary schools of a given suburban district. N in this study would be the number of classrooms, rather than children, and the method would be assigned by stratified random techniques such that there would be a balanced distribution of the two methods to classrooms across grade levels and socio-economic locations of schools.

Characteristics of Experimental Designs:

1. Requires rigorous management of experimental variables and conditions either by direct control/manipulation or through randomization.
2. Typically uses a control group as a baseline against which to compare the group(s) receiving the experimental treatment.
3. Concentrates on the control of variance:
   1. To maximize the variance of the variable(s) associated with the research hypotheses.
   2. To minimize the variance of extraneous or "unwanted" variables that might affect the experimental outcomes, but are not themselves the object of study.
   3. To minimize the error of random variance, including so-called errors of measurement

   Best solution: Random selection of subjects, random assignment of subjects of groups, and random assignment of experimental treatments to groups.

4. Internal validity is the sine qua non of research design and the first objective of experimental methodology. It asks the question: Did the experimental manipulation in this particular study really make a difference?
5. External validity is the second objective of experimental methodology. It asks the question: How representative are the findings and can the results be generalized to similar circumstances and subjects?
6. In classic experimental design, all variables of concern are held constant except a single treatment variable which is deliberately manipulated or allowed to vary. Advances in methodology such as factorial designs and the analysis of variance now allow the experimenter to permit more than one variable to be manipulated or varied concurrently across more than one experimental group. This permits the simultaneous determination of (1) the effects of the principal independent variables (treatments), (2) the variation associated with classificatory variables, and (3) the interaction of selected combinations of independent and or classificatory variables.
7. While the experimental approach is the most powerful because of the control it allows over relevant variables, it is also the most restrictive and artificial. This is a major weakness in applications involving human subjects in real world situations, since human beings often act differently if their behavior is artificially restricted, manipulated, or exposed to systematic observations and evaluation.

Seven Steps in True Experimental Research:

1. Survey the literature relating to the problem.
2. Identify and define the problem.
3. Formulate a problem hypothesis, deducing the consequences, and defining basic terms and variables.
4. Construct an experimental plan:
   1. Identify all nonexperimental variables that might contaminate the experiment and determine how to control them.
   2. Select a research design.
   3. Select a sample of subjects to represent a given population, assign subjects to groups, and assign experimental treatments to groups.
   4. Select or construct and validate instruments to measure the outcome of the experiment.
   5. Outline procedures for collecting the data, and possibly conduct a pilot or "trial run" test to perfect the instruments or design.
   6. State the statistical or null hypothesis.
5. Conduct the experiments.
6. Reduce the raw data in a manner that will produce the best appraisal of the effect which is presumed to exist.
7. Apply an appropriate test of significance to determine the confidence one can place on the results of the study.

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QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

Purpose:

To approximate the conditions of the true experiment in a setting which does not allow the control and/or manipulation of all relevant variables. The researcher must clearly understand what compromises exist in the internal and external validity of his design and proceed within these limitations.

Examples:

1. To investigate the effects of spaced versus massed practice in the memorizing of vocabulary lists ion four high school foreign language classes without being able to assign students to the treatment at random or to supervise closely their practice periods.
2. To asses the effectiveness of three approaches to teaching basic principles and concepts in economics to primary grade children when some of the teachers inadvertently were allowed to volunteer for one of the approaches because of its impressive-looking materials.
3. Educational research involving a pretest-posttest design in which such variables as maturation, effects of testing, statistical regression, selective attrition, and stimulus novelty or adaptation, are unavoidable or overlooked.
4. Most studies of the social problems of delinquency, rioting, smoking, or instances of hear disease, where control and manipulation are not always feasible.

Characteristics:

1. Quasi-experimental research typically involves applied settings where it is not possible to control all the relevant variables but only some of them. The researcher gets as close to the true experimental rigor as conditions allow, carefully qualifying the important exceptions and limitations. Therefore, this research is characterized by methods of partial control based on a core identification of factors influencing both internal and external validity.
2. The distinction between true and quasi-experimental research is tenuous, particularly where human subjects are involved as in education. A careful study of the paradigms will clarify the relative nature of this distinction as a matter of approximation on a continuum between "one shot case studies" of an action research nature to experimental-control group designs with randomization and rigorous management of all foreseeable variables influencing internal and external validity.
3. While action research can have quasi-experimental status, it is often so unformalized as to deserve separate recognition. Once the research plan systematically examines the validity question, moving out of the intuitive and ex-exploratory realm, the beginnings of experimental methodology are visible.

Steps in Quasi-experimental Research:

The same as with true experimental research, carefully recognizing each limitation to the internal and external validity of the design.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Purpose:

To develop new skills or new approaches and to solve problems with direct application to the classroom or working world setting.

Examples:

1. An inservice training program to help train counselors to work more effectively with minority group children;
2. To develop an exploratory program in accident prevention in a driver's education course;
3. To solve the problem of apathy in a required high school "orientation" class; to test a fresh approach to interesting more students in taking vocational education courses.

Characteristics:

1. Practical and directly relevant to an actual situation in the working world. The subjects are the classroom students, the staff, or others with whom you are primarily involved.
2. Provides an orderly framework for problem-solving and new developments that is superior to the impressionistic, fragmentary approach that otherwise typifies developments in education. It also is empirical in the sense that it relies on actual observations and behavioral data, and does not fall back on subjective committee "studies" or opinions of people based on their past experience.
3. Flexible and adaptive, allowing changes during the trial period and sacrificing control in favor of responsiveness and on-the-spot experimentation and innovation.
4. While attempting to be systematic, action research lacks scientific rigor because its internal and external validity is weak. Its objective is situational, its sample is restricted and unrepresentative, and it has little control over independent variables. Hence, its findings, while useful; within the practical dimensions of the situation, do not directly contribute to the general body of educational knowledge.

Six Steps of Action Research:

1. Define the problem or set the goal. What is it that needs improvement or that might be developed as a new skill or solution?
2. Review the literature to learn whether others have met similar problems or achieved related objectives.
3. Formulate testable hypotheses or strategies of approach, stating them in clear,. specific, pragmatic language.
4. Arrange the research setting and spell out the procedures and conditions. What are the particular things you will do in an attempt to meet your objectives?
5. Establish evaluation criteria, measurement techniques, and other means of acquiring useful feedback.
6. Analyze the data and evaluate the outcomes.