Quantitative Research Methods Survey (Descriptive) Correlational Causal-Comparative Experimental

Quantitative Research Methods

Survey (Descriptive)

Correlational

Causal-Comparative

Experimental

Survey (Descriptive) Research

Gatherings information about a topic from various sources, then interpreting the findings.

GOAL:

To describe status of a group or groups with regard to one or more variables either at a given time pointor longitudinally over time

Single time point Over time—Longitudinal / Cross-sectional

I. Direct-data Surveys

Definition—

Involves collecting information directly from individuals, groups, or institutions by means of questionnaires, interviews, or observations.

Purposes— 1. demographic 2. equipment 3. performance 4. practice 5. opinion

I. Direct-data Surveys

Demographic Survey

—assigns people to subgroups based on identifying characteristics:

Ethnic backgroundReligious affiliationSocio-economic statusGenderAgeEducationNationalityRegional origins

Sample research focus

Trends in the Ethnic Mix in County Elementary Schools

Effects of Religious Affiliation on Moral-Education Programs

Social Class and School Dropouts—A Statewide Survey

I. Direct-data Surveys (cont.)

Equipment & SupplySurveys —

involve collecting data about the amount and quality of:

Instructional materialsEducational settings


Computer Availability and Frequency of Classroom Use in Harford County

The Size and Growth Rate of Morristown’s Classroom Libraries

The Quality of Lighting in Rural Classrooms


Performance Survey —

report how well individuals, groups, or institutions carry out their assignments


Achievement-Test Results by School, Grade, and Classroom

Teachers’ Classroom-Efficiency Ratings and Merit Pay

Ranking the County’s High-School Swimming Classes


Practice-focused Surveys—

describe and compareways in which instructional functions are carried out


The Popularity of Phonics Instruction in First-Grade Classrooms

Types of Laboratory Experiences in Physics Classes—A Regional Survey

Teachers’ Instructional Uses of the World Wide Web


Opinion Surveys—

involve gathering people’s expressed (perceived) attitudes about classroom activities


Teachers’ Appraisals of the City Schools’ Multi-Cultural Education Curriculum

Students’ Opinions of Their Literature Textbooks

Parents’ Attitudes about Homework

See example (handout)— Survey Research: A Sample Procedure


Example of a Research Article—

Reading Instruction:

Perceptions of Elementary School Principals

/Gay & Airasian, p.p. 178-188 (8th edition)/

I. Example (cont.): 1. Research Concerns Observation1:

Success and failure of a school’s reading program depends largely upon the quality of school principal’s knowledge of and involvement in the school reading program.

Observation 2:The quality of school principals’ instructional leadership in school reading programs is directly linked to the quality of their knowledge about reading instruction.

Observation 3:

Lack of systematic research in the area of concern:3.1) Little is known about the principals’ perceptions of the issues in reading education.3.2) No research is done on how the principals access information regarding issues in reading education.

I. Example (cont.)

2. Educational Problem

Principals who lack sufficient knowledge pf reading instruction tend to misguide teaching practices, while failing to ground their decisions in reliable research sources.

I. Example (cont.): 3. Research Questions

Research Question 1:

What do practicing elementary school principals perceive are the critical and unresolved issues in reading education?



What level of understanding do practicing elementary principals perceive they have of each issue?



What sources do practicing elementary principals use and find helpful to inform themselves about current issues in reading education?

I. Example (cont.): 4. Parts of the Instrument (Questionnaire)

Part I: Demographic Information- School size- Years of experience- Types of reading approaches used in the school

Part II: Three tasks—

(1) Principals perspectives on the presence of the issue(2) Ranking of the issues(3) Self-rating of the principals’ understanding of each

issue (4-point scale)

Part III: Extent of the principals’ familiarity and use of

the informational resources related to the issue

I. Example (cont.): 5. Sampling

Stratified –

a sub-group (or strata) is represented in the sample in the same proportion that they exist in the population.

/Gay & Airasian, Table 4.1, p. 112/

Np=41,467possible

population (total target population)

Ns=1,261

study population

Population Sampling Frame-

A record of population

Stratified Random Sampling

Quality Educational data (QED) of elementary public school principals in the US, 1989-1990 school year

I. Example (cont.): 5. Sampling Stratified Random Sampling

Quality Educational Data (QED) ofelementary public school principals in the US, 1989-1990 school year.

Ns=1,261—study population

Np=41,467—possible population (total target population)

Stratas:

(a) School Size (1-299; 300-599; 600-899;…)(b) School Type (Elementary K-3; Elementary K-6)

I. Example (end): 5. Sampling

Why Stratified Random Sampling?

Stratas:

(a) School Size (1-299; 300-599; 600-899;…)(b) School Type (Elementary K-3; Elementary K-6)

… to increase the precision of the variable estimates.

II. Literature-review Surveys

Definition—an amalgamation of diverse research reports bearing on a particular question.

Sometimes the data needed in research on classroom issues are not gathered by directly surveying people or institutions but, instead, are gathered by reviewing the literature that bears on the research question and by summarizing the findings.

II. Literature-review Surveys (cont.)

Aims:

Revealing diversity – in ways of teaching morality in elementary schools In policies In systems for reporting students’ progress

Illustrating applications Why a self-discovery science approach may or may not work with

primary pupils? Under which circumstances is the ‘natural phonics’ program

appropriate? High school biology field trips—why or why not?

Synthesizing knowledge (meta-analysis)

II. Literature-review Surveys (cont.)

Synthesizing knowledge (meta-analysis)

(a) Delineate the domain to be studied classroom disciplinereading readinesscomputer literacy

(b) Use the chosen expression to direct the search of the literature

(c) Identify themes and trends that are prominent in the books and articles that are found

(d) Writing a summary of the outcomes of analysis

Correlational Research

GOAL:

To examine whether there arerelationships between variables whenexperimental research is not possible

E.g., is there a correlation betweenstudent motivation and self-efficacy?

Predictive Studies

Predictive studies:scores on one variable (a predictor) can be used to predict scores on some other variable (criterion)

Still correlational in nature but the researcher assumesthat one precedes the other

E.g., can SAT scores predict 1st year college GPA?

Can measures of occupational stress andresilience in teachers predict turnover?

Size and Direction

Correlation coefficient ranges from–1.0 to +1.0

Coefficients of approximately 0indicates there is no relationshipbetween the variables

Significance of the finding will depend onmagnitude (size) of the coefficient andthe number of people in the study

Graphs of CorrelationalRelationships

Y Y Y

X X X

Positive Negative No relationship

Correlational Research(cont.)

Advantage: Can investigate relationships among large number of variables in a single study

Disadvantage: Can not infer cause and effect

May obtain supirious correlations – theapparent correlation is actually caused byother unmeasured variables that areassociated with the variables we havecorrelated in systematic ways

E.g., increase in shoe size from ages 1-12 ispositively correlated with growth in vocabulary

Causal-Comparative Research

GOAL: Study cause and effect

Discovery of possible causes for a pattern of behavior by comparing participants with whom this pattern is present to participants with whom it is absent (or present to a lesser degree).

Comparing two groups of individuals drawn from the same population that are different on a critical variable but are otherwise comparable

E.g., compare students with emotional disturbance to students without emotional disturbance who are drawn from the same population to identify possible causes of emotional disturbance.

Experimental Research

The only design that can result in relatively definitive statements about causal relationships between variables:

“One variable (independent variable) causes another (dependent variable).

e.g., differential educational programming (IV) results in better reading comprehension in elementary Latino students (DV)

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Quantitative Research Methods Survey (Descriptive) Correlational Causal-Comparative Experimental