Final Assignment No. 2 Research in Education

8/8/2019 Final Assignment No. 2 Research in Education

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Question No. 1: How will you classify the Ethics of Research?What Ethical consideration would you describe

eachcategory of your classification?

Answer:

Ethics in Research

When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think ofrules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as theGolden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do untoyou"), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath("First of all, do no harm"), a religious creed like the TenCommandments ("Thou Shall not kill..."), or a wise aphorisms likethe sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of

defining "ethics": ethics are norms for conduct that distinguishbetween or acceptable and unacceptable behavior.Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, or in othersocial settings. Although most people acquire their sense of rightand wrong during childhood, moral development occursthroughout life and human beings pass through different stagesof growth as they mature.One plausible explanation of these disagreements is that allpeople recognize some common ethical norms but differentindividuals interpret, apply, and balance these norms in differentways in light of their own values and life experiences.

Most societies also have legal rules that govern behavior, butethical norms tend to be broader and more Informal than laws.Although most societies use laws to enforce widely acceptedmoral standards and ethical and legal rules use similar concepts,it is important to remember that ethics and law are not thesame. An action may be legal but unethical or illegal but ethical.We can also use ethical concepts and principles to criticize,evaluate, propose, or interpret laws. Indeed, in the last century,many social reformers urged citizens to disobey laws in order toprotest what they regarded as immoral or unjust laws. Peacefulcivil disobedience is an ethical way of expressing political

viewpoints.Another way of defining 'ethics' focuses on the disciplines thatstudy standards of conduct, such as philosophy, theology, law,psychology, or sociology. Finally, one may also define ethics asamethod, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act andfor analyzing complex problems and issuesMany different disciplines, institutions, and professions havenorms for behavior that suit their particular aims and goals.

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These norms also help members of the discipline to coordinatetheir actions or activities and to establish the public's trust of thediscipline. For instance, ethical norms govern conduct inmedicine, law, engineering, and business. Ethical norms alsoserve the aims or goals of research and apply to people who

conduct scientific research or other scholarly or creativeactivities, and there is a specialized discipline, research ethics,which studies these norms.There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethicalnorms in research. First, some of these norms promote the aimsof research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error.For example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, ormisrepresenting research data promote the truth and avoiderror. Second, since research often involves a great deal ofcooperation and coordination among many different people indifferent disciplines and institutions, many of these ethical

standards promote the values that are essential to collaborativework, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness.For example, many ethical norms in research, such as guidelinesfor authorship, copyright and patenting policies, data sharingpolicies, and confidentiality rules in peer review, are designed toprotect intellectual property interests while encouragingcollaboration. Most researchers want to receive credit for theircontributions and do not want to have their ideas stolen ordisclosed prematurely. Third, many of the ethical norms help toensure that researchers can be held accountable to the public.For instance, federal policies on research misconduct, on

conflicts of interest, on the human subjects protections, and onanimal care and use are necessary in order to make sure thatresearchers who are funded by public money can be heldaccountable to the public. Fourth, ethical norms in research alsohelp to build public support for research. People more likely tofund research project if they can trust the quality and integrity ofresearch. Finally, many of the norms of research promote avariety of other important moral and social values, such as socialresponsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance with thelaw, and health and safety. Ethical lapses in research cansignificantly harm to human and animal subjects, students, and

the public

HonestyStrive for honesty in all scientific communications.Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures,and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, ormisrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, grantingagencies, or the public.

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ObjectivityStrive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis,data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grantwriting, expert testimony, and other aspects of researchwhere objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or

minimize bias or self-deception. Disclose personal orfinancial interests that may affect research.

IntegrityKeep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity;strive for consistency of thought and action.

CarefulnessAvoid careless errors and negligence; carefully andcritically examine your own work and the work of yourpeers. Keep good records of research activities, such as

data collection, research design, and correspondence withagencies or journals.

OpennessShare data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open tocriticism and new ideas.

Respect for Intellectual PropertyHonor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectualproperty. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or resultswithout permission. Give credit where credit is due. Give

proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions toresearch. Never plagiarize.

ConfidentialityProtect confidential communications, such as papers orgrants submitted for publication, personnel records, tradeor military secrets, and patient records.

Responsible PublicationPublish in order to advance research and scholarship, notto advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and

duplicative publication.

Responsible MentoringHelp to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promotetheir welfare and allow them to make their own decisions.

Respect for colleaguesRespect your colleagues and treat them fairly.

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Social ResponsibilityStrive to promote social good and prevent or mitigatesocial harms through research, public education, andadvocacy.

Non-DiscriminationAvoid discrimination against colleagues or students on thebasis of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors that are notrelated to their scientific competence and integrity.

CompetenceMaintain and improve your own professional competenceand expertise through lifelong education and learning; takesteps to promote competence in science as a whole.

LegalityKnow and obey relevant laws and institutional andgovernmental policies.

Animal CareShow proper respect and care for animals when using themin research. Do not conduct unnecessary or poorlydesigned animal experiments.

Human Subjects ProtectionWhen conducting research on human subjects, minimize

harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect humandignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautionswith vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute thebenefits and burdens of research fairly.

Principles of Research Ethics:The ethical issues are debatable in different cultures, societies,religious groups and countries and are not accepted uniformlyeverywhere. Thats why there is a need of debate and discussionof ethical issues in research in local context. It is possible thatsome issues are acceptable in one society but not in other

society. Despite this diversity, the ethical principles are almostsimilar and include;

1. Respect for PersonsThis is the most important point in research ethics. It includestwo ethical standards i.e. a) Individuals should be treated as

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autonomous agents. b) Additional protections should be providedto persons with diminished autonomy such as children andmentally incapacitated.

2. Beneficence

It means that the researcher should maximize possible benefitsand minimize possible harm to the study participants. Balancingrisks and benefits is an important consideration.

3. Justice The question of justice arises out of considerations of risksversus benefits. This includes selection of study participants, andshould be looked at if the participants are being selected onbasis of their easy availability, their compromised position, theirvulnerability or for the reasons related to the problem beingstudied.

4. Risks and benefits The study subject should get no harm. If there are any risksinvolved in the study these should be minimal or should beminimized as much as possible, if the benefits are more likely.The risk/benefit ratio should be carefully assessed, and benefit tostudy subject must outweigh the expected risks due toparticipation in the study. It is the responsibility of researchers totake care of any injury if it occurs due to participation of studysubjects in the study.

INFORMED CONSENT:Informed consent is an integral part of research. It has as legal,regulatory, and ethical aspects. It is based on respect for theindividual, and his autonomy or capacity and right to makechoices in his life. It is a process that involves conveyingaccurate and relevant information about the study and itspurpose; disclosing known risks, benefits, alternatives, andprocedures; answering questions; and enabling the potentialparticipant to make an informed decision about whether toparticipate or not. A valid informed consent should be based onthe following important elements.

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1. Language:The information should be provided in a language

which the participant is able to understand and comprehendeasily. It should be written in easy language avoiding technical

term, understandable by common people, having primaryeducation.Exact translation in local language such as Urdu & Sindhi (ifneeded) should also be available.

2. Competency of study subjects. The participant must be competent to make decision toparticipate or not to participate in the study. If the participant isnot competent due to his/her age, illness, incapacity, or anyother reason, either the participant should not be included in theresearch or some other provisions apply guardians or parental

consent etc.

3. Children / mentally incapacitated:In case of minors, their parental / guardians consent and minorsaccent should be obtained. In case of mentally impaired orincapacitated subjects, temporarily or permanently, their next ofkins or guardians consent should be obtained. If the subjecthimself gains enough mental capacity to understand andcomprehend, his consent should be obtained. If he declines theconsent, he should be withdrawn from the study.

4 Disclosure of information:

The potential participant must be given sufficient relevantinformation in order to decide to participate or not to participate.The information should include the purpose of the study; natureof the procedure; reasonable alternatives to the proposedintervention; and risks, benefits, and uncertainties of eachpossible intervention.

5 Comprehension/ Procedure.Due consideration should be given to potential participantsability to understand the proposed intervention in the study.Procedure that the subjects would be expected to undergoshould be described in sufficient detail such as withdrawal of

blood, laboratory or radiological investigations, interview time,intake of medications etc. Any procedures that are experimental/investigational/ non-therapeutic should be clearly identified

6. Benefits, Risk and discomfort:

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Any risk or benefit to the subject likely to occur as a result ofstudy should be clearly described. Benefits to researchers,funding agency or society at large should also be mentioned.

7. Alternate procedure or treatmentAlternate procedure or treatment for those should be mentionedclearly and those subjects who refuse to join the study shouldnot be denied access to alternate procedure or treatment of theirfree choice.

8. Financial liability:Financial liability, source of funding etc should be clearlydescribed. Study subjects should not bear any financial burden orcost of management injuries as a result of participating in thestudy and; management of such injuries should be covered by

the funding agencies, or arrangement should be made tomanage such injuries or side effects free of cost to the studysubjects.

9 Agreement:The participant must agree to the proposed intervention in the

research study.

10. Voluntary participation:The participants agreement must be voluntary and free fromcoercion or undue and unjust incentive. S/he should have a right

to refuse to participate in the study without any penalty or loss ofbenefits, which s/he is otherwise entitled to.

11. WithdrawalParticipants should have a right to withdraw from the study anytime without any penalty or loss of benefits, which s/he isotherwise entitled to.

12. Confidentiality:Procedures to maintain confidentiality should be described.Study subjects identity should never be disclosed at any time

nor their photos should be used in any form without theirconsent.

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13. Access to the researchers for additional informationName and contact numbers of the researcher and/or studysupervisor should be given so that the subject may contacthim/her in case s/he has any question to ask or report any side

effect or injury suspected to happen as a result of his/herparticipation in the study.

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Question No. 2: What is Correlation Research?When its preferred. Elaborate your

answer withan example.

Answer:

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCHThe purpose of correlation research is to discover relationshipsbetween two or more variables.Relationship means that an individuals status on one variabletends to reflect his or her status on the other.

Helps us understand related events, conditions, and behaviors.Is there a relationship between educational levels of farmers and

crop yields?

To make predictions of how one variable might predict anotherCan high school grades be used to predict college grades?

To examine the possible existence of causationDoes physical exercise cause people to lose weight?

WHERE DOES THE DATA COME FROM FORCORRELATIONALRESEARCH?SurveysScores on various tests or rating scalesDemographic informationJudges or expert ratings

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH PROCESSVariables to be study are identifiedQuestions and/or hypotheses are statedA sample is selected (a minimum of 30 is needed)Data are collectedCorrelations are calculatedResults are reported

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TERMINOLOGYPredictor variable the variable(s) that are believed to predict

the outcome.Could be called an independent variable

Criterion variable the variable to be predicted, the outcomeCould be called the dependent variable

Is level of education (predictor variable) related to family income(criterion variable)?

Do people who eat more eggs (predictor variable) have highercholesterol levels (criterion variable)?

WHICH CORRELATION TO USE?

PEARSON PRODUCT-MOMENT CORRELATIONUsed when both the criterion and predictor variable containcontinuous interval data such as test scores, years of experience,money, etc.

WHEN TO USE THE PEARSON CORRELATION!A purse contains both bills and coins. Both bills and coins areinterval types of data. So when the two variables being correlatedare interval data (like coins and bills) use the Purse-un

Correlation.

POINT BISERIAL CORRELATIONWhen the predictor variable is a natural (real) dichotomy (twocategories) and the criterion variable is interval or continuous, thepoint biserial correlation is used.

WHEN TO USE THE POINT BISERIAL CORRELATION!You have two bowls of cereal (remember bi means two such as inbicycle). One bowl is a china bowl, the other is not (this is a realdichotomy). Is there a relationship between the type of bowl and

how many pieces of cereal you can put in the bowl? Since this is arather stupid idea, what is the POINT? Thus Point Bi-Cereal.

BISERIAL CORRELATION

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When the predictor variable is an artificial dichotomy (twocategories) and the criterion variable is interval or continuous ,the biserial correlation is used.

WHEN TO USE THE BISERIAL CORRELATION?

Think about a two people, a male who dresses like a male and amale who likes to dress like a female. One male is an artificialfemale. Some people might call the male bisexual (which rhymeswith biserial.) You are going to see if there is a relationshipbetween sex role portrayal and self esteem scores.

PHI CORRELATIONWhen the both the predictor and criterion variables are naturaldichotomies (two categories), thephi correlation is used.If the dichotomies are artificial, the tetrachoric correlation is used.

This is rarely the case in educational research

WHEN TO USE THE PHI CORRELATION!When data used in Phi Correlations are visually depicted, it lookssomewhat like a tic tac toe game. Phi is a 3 letter word just like tictac and toe are.Spearman rho and Kendall tau

When the both the predictor and criterion variables are rankings,use either the Spearman rho or Kendall tau correlation.

More than 20 cases Spearman rhoLess than 20 cases Kendall tau

WHEN TO USE THE SPEARMAN RHO OR KENDALL TAUCORRELATION!

Spearman rho reminds me of Spearmint gum because it soundssimilar. Spearmint gum is made from a mint plant. To me a mintplant smells somewhat rank. And they sell Spearmint gum in bigpackages of 20 or more sticks.

WHEN TO USE KENDALL TAUKendall tau reminds me of a bull (tau is the first part of taurus,which is the zodiac sign of the bull). Some bulls are really rank.

When you ride a bull in a rodeo you have to stay on for 8 seconds,which is a small amount of time.

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OTHER CORRELATIONSYou can perform multiple correlations using such approaches aspartial correlation, multiple regression, discriminant analysis, andfactor analysis.

These are outside the scope of this class.

For each individual in the research, there must be at least twomeasures, or it will be impossible to calculate a correlation.

A correlation may be statistically significant (it didnt happen bychance) but be weak or low which means it is nothing to get excitedabout. It has no practical significance.

A correlation is reported asr such as r=.36.

The statistical probability is reported as p.Some researchers report the probability of the correlation

happening by chance was p>.05 (more than 5 out of 100) orp


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Interpretation of the Strength of Correlations.00 - .20 Very Weak.21 - .40 Weak.41 - .60 Moderate

.61 - .80 Strong.81 1.00 - Very Strong

Scatter plots are often used to depict correlationsScatter plots are often used to depict correlationsScatter plots are often used to depict correlations

How to calculate correlations?Excel has a statistical function. It calculates Pearson Product Moment

correlations.SPSS (a statistical software program for personal computers used by

graduate students) calculates correlations.

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Question No. 3: What are essential segments of ResearchReport?

What rules should be observed to write it?

Answer:

A scientific research article or paper is a technicaldocument that describes a significant experimental, theoretical orobservational extension of current knowledge, or advances in thepractical application of known principles. It is important to emphasizethat a research article should report on research findings that are notonly sound and previously unpublished (original), but also add somenew understanding, observation, proofs, i.e. potentially importantinformation. Unlike a novel, newspaper article or an essay has arequired structure and style, which is by international consensusknown a Introduction Methods Results and Discussion. However,

research article is not only a technically rigid document, but also asubjective intellectual product that unavoidably reflects personalopinions and beliefs. Therefore, it requires good skills in bothstructuring and phrasing the discoveries and thoughts. These skills areacquired through experience, but can also be taught.

Segments of the research report, their main functions, preferredstyle and rules for them are mentioned below.

S.NO.

RESEARCHARTICLE

SEGMENT

MAINFUNCTION

PREFERREDSTYLE

RULES TO WRITEIT

01 TITLE - Indicatescontentand maindiscoveries

- Attracts thereadersattraction.

- Short andsimple (7 10words).

-Avoid complexgrammar,

-Make it catchy!

-Avoid redundancy(An investigationof ,The analysis of,

Effect of ,Influence of ,New method)

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S.NO.

RESEARCHARTICLE

SEGMENT

MAINFUNCTION

PREFERREDSTYLE

RULES TO WRITEIT

02 ABSTRACT -Reflects themain story ofthe researcharticle.

-Calls attentionbut avoids extraexplanations.

-Past (Perfect)tense and passivevoice(!)

-Short andconcisesentences;

-No citations,tables, equations,graphs etc.

-Avoid introducingthe topic;

-Explain: what wasdone, what wasfound and whatare the mainconclusions;

-bring summarynumbers

03 INTRODUCTION -Introduces thetopic and definesthe terminology;

-Relates to theexistingresearch;

Indicated thefocus of the

paper andresearchobjectives;

-Simple tense forreferring toestablishedknowledge orpast tense forliterature review

-Use the state-of-art references;

-Follow the logicalmoves;

-Define yourterminology toavoid confusion.

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S.NO.

RESEARCHARTICLE

SEGMENT

MAINFUNCTION

PREFERREDSTYLE

RULES TO WRITEIT

04 METHODOLOGY -Provides enoughdetail forcompetentresearchers torepeat theexperiment;

-Who, what,when, where,how and why?

-Past tense butactive voice(!);

-Correct andinternationallyrecognized styleand format (units,variables,materials etc:);

-Mentioneverything you didthat can makeimportance to theresults;

-Dont cover yourtraces (somedata was ignored)establish anauthors voice (

we decided toignored thisdata);

-If a technique isfamiliar, only useits name (dont re-explain);-Use simple(st)example toexplain complex

methodology;

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S.NO.

RESEARCHARTICLE

SEGMENT

MAINFUNCTION

PREFERREDSTYLE

RULES TO WRITEIT

05 RESULTS -Give summaryresults ingraphics andnumbers;

-Comparesdifferenttreatments;

-Gives quantifiedproofs (statistical

tests);

-Past tense;

-Use tables andgraphs and otherillustrations;

-Present summarydata related to theresearch articleobjectives and notall researchresults;

-Give moreemphasize onwhat should beemphasized;

- Call attention tothe mostsignificantfindings;

-Make clearseparationbetween yoursand others work;

06 Conclusionsand Discussion

-Answersresearchquestions/objectives:-Explainsdiscrepanciesand unexpectedfindings;

-Statesimportance of

discoveries andfutureimplications;

-Simple orpresent tense(past tense if it isrelated toresults);

-Allows scientificspeculations (ifnecessary);

-Do notrecapitulateresults but makestatements;

- Make strongstatements(avoidit may beconcludedstyle);

-Do not hideunexpectedresults.

-They can be themost important;

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S.NO.

RESEARCHARTICLE

SEGMENT

MAINFUNCTION

PREFERREDSTYLE

RULES TO WRITEIT

07 REFERENCE -Gives list of related literatureand informationsources;

-Depends onjournal butauthors / editors,year and titlemust be included;

-Always cite themost accessiblereferences;

-Cite primarysource rather thanreview papers;

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Question No. 4: How Descriptive Research is different fromApplied

Research?

Answer:

APPLIED RESEARCH

Definition: Refers to scientific study and research that seeks to solvepractical problems. Applied research is used to find solutions toeveryday problems, cure illness, and develop innovative technologies.Psychologists working in human factors or industrial/organizationalfields often do this type of research.

Or

Applied research is research accessing and using some part of theresearch communities' (the academy's) accumulated theories,knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific,often state, commercial, or client driven purpose. Applied research isoften opposed to pure research in debates about research ideals,programs, and projects.

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

This research is the most commonly used and the basic reason forcarrying out descriptive research is to identify the cause of somethingthat is happening. For instance, this research could be used in order tofind out what age group is buying a particular brand of cola, whether acompanys market share differs between geographical regions or todiscover how many competitors a company has in their marketplace.However, if the research is to return useful results, whoever isconducting the research must comply with strict researchrequirements in order to obtain the most accurate figures/resultspossible.

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Descriptive research, also known as statistical research, describesdata and characteristics about the population or phenomenon beingstudied. Descriptive research answers thequestions who, what, where, when and how.

Although the data description is factual, accurate andsystematic, the research cannot describe what caused a situation.Thus, descriptive research cannot be used to create a causalrelationship, where one variable affects another. In other words,descriptive research can be said to have a low requirement for internalvalidity.

The description is used for frequencies, averages and otherstatistical calculations. Often the best approach, prior to writingdescriptive research, is to conduct a survey investigation. Qualitativeresearch often has the aim ofdescription and researchers may follow-

up with examinations of why the observations exist and what theimplications of the findings are.

In short descriptive research deals with everything that can becounted and studied. But there are always restrictions to that. Yourresearch must have an impact to the lives of the people around you.For example, finding the most frequent disease that affects thechildren of a town. The reader of the research will know what to do toprevent that disease thus; more people will live a healthy life.

TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCHa) SURVEY STUDIES

According to Carter V.Good (1959), the purpose of adescriptive survey study may be:

To secure evidence concerning and existing situationor current conditions.

To identify standards or norms with which tocompare present conditions.

To determine how to made the next step (havingdetermined where we are and where we wish to go.)

This means that researchers who are trying to solveproblem in educational organizations by conductingsurveys collect detailed descriptions of existing

phenomena with intent of employing the data to justifycurrent conditions and practices or to make plans forimproving them.

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Types of survey studies:i) College /universities surveys.ii) Public opinion surveys.iii) Community surveys.

iv) Documentary surveys.v) Job analysis.vi) Follow up studies.

b) INTER RELATIONSHIP STUDIES.Educationists collect facts to obtain an accurate descriptionof existing status as they make and effort to traceinterrelationship between facts that will provide a deeperinsight into the phenomena. According to Van Dalen, threetypes of studies are includes in these types of studies:

i) Case studies

ii) Casual comparative studiesiii) Correction studies.

c) DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIESThe concept of development is essentially biological andhas been most commonly associated with living structuresand life processes. However, the concept has come to beapplied to physical system as well as to social institutionscultural and systems of ideas. The purpose ofdevelopmental studies is to discover origin, direction,trend, pattern, rate and pattern of growth with somewhat

more recent interest in causes and inter relationshipsaffecting growth (Good 1959)The two types of developmental studies that can be usedin the field of education (educational planning andmanagement) are:

i) Growth studies.ii) Trend projection studies.

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STEPS IN DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

Examine the Problematic situation.

Define the problem and sometimes statethe hypotheses.

List the assumptions upon which thehypotheses and procedures and based.

Select or construct techniques for collectingdata.

Establish categories and classify the datathat are unambiguous, appropriate for thepurpose of the study and capable ofbringing about significant likeness,difference or relationships.

Validate the data gathering techniques.

Make discrimination and objectiveobservation.

Describe analyze and interpret their findingsin clear and precise terms.

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Question No. 5: (a) Research Synthesis and Meta Analysis.

Answer:

RESEARCH SYNTHESIS

Research synthesis is the process through which two or moreresearch studies are assessed with the objective of summarizing theevidence relating to a particular question.

WHY DO NEED RESEARCH SYNTHESIS?

To make sense of current research (Science is cumulative)

Volume of research is overwhelming.

Access to reports of research is haphazard and often biased.

The quality of research is very variable. Most studies are too small.

RESEARCH SYNTHESIS IS REQUIRED FOR WHICH TYPE OF RESEARCH.

Basic science research.

Screening / diagnostic test.

Prevalence / incidence studies

Prognosis studies

Effect of practices

THE SCIENCE OF RESEARCH SYNTHESIS

Systemic reviewo Protocol development

o Critical appraisal

o Mata analysis

Updating / electronic publication

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META-ANALYSIS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

INTRODUCTION Meta-analysis is a statistical technique for amalgamating,summarizing, and reviewing previous quantitative research. Byusing meta-analysis, a wide variety of questions can beinvestigated, as long as a reasonable body of primary researchstudies exist. Selected parts of the reported results of primarystudies are entered into a database, and this "meta-data" is"meta-analyzed", in similar ways to working with other data -descriptively and then inferentially to test certain hypotheses.

Meta analysis can be used as a guide to answer the question'does what we are doing make a difference to X?', even if 'X' has

been measured using different instruments across a range ofdifferent people. Meta-analysis provides a systematic overviewof quantitative research which has examined a particularquestion.

The appeal of meta analysis is that it in effect combines all theresearch on one topic into one large study with manyparticipants. The danger is that in amalgamating a large set ofdifferent studies the construct definitions can become impreciseand the results difficult to interpret meaningfully.

Not surprisingly, as with any research technique, meta-analysishas its advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is its

objectivity, and yet like any research, ultimately its valuedepends on making some qualitative-type conceptualizationsand understandings of the objective data.

Meta-analysis has been used to give helpful insight into:o the overall effectiveness of interventions (e.g.,

psychotherapy, outdoor education),o the relative impact of independent variables (e.g., the

effect of different types of therapy), ando the strength of relationship between variables.

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Question No.5: (b) Research Hypothesis.

Answer:

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

A research hypothesis is the statement created by a researcherwhen they speculate upon the outcome of a research or experiment.Every true experimental design must have this statement at the coreof its structure, as the ultimate aim of any experiment.

The hypothesis is generated via a number of means, but isusually the result of a process of inductive reasoning whereobservations lead to the formation of a theory. Scientists then use alarge battery of deductive methods to arrive at a hypothesis thatis testable, falsifiable and realistic.

The precursor to a hypothesis is a problem, usually framed as a

question. It might ask what, or why, something is happening.Too broad a statement is not testable by any reasonable scientificmeans. It is merely a tentative question arising from literature reviewsand intuition. Many people would think that instinct and intuition areunscientific, but many of the greatest scientific leaps were a result ofhunches.

The research hypothesis is a paring down of the problem intosomething testable and falsifiable. In the aforementioned example, aresearcher might speculate that the decline in the fish stocks is due toprolonged over fishing. They must generate a realistic and testablehypothesis around which they can build the experiment.

This might be a question, a statement or an If/Or statement. Someexamples could be:

Is over-fishing causing a decline in the stocks? Over-fishing affects the stocks. If over-fishing is causing a decline in the numbers of reducing the

amount of trawlers will increase stocks.

These are all acceptable statements and they all give the researcher afocus for constructing a research experiment. Science tends toformalize things and use the If statement, measuring the effect that

manipulating one variable has upon another, but the other forms areperfectly acceptable. An ideal research hypothesis should contain aprediction, which is why the more formal ones are favored.A hypothesis must be testable but must also be falsifiable for itsacceptance as true science. Whilst gut instinct and logic tells us thatfish stocks are affected by over fishing, it is not necessarily true andthe researcher must consider that outcome. Perhaps environmentalfactors or pollution are causal effects influencing fish stocks. A scientist

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who becomes fixated on proving a research hypothesis loses theirimpartiality and credibility. Statistical tests often uncover trends, butrarely give a clear-cut answer, with other factors often affecting theoutcome and influencing the results.A hypothesis must be testable, taking into account current knowledge

and techniques, and be realistic. If the researcher does not have amulti-million dollar budget then there is no point in generatingcomplicated hypotheses. A hypothesis must be verifiable by statisticaland analytical means, to allow a verification or falsification.In fact, a hypothesis is never proved, and it is better practice to usethe terms supported or verified. This means that the researchshowed that the evidence supported the hypothesis and furtherresearch is built upon that.A research hypothesis, which stands the test of time, eventuallybecomes a theory, such as Einsteins General Relativity. Even then, aswith Newtons Laws, they can still be falsified or adapted.

Final Assignment No. 2 Research in Education

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