Highlights from Types of Educational Research and

Corresponding Sources of DataChapter 2, Charles and Mertler

(2002)

“Research helps us to understand variables and the relationships among them.”

Variable vs. Constant Study: In an upper-intermediate ESL classroom with 18-

year-old students from various European countries, students’ achievement scores are correlated with the number of hours they spend preparing for tests…

• Variables for this study:– Students’ native languages, achievement scores, number of

hours studying

• Constants:– Students’ level of English, age…

So, then what is a variable? What is a constant?

Types of Variables

• In interviewing participants of the previous study, it was discovered that some of the students who studied for longer periods of time also watched television while they were studying.

• The students who studied for shorter periods of time generally studied without the television because they felt time pressure.

• This discovery could compromise the results.What is the name of this kind of variable?

Talk to a partner. Name two other possible variables of this type.

Review…

• Think of a study with your partner.

– Name the independent variable.

– Name the dependent variable.

– Name a possible confounding variable.

Another type of research…

• Sasha Jonas teaches a mixed level Czech language class.

• He believes that he can use poetry to serve all levels of the class: – the lower level students can work to understand the

basic ideas of the poem. – the higher level students can work on the metaphors

used.

• He finds research that supports his hypothesis.• He implements this strategy in the classroom.

What is the name of this kind of research?

Action research…

• What does action research attempt to do?

• Can we make generalizations about action research?

Primary vs. Secondary Data Sources

• Primary sources: first-hand sources that are known to be accurate

• Secondary sources: “reports or interpretations of primary data, made by people who did not directly experience the events.”

• Partner work: Which sources are primary? Which are secondary? encyclopedia entries, test scores, literature reviews, attendance records, biographies, blogs, transcripts of court testimony, photographs, demographic records, encyclopedia entries, newspaper reports

Between primary and secondary sources, which type is more highly valued? Why? What does this say about research articles vs. websites?

A Question of Validity, Reliability, or both?

• There is a listening portion for the TOEFL.

• Students who sit close to the speakers receive higher scores for this test than those who sit farther away.

• In fact, the test measures hearing ability in addition to comprehension ability. What is the problem with this testing situation?

Validity implies reliability; Reliability is a necessary pre-condition for validity

Validity and Reliability Continued

• Test-takers complain to researchers about the volume problem.

• Researchers want to investigate it. So, they set up a hundred other testing conditions in which they administer the TOEFL under the same conditions.

• They compare students’ scores with their proximity (closeness) to the speakers.

• Their results suggest that proximity to the speakers plays a significant role. Therefore the complaints of the test-takers are …………….reliable

A Problem with Validity, Reliability, or Both?

• Dalga Öztürk wants to investigate attitudes towards regional accents.

• Method: She records 10 women who speak in both a standard Istanbul dialect and a different regional accent (including Adana, Trabzon, Kastamonu, Kars, and Edirne.)

Participants list adjectives for each of these accents.The method is one that has provided accurate results in

twenty studies already.Unfortunately, Dalga did not think about the effects of

age. In her results, she finds the 80 year-old woman’s voice to be associated with adjectives that described caring individuals as well as weak individuals…

Participants, Sample, and Population

Informants

vs.

subjects

vs.

participants…..?

Participants, Samples, and Populations

Participant 11

Participant 2Participant 3Participant 4Participant 5

Participant 6

Participant 7Participant 8Participant 9

Participant 10Participant 1

Participant 12

Participant 16

Participant 14Participant 15

Participant 13

Participant 17Participant 18Participant 19

Participant 20

Sample

Duygu Yıldız

Population: 18 year-old females who have played tennis at ENKA

Participant 21 Ipek Yılmaz

Cansu Koç

Ayşegül Övün

Bahar Ünal Elena KastrovaArzu Selçuk Banu ArvaşEda Güneş Dilek Kahraman

Ebru Türk Özlem Uzun

Pınar Saraçoğlu Kim KlijstersSeda Öztürk

Merve ŞemsiyeArzu Selçuk

Ayşegül Övün

Deniz VatanBahar ÜnalÖzlem Uzun

Sevgi Kütay

Sevgi Kütay

Seda Öztürk

Jenny JonesSeçkin Oktay

Seda Okadar

Julianne Trudy

Julianne Trudy

Carly Amber

Banu Arvaş Selda Arnavut

Duygu Yıldız