Jan 16 '08

Research Questions and Variables and Hypotheses (notes by Dr. Cook)

I.What is a researchable question?
II. Characteristics of researchable questions
III. Research Variables
A. Quantitative vs. Categorical
B. Independent vs. Dependent
IV. Hypotheses
A. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
V. Identifying Research Articles

Part II
A. Research Problem:a problem to be solved, area of concern, general question, etc.
e.g. We want to increase use of technology in K-3 classrooms in Utah.
B. Research Question:a clarification of the research problem, which is the focus of the research and drives the methodology chosen
e.g. Does integration of technology into teaching in grades K-3 lead to higher standardized achievement test scores than traditional teaching methods alone?
*you can ask a research question any way, it just has to drive the methodology

C. Researchable Research Questions
• Where do they come from?
–Experimenter interests
–Application issues (how an this be used in schools, or wherever)
–Replication issues (could be replicating something as is or may want to do test in a different situation, but same question)
• Do they focus on product or process? Or neither?
Ex: a process that we could study is behavioral change - how does behavior change over the course of our study
Ex: product is the end result
Ex: of neither is survey (not focused on product or process)
• Are they researchable? Unresearchable?
1. Researchable Questions–contain empirical(measuring) referents
a. Empirical Referent –something that can be observed and/or quantified (measured)in some way
e.g., The Pepsi Challenge –which soda do people prefer more? Coca-Cola or Pepsi? (not a research study)
2. Un-Researchable Questions–contain no empirical referents, involve value judgments
e.g., Should prayer be allowed in schools? (as opposed to "How many people want prayers in school?"

D. Essential Characteristics of Good Research Questions:
1. They are feasible. (depends on the person: either money, time; has it's own parameters. Is it a doable project???????)
2. They are clear. (do you understand all the terms in that question; do you understand how the terms are defined)
a. Conceptual or Constitutive definition = all terms in the question must be well-defined and understood (ex would be test scores able to define)
b. Operational definition = specify how the dependent variable will be measured
3. They are significant. (important; can depend on what is significant or important based on the context.) Ex: wearing a red shirt vs. a blue shirt isn't important.
4. They are ethical.
a. Protect participants from harm.
b. Ensure confidentiality.
c. Should subjects be deceived?

E. Variables: Quantitative vs. Categorical
1. Quantitative Variables (numerical in some way)
a. Continuous (it can be further divided up, such as there's space between 4 and 5)
b. Discontinuous (Discrete) (either 2 or 3, nothing in-between; very precise)
2. Categorical Variables
Can look for relationships among:
1. Two Quantitative Variables (relationship between height and weight)
2. Two Categorical Variables (relationship between religion and political science)
3. A Quantitative and Categorical Variable (relationship between age and occupation)

F. Variables: Independent vs. Dependent
1. Independent Variable= variable that affects the dependent variable, or is the
effect of interest
a. Manipulated (what is being manipulated; what is the effective interest; the variable that affects the dependent variable)
b. Selected (such as females vs. males (not able to put in to groups as you can't change females and males, they just are)
2. Dependent Variable= (what we're measuring) dependent on the independent variable, or what is being measured
*****this question is on Quiz 1 for sure and probably 2 & 3
3. Extraneous variable(or confounds)= uncontrolled factors affecting the dependent variable (the stuff that messes up the study; anything that can't be controlled)

G. Quantitative Research Hypotheses
• They should be stated in declarative form. (making a statement!)
• They should be based on facts/research/theory. (has a reason,justification behind prediction)
• They should be testable. (should be able to be tested)
• They should be clear and concise. (should know exactly what it is predicting)
• If possible, they should be directional (taking a stand! predicting in a particular direction e.g. females scores will be better vs. bad example: are female scores better than males)

H. Qualitative Research Questions
• They are written about a central phenomenon instead of a prediction.
• They should be:
–Not too general...not too specific
–Amenable to change as data collection progresses
--Unbiased by the researcher’s assumptions or hoped findings

I. Group Assignment (as a group we made each of these statements a researchable question)
• Teacher effectiveness and student motivation
• Learning differences among American and Pacific Islander children
• Anxiety and test-taking (Do highly anxious students produce lower test scores?)
• Single parents and time spent reading with children
• Physical disabilities and assistive technology

Thoughts: it is a lot harder to produce a reasonable, well-defined and clear research question than it seems. There are too many variables to consider and terms to define.

Article Review Project:
*find an article that is a primary source (original source)

J. Identifying Research Articles
1. What type of source is it?
–Primary Source–original research article
–Secondary Source–reviews, summarizes, or discusses research conducted by others
–Tertiary Source–summary of a basic topic, rather than summaries of individual studies
2. Is it peer reviewed?
–Refereed journals (scientific journals)
• Editors vs. Reviewers
• Blind Reviews (unbiased)
• Level of journal in field
–Non-referred journals (summary journals)

K. Why peer review?
• Importance of verification before dissemination (the check and balance)
–Once the media disseminates information, it is hard to undo the damage
• Scientist arguing autism a result of MMR vaccine never published his results in a scientific journal
• Claim of first human baby clone was based only on the company’s statement
–Greater the significance of the finding, the more important it is to ensure that the finding
is valid

L. Is peer review an insurance policy?
• Not exactly –some fraudulent (or incorrect) claims may still make it through to publication
– Korean scientist who fabricated data supporting the landmark claim in 2004 that he created the world's first stem cells from a cloned human embryo.
• Peer review is another source of information for:
– Funding Allocation– Quality of Research / Publication in Scientific Journals
– Quality of Research Institutions (both on department and university levels)
– Policy Decisions

***Peer review is a check for sound methodology, helps to make an article/paper better.

For research article: look up limited English and literacy to find an article to email the professor about.