Educational Research: Descriptive Research

Educational Research: Descriptive Research

Shannelle Gay P. Paracha

Master of English in Applied Linguistics

Research...The systematic application of a

family of methods employed to provide trustworthy information about problems.

"recherche"

…collects data in order to answer questions about the current status of the subject or topic of study

…uses formal instruments to study preferences, attitudes, practices, concerns, or interests of a sample

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH (“SURVEY RESEARCH”)

Detailed descriptions of specific situation(s) using interviews, observations, document review

• How do people implement this program?• What challenges do people face? • What are people’s perceptions? Did the program cause any changes in participants’ outcomes?

Descriptive-Qualitative(Ethnography/ Case Study)

You describe things as they are.

Descriptive-Quantitative

Numerical descriptions (frequency, average)

• How many people are participating in this program?• What are the characteristics of people in this program? • How well did participants in this program do?

Did the program cause any changes in participants’ outcomes? Why did the program work this way?

You measure things as they are.

The basic steps of conducting a descriptive research...

selecting an appropriate sample of participants

collecting valid and reliable data

reporting conclusions

recognizing and identifying a topic to be studied

Step 1: Statement of the problem1. Do teachers hold favorable attitudes

toward using computers in schools?2. What is the best way to provide access

to computer equipment in schools? 3. What is generally the word-formation

process utilized in the formation of text- message registers?

Descriptive Research

Step 2: Identification of information needed to solve the problem

Step 3: Selection or development of instruments for gathering the information

1. surveys, 2. interviews,3. observations, and 4. portfolios

Kinds of Survey

CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY…

…involves collecting data from selected individuals in a single time period however long it takes to collect data from participants

LONGITUDINAL SURVEY……involves collecting data at two or more

instances in order to measure changes over time

SELF-REPORT SURVEY……requires individuals to respond to a

series of statements or questions about themselves

OBSERVATION STUDY……the researcher obtains data by

watching participants in a situation

TYPES OF SELF-REPORT ITEMS…scaled…ranked…checklist…free response

Step 4: Identification of target population and determination of sampling procedure

…use an appropriate sampling technique

…participants must be able to provide the desired information sought and willing to provide it to the researcher

Step 5: Design of procedure for information collection

Step 6: Collection of information

Step 7: Analysis of information

Step 8: Generalizations and/or predictions

Conducting a questionnaire study…

1. state the problem2. select participants3. construct the questionnaire4. prepare cover letter5. pretest questionnaire6. follow up activities7. analyze/report results

…include a brief statement describing the study and its purpose at the top of the instrument

…provide standardized directions …organize items leaving sufficient

white space on instrument

Designing an instrument…

…place similar items together…ask general, non-threatening items

first, moving into more specific, self-revealing items

…construct items according to a set of predetermined guidelines

…include only items relating directly to the purpose of the study

…avoid jargon or any term or concept that might mean different things to different people

SOME DO’S AND DON’T’S…

…each item should deal with a single concept and be worded as clearly as possible

…items should indicate a point of reference beyond the self in order to judge the self

…avoid ambiguous terms like several or usually

…avoid touchy matters in items which respondents might not respond to honestly or at all

…avoid leading questions which suggest that one response may be more appropriate than another

…each item must be able to stand on its own

…don’t jam items together…don’t put the most important

questions at the end of the instrument

prepare the cover letter……a brief, neat, explanation of the

significance of the study and what is being asked of the respondent and why

…addressed to the specific, potential respondent

…an endorsement adds credibility…guarantee anonymity or

confidentiality…include a specific deadline date by

which the completed instrument (“questionnaire”) is to be returned

…individually sign each letter…include a self-addressed, stamped,

return envelope

pretest the instrument……conduct a pilot study to gather

information about deficiencies and suggestions for improving the instrument

…provides greater content validity

follow-up activities……because first mailing results tend to

be low (30% - 50% response rate), researchers need strategies to increase the response rate

initial follow-up strategies to increase response rate up to 20%……send out reminder postcard…mail a second packet with a new,

positively worded cover letter and another self-addressed, stamped, return envelope

secondary follow-up strategies to increase response rate up to 10%……telephone nonrespondents to

encourage them to respond

dealing with nonrespondents…study whether nonrespondents differ

from respondents in some systematic way by selecting a sample from the nonrespondents

…telephone sample, aggregate data, include in report

dealing with nonresponses…study the items to determine the

problem with the item…include description of the

nonresponses and the determination of the reason in the report

analyze/report results……discriminant item analysis includes

giving the response rate for each item as well as the total sample size and the overall percentage of returns, since not all respondents will answer questions

…group items into clusters that address the same issue and develop total scores across an item cluster in order to avoid “information overload”

Conducting an interview study…

1. state the problem2. select participants3. construct the interview guide4. communicate professionally and

record responses accurately5. pretest interview procedure6. analyze/report results

1. STATE THE PROBLEM……topic must be of sufficient

significance to motivate individuals to participate and justify the research effort in the first place

…define topic in terms of specific objectives indicating the kind of information needed

2. SELECT PARTICIPANTS……use an appropriate sampling

technique…participants must be able to provide

the desired information sought and willing to provide it to the researcher

3. CONSTRUCT THE INTERVIEW INSTRUMENT (“INSTRUMENT GUIDE”)……indicates the question to be asked,

the order, and how much additional prompting or probing is permitted

…the goal is to obtain standardized, comparable data from each interviewee

4. COMMUNICATE PROFESSIONALLY AND RECORD RESPONSES ACCURATELY……effective interviewing requires

training and experience to avoid interviewer bias and interviewer error

…record responses manually on the interview guide

…(requires interviewee permission) use a tape recorder or VCR to verify accuracy of responses

5. PRETEST INTERVIEW PROCEDURE……use a small group from the same

population or a similar population to the one being studied to validate the interview instrument and the interviewer’s communication and recording skills

6. ANALYZE/REPORT RESULTS……item analysis includes giving the

response rate for each item, as well as the total sample size and the overall percentage of returns, since not every respondent will answer all questions

…also include in-depth data to open-ended interview items to portray responses in more accurate and honest terms

Conducting an observational study…

1. state the problem2. select participants3. define the observational variables4. record observations5. assess observer reliability6. reduce observer bias7. analyze/report results

1. STATE THE PROBLEM……topic must be of sufficient

significance to motivate potential respondents and justify the research effort in the first place

…define topic in terms of specific objectives indicating the kind of information needed

2. SELECT PARTICIPANTS……use an appropriate sampling

technique…participants must be able to provide

the desired information sought and willing to provide it to the researcher

3. DEFINE THE OBSERVATIONAL VARIABLES……operationalize the variables to be

observed in terms of specific behaviors that can be quantified

…ensure that the observations can be quantified in a way so that all observers will count the behavioral activities in exactly the same way

…simplify procedure for recording observations by developing a coding procedure

4. RECORD OBSERVATIONS……record behavior at the time it occurs…alternate observation periods and

recording periods

5. ASSESS OBSERVER RELIABILITY……use at least two observers who make

independent observations…compute interobserver reliability

6. REDUCE OBSERVER BIAS……train observers until a satisfactory

level of agreement is achieved (at least 80%)

…monitor observers

TYPES OF OBSERVER BIAS…response set…halo effect…knowledge of participants

response set…the tendency of an observer to rate

the majority of observees as above average, average, or below average regardless of the observees’ actual behavior

halo effect…the tendency of an observer’s initial

positive or negative impressions of the observee to affect subsequent observations

self-fulfilling prophecy…the tendency of an observer’s

knowledge of the observees or the purposes of the study to affect the observation(s)

Mini-Quiz…

True or false……in a descriptive research study, the

researcher predetermines what variables will be surveyed before selecting or observing the research participants

True

…one of the most difficult activities on the part of questionnaire researchers is to write or select questions that are clear and unambiguous

True

…longitudinal surveys are useful for studying the dynamics of a topic or issue over time

True

…one of the problems with longitudinal studies is that the samples tend to shrink as time goes by

True

…one of the problems with cross-sectional studies is selecting samples that truly represent the population at a particular level or ability

True

…an external review of an instrument provides the researcher greater assurance of it its content validity

True

…if the responses from respondents and nonrespondents are essentially the same, the researcher may assume that the response group is representative of the whole sample and that the survey results are generalizable

True

…if the responses from respondents and nonrespondents are different, the generalizability across both the respondent and nonrespondent groups is not present and must be discussed in the report

True

…bias can affect the validity of the interpretations in observational studies

True

Fill in the blank…

…a study requiring individuals to respond to a series of statements or questions about themselves

self-report study


…a study in which individuals are not directly asked for information but data is obtained as the researcher watches participants engage in a situation

observation study


…items on a survey that are answered by circling a letter, checking a list, or numbering preferences

close-ended items


…the researcher guarantees that no one, including the researcher, knows who completed each questionnaire

anonymity


…the researcher guarantees that no one, except the researcher, knows who completed each questionnaire and promises not to divulge that information

confidentiality


…the oral, in person administration of an instrument to each member of a sample

interview


…determining the current status of a phenomenon not through an instrument but as the researcher watches the participants engage in the activity being studied

observational study


…an observation in which the researcher watches behavior as it normally unfolds

naturalistic observation


…an observation in which the researcher creates a situation to be observed and tells participants what activities to engage in

simulation observation


…a coefficient found by dividing the total number of agreed observations by the total number of agreed and disagreed observations

inter-observer reliability


…a means by which observers record observations at the time it occurs by simplifying the recording process

coding


…a statistical approach that summarizes the results of many studies having investigate the same problem

meta-analysis

This module has focused on...

…which involves collecting data in order to test hypotheses or to answer questions about the opinions of people about some topic or issue

descriptive research

Educational Research: Descriptive Research

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