Comprehensive Exam

Question 0

Degrees of Freedom

Answer 0

Subtraction to get a good number.

Question 1

Action Research

Answer 1

Is used to solve an immediate problem in your classroom.
Ex: fix bad behavior of students.
*not generalized to the larger population

Question 2

Nominal

Answer 2

Basic classification by assigning something a number.

Ex: men: 1; women: 2

Question 3

Independent Variables

Answer 3

Is manipulated by the research to see how it effects the dependent variable.

Question 4

Symbols for a Sample

Answer 4

n= population
s= standard deviation
s^2= variance 
x(bar)= mean
Data= statistic

Question 5

Quasi-Experimental

Answer 5

Uses INTACT GROUPS (i.e., a whole class not a random sample.)
Uses variables
Similar to Experimental except the sample methods are different.

Question 6

Hawthorne Effect

Answer 6

People who are being watched are more likely to change their behavior.
Subjects knew they were being watched and performed better.

Question 7

Case Study

Answer 7

Looking at a particular group or person.

Done through observations of the subject(s).

Question 8

Ratio

Answer 8

Provides an absolute 0 (zero).

Ex: a person who is 60 is twice as old as a person who is 30.

Question 9

Incidental Sample

Answer 9

Similar to a cluster sample in that you use whoever is present in that moment.

Question 10

Systematic Sample

Answer 10

Use a system to get a sample, also known as the Kth.
Used to select the number of people to participate.
*problem: it does not provide much variety among the sample.
Ex: list out the people and select every 4th person.

Question 11

Directional Hypothesis

Answer 11

A hypothesis that states that there is a difference/relationship and identifies what that difference will be.
Ex: spelling book”A” is better than spelling book “B”
-hypothesizes a difference in the results.

Question 12

Continuous Variables

Answer 12

Variables that go in (i.e., 3.1, 3.2, 3.3,…)

Question 13

Discrete Variables

Answer 13

Variables that are full numbers (i.e., 3, 4, 5,…)

Question 14

Quantitative Research

Answer 14

Involves numbers
Experimental
Uses variables
Deductive reasoning
Random sample

Question 15

Dependent Variable

Answer 15

Effected by the independent variable. (It is dependent upon it)
-it changes based on how the independent variable is manipulated throughout the research.

Question 16

Validity

Answer 16

Internal Validity: The research was done well/right.
External Validity: results can be generalized to the larger population.

*i did good research therefore it can be generalized to the larger population.

Question 17

Reliability

Answer 17

Internal Reliability: use the same group and get SIMILAR results
External Reliability: use a different group and get SIMILAR results

Question 18

Interval

Answer 18

Measurement scale that has no absolute zero

Ex: a thermometer

Question 19

Measures of Central Tendency

Answer 19

Mean: average
Median: midpoint
Mode: number that occurs most often ( bi-modal, or tri-modal)

Question 20

Variance

Answer 20

A step used to get to the standard deviation

Question 21

Generalizability

Answer 21

Results can be applied to the larger population.

Question 22

Ordinal

Answer 22

Measurement scale that puts things in order.

Question 23

Population symbols

Answer 23

N= population
Sigma= standard deviation
Sigma ^2= variance
Mu= mean
Data= parameter

Question 24

Histogram

Answer 24

A visual diagram consisting of rectangles whose area is directly related to the frequency of the scores.

Question 25

Convenience Sample

Answer 25

A sample that takes the group as it is. Ex: a whole class, grade level, district, etc.) -becomes quasi-experimental

Question 26

Extraneous Variables/Constants

Answer 26

Something that remains the same (i.e., grade level, subject, etc.) -it is not the primary focus of the research but it can get in the way of the results and therefore is held constant.

Question 27

Stratified Sample

Answer 27

Place possible participants into different stratas and select an equal number from each to create a sample. Ex: men = 5; women = 20. Must select five from each strata. Creates an equal number of male and female participants.

Question 28

Research Threats

Answer 28

History Testing (pre-test can effect the post-test) Volunteers (those who volunteer are more likely to do better) Instrumentation (using the wrong research method)

Question 29

External Validity a Threats

Answer 29

Hawthorne Effect: being watched effects actions. John Henry Effect: competition drives people to do better. -these prevent results from being generalized to the larger population.

Question 30

Basic Research

Answer 30

Is theory research, adding to one's theory base. | Does not involve children

Question 31

Frequency Distribution

Answer 31

How often people got each particular score. | - 5 people got 10, 3 got 8, etc.

Question 32

Frequency Polygon

Answer 32

A visual representation of the frequency distribution or how many people got each score.

Question 33

Measures of Variability

Answer 33

Range (highest - lowest)+1 Variance Standard Deviation

Question 34

Purposeful Sample

Answer 34

The people who are selected to participate in the sample are chosen to participate on purpose.

Question 35

Standard Deviation

Answer 35

The mean distance from the mean derived from the variance. | that shows where a person lies on a graph in regards to the average of the population (above/below)

Question 36

Difference between Quasi-Experimental and Experimental research

Answer 36

Quasi-Experimental uses an intact group for the sample. | Experimental uses a random sample.

Question 37

Null Hypothesis

Answer 37

A hypothesis that states that there is no difference hypothesized in the results. Ex: there is no difference between spelling book "A" and spelling book "B"

Question 38

Alternative Hypothesis

Answer 38

A hypothesis that hypothesizes a difference in the results but does not specify what the difference is. Ex: there is a difference between spelling book "A" and spelling book "B"

Question 39

John Henry Effect

Answer 39

Competition drives people to do better.

Question 40

Applied Research

Answer 40

Research done within a classroom to see if something will change. Ex: will spelling book "B" increase spelling test scores vs. spelling book "A"

Question 41

P Level

Answer 41

The level at which we reject the null hypothesis as being a true hypothesis. 5% of the time the null hypothesis could be rejected. If the P Level is greater than 5% it is rejected, if it is less than it is true.

Question 42

Measurement Scale

Answer 42

Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio

Question 43

Random Sample

Answer 43

Everyone has an equal opportunity at being selected to participate in the sample.

Question 44

Non-Experimental

Answer 44

Expost facto (after the fact) Correlational (surveys) Causal comparative

Question 45

Inferential Research

Answer 45

Use the sample to infer about the larger population and draw conclusions.

Question 46

Descriptive Research

Answer 46

Used to describe characteristics of the population being studied. - does not answer how/when/why the characteristics occurred - addresses the "what" question

Question 47

Range

Answer 47

(Highest-lowest)+1

Question 48

Qualitative Research

Answer 48

Descriptive, narrative, observational. (Answer: "what's happening?" - none experimental - naturally occurring (in a natural setting) with an emergent design - generally has no hypothesis - historical, interviews, ethnographic.