Comprehensive Exam Flashcards
Degrees of Freedom
Subtraction to get a good number.
Action Research
Is used to solve an immediate problem in your classroom.
Ex: fix bad behavior of students.
*not generalized to the larger population
Nominal
Basic classification by assigning something a number.
Ex: men: 1; women: 2
Independent Variables
Is manipulated by the research to see how it effects the dependent variable.
Symbols for a Sample
n= population s= standard deviation s^2= variance x(bar)= mean Data= statistic
Quasi-Experimental
Uses INTACT GROUPS (i.e., a whole class not a random sample.) Uses variables Similar to Experimental except the sample methods are different.
Hawthorne Effect
People who are being watched are more likely to change their behavior.
Subjects knew they were being watched and performed better.
Case Study
Looking at a particular group or person.
Done through observations of the subject(s).
Ratio
Provides an absolute 0 (zero).
Ex: a person who is 60 is twice as old as a person who is 30.
Incidental Sample
Similar to a cluster sample in that you use whoever is present in that moment.
Systematic Sample
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.
Directional Hypothesis
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.
Continuous Variables
Variables that go in (i.e., 3.1, 3.2, 3.3,…)
Discrete Variables
Variables that are full numbers (i.e., 3, 4, 5,…)
Quantitative Research
Involves numbers Experimental Uses variables Deductive reasoning Random sample
Dependent Variable
Effected by the independent variable. (It is dependent upon it)
-it changes based on how the independent variable is manipulated throughout the research.
Validity
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.
Reliability
Internal Reliability: use the same group and get SIMILAR results
External Reliability: use a different group and get SIMILAR results
Interval
Measurement scale that has no absolute zero
Ex: a thermometer
Measures of Central Tendency
Mean: average
Median: midpoint
Mode: number that occurs most often ( bi-modal, or tri-modal)
Variance
A step used to get to the standard deviation
Generalizability
Results can be applied to the larger population.
Ordinal
Measurement scale that puts things in order.
Population symbols
N= population Sigma= standard deviation Sigma ^2= variance Mu= mean Data= parameter
Histogram
A visual diagram consisting of rectangles whose area is directly related to the frequency of the scores.
Convenience Sample
A sample that takes the group as it is.
Ex: a whole class, grade level, district, etc.)
-becomes quasi-experimental
Extraneous Variables/Constants
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.
Stratified Sample
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.
Research Threats
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)
External Validity a Threats
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.
Basic Research
Is theory research, adding to one’s theory base.
Does not involve children
Frequency Distribution
How often people got each particular score.
- 5 people got 10, 3 got 8, etc.
Frequency Polygon
A visual representation of the frequency distribution or how many people got each score.
Measures of Variability
Range (highest - lowest)+1
Variance
Standard Deviation
Purposeful Sample
The people who are selected to participate in the sample are chosen to participate on purpose.
Standard Deviation
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)
Difference between Quasi-Experimental and Experimental research
Quasi-Experimental uses an intact group for the sample.
Experimental uses a random sample.
Null Hypothesis
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”
Alternative Hypothesis
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”
John Henry Effect
Competition drives people to do better.
Applied Research
Research done within a classroom to see if something will change.
Ex: will spelling book “B” increase spelling test scores vs. spelling book “A”
P Level
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.
Measurement Scale
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Random Sample
Everyone has an equal opportunity at being selected to participate in the sample.
Non-Experimental
Expost facto (after the fact)
Correlational (surveys)
Causal comparative
Inferential Research
Use the sample to infer about the larger population and draw conclusions.
Descriptive Research
Used to describe characteristics of the population being studied.
- does not answer how/when/why the characteristics occurred
- addresses the “what” question
Range
(Highest-lowest)+1
Qualitative Research
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.
