Research Problems

Week 2

TSR 3013
Discussion Topics

 Research problems
 Quantitative research problems

 Qualitative research problems

 Ethics of Educational Research

TSR 3013
Research Problems

 One or more sentences indicating the

goal, purpose, or overall direction of the
study
 General characteristics
 Implies the possibility of empirical
investigation
 Identifies a need for the research
 Provides focus
 Provides a concise overview of the
research TSR 3013
Research Problems

 Two ways of stating the problem

 Research problems: typically a rather general overview
of the problem with just enough information about the
scope and purpose of the study to provide an initial
understanding of the research
 Research statements and/or questions: more specific,
focused statements and questions that communicate
in greater detail the nature of the study

TSR 3013
Research Problems
 A general research problem
 The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes of
high school students to mandated drug testing programs
 Specific statements and questions
 This study examines the differences between males’ and
females’ attitudes toward mandated high school drug
testing programs.
 What are the differences between freshmen, sophomore,
junior, and senior students’ attitudes toward mandated high
school drug testing programs?

TSR 3013
Research Problems

 Researchable and non-researchable problems

 Researchable problems imply the possibility of
empirical investigation
 What are the achievement and social skill differences
between children attending an academically or
socially oriented pre-school program?
 What is the relationship between teachers’ knowledge
of assessment methods and their use of them?

TSR 3013
Research Problems

 Researchable and non-researchable problems

 Non-researchable problems include explanations of
how to do something, vague propositions, and value-
based concerns
 Is democracy a good form of government?

 Should values clarification be taught in public

schools?
 Can crime be prevented?

 Should physical education classes be dropped from

the
high school curriculum?
TSR 3013
Research Problems

 Quantitative problems  Qualitative problems

 Specific  General
 Closed  Open
 Static  Evolving
 Outcome oriented  Process oriented
 Use of specific
variables

TSR 3013
Research Problems
 Sources of research problems
 Personal interests and experiences
 The use of formative tests in a statistics class
 The use of technology in a research class
 Deductions from theory
 The effectiveness of math manipulatives
 The effectiveness of a mastery approach to
learning
research

TSR 3013
Research Problems
 Sources of research problems
 Replication of studies
 Checking the findings of a major study
 Checking the validity of research findings with different
subjects
 Checking trends or changes over time
 Checking important findings using different
methodologies
 Clarification of contradictory results

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems

 Identifies three specific elements

 The type of research design
 The variables of interest and the
relationships between or among these
variables
 The subjects involved in the study

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Variables
 A variable is a label of name that represents
a concept or characteristic that varies (e.g.,
gender, weight, achievement, attitudes
toward inclusion, etc.)
 Conceptual and operational definitions of
variables

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Conceptual and operational definitions of
variables
 Conceptual (i.e., constitutive) definition: the use of
words or concepts to define a variable
 Achievement: what one has learned from formal
instruction
 Aptitude: one’s capability for performing a particular
task or skill
 Operational definition: an indication of the meaning of
a variable through the specification of the manner by
which it is measured, categorized, or controlled
 A test score
 Income levels above and below $45,000 per year
 The use of holistic or phonetic
TSR 3013 language instruction
Quantitative Research
Problems

 Three types of variables defined by the

context within which the variable is
discussed
 Independent and dependent variables
 Extraneous and confounding variables
 Continuous and categorical variables

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Independent and dependent (i.e., cause and
effect)
 Independent variables act as the “cause” in that they
precede, influence, and predict the dependent variable
 Dependent variables act as the effect in that they
change as a result of being influenced by an
independent variable
 Examples
 The effect of two instructional approaches (independent
variable) on student achievement (dependent variable)
 The use of SAT scores (independent variable) to predict
freshman grade point averages (dependent variable)
TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Extraneous and confounding variables
 Extraneous variables are those that affect the
dependent variable but are not controlled adequately
by the researcher
 Not controlling for the key-boarding skills of students
in a
study of computer-assisted instruction
 Confounding variables are those that vary
systematically with the independent variable and
exert influence of the dependent variable
 Not using counselors with similar levels of experience
in a study comparing the effectiveness of two
counseling approaches
TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Continuous and categorical variables
 Continuous variables are measured on a scale
that theoretically can take on an infinite number of
values
 Test scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 100
 Attitude scales that range from very negative at 0 to
very positive at 5
 Students’ ages

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Continuous and categorical variables
 Categorical variables are measured and assigned to
groups on the basis of specific characteristics
 Examples
 Gender: male and female
 Socio-economic status: low middle, and high
 The term level is used to discuss the groups or
categories
 Gender has two levels - male and female
 Socio-economic status has three levels - low, middle, and
high

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Continuous and categorical variables
 Continuous variables can be converted to categorical
variables, but categorical variables cannot be converted to
continuous variables
 IQ is a continuous variable, but the researcher can choose
to group students into three levels based on IQ scores -
low is below a score of 84, middle is between 85 and 115,
and high is above 116
 Test scores are continuous, but teachers typically assign
letter grades on a ten point scale (i.e., at or below 59 is
an F, 60 to 69 is a D, 70 to 79 is a C, 80-89 is a B, and
90 to 100 is an A

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Hypotheses
 Hypotheses are tentative statements of the
expected relationships between two or more
variables
 There is a significant positive relationship between
self-concept and math achievement
 The class using math manipulatives will show
significantly higher levels of math achievement
than the class using a traditional algorithm
approach

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Reasons for using hypotheses
 To provide specific focus
 To provide for the testing of the relationships
between variables
 To direct the investigation
 To allow the investigator to confirm or not confirm
relationships

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Reasons for using hypotheses
 To provide a framework for reporting the results
and explanations deriving from them
 When supported, provides empirical evidence of
the predictive nature of the relationships between
variables
 To provide a useful framework for organizing and
summarizing the results and conclusions

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Two types of hypotheses
 Inductive and deductive
 Inductive hypotheses are formed through
inductively reasoning from many specific
observations to tentative explanations
 Deductive hypotheses are formed through
deductively reasoning implications of theory

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Two types of hypotheses
 Research or statistical
 Research hypotheses are conjectural statements of
the expected results
 Directional
 Non-directional
 Statistical hypotheses are statements of a
relationship or
difference that can be tested statistically
 Null hypothesis
 Alternative hypothesis

TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Criteria for evaluating research hypotheses
 Stated in declarative form
 Consistent with known facts, prior research, or
theory
 Logical extension of the research problem
 States an expected relationship between two or
more variables
 Can be tested
 Is clear and concise

TSR 3013
Qualitative Research Problems
 Identifies a central phenomena (i.e., an issue or
process) being investigated
 Examples of issues
 Drug abuse in high schools
 Teacher burnout
 Alienation of children with special needs
 Examples of processes
 How teachers change to standards-based curricula
 How students react to high stakes testing programs
 How students incorporate teachers’ expectations into
their
studies
TSR 3013
Quantitative Research
Problems
 Criteria for evaluating quantitative
research problems
 Problem is researchable
 Problem is important
 Problem should indicate the type of research
 Problem specifies the population being
investigated
 Problem specifies the variables and the
relationships between or among them

TSR 3013
Qualitative Research Problems
 Characteristics
 Includes a single, central phenomena
 Open-ended
 General in nature
 Evolving, that is, problems change as data is
collected and reflected upon
 Foreshadowed problems
 Emerging and reformulated questions
 Neutral with respect to what will be learned
 No predictions
 No expected outcomes

TSR 3013
Qualitative Research Problems
 Criteria for evaluating qualitative research
problems
 The problem should not be too general or too specific
 The problem should be amenable to change as data
are collected and analyzed
 The problem should not be biased with restrictive
assumptions or desired findings
 The problem should be written in “how” and “what”
forms to focus on describing the phenomena
 The problem should include a central question as well
as the participants and the site

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational Research
 Ethical considerations are an important part
of research.
 Researchers must be aware of and attend to
ethical considerations.
 Two main overarching ethical rules guide
researchers.
 Participants should not be harmed.
 Researchers obtain participants’ informed
consent.

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational Research

 Most societies for behavioral researchers

have similar codes for ethical research
largely due to the National Research Act
of 1974 which Created a code for the
protection of human subjects.

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational Research

 Most institutions have review groups that

assure participant protections.
 IRB (Institutional Review Board) or HSRC
(Human Subjects Review Committee)
 Researchers must submit their
proposal
for review and approval.

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational Research

 Informed consent and protection from

harm
 Research participants must not be harmed in
any way
 Physically, mentally, socially

 Research participants freely agree to

participate
 Informed consent: Researchers
provide information about the study and any
potential dangers

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational Research
 Researchers ensure freedom from harm
 No undue risks
 Personal privacy and confidentiality
 Limit access of data to those who ‘need to know’
 Participants’ involvement should not be reported

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational
Research
 Anonymity
 Study participants have complete
anonymity when their identities are
unknown to the researcher.
 Confidentiality
 Study participants are known to
researcher but are not disclosed.
 e.g., removing names from data

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational Research

The Buckley Amendment (The Family

Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974)
 Data that identifies a student is not available
without written permission
 Must describe what data, for what purposes, and to
whom

TSR 3013
Ethics of Educational Research
 Deception poses an ethical dilemma. If the
participants know the purpose of a study, it
may change their behavior.
 e.g., gender, race, attitudes, medical status
 When a study must use deception it causes
problems for informed consent. These
types of studies must undergo strict ethical
review.

TSR 3013
Ethics of Qualitative Research
 In addition to ethics of educational research
generally, qualitative research often poses
additional ethical challenges.
 The nature of the research changes so informed
consent is challenging.
 The close relationship between the researcher
and the participant may allow the researcher to
know personal and perhaps ill-acts of the
participant that may pose ethical challenges.

TSR 3013
Ethical Guideposts
 A researcher should have an ethical
perspective with regard to the research
that is very close to her personal ethical
position.
 Informed consent should be obtained
through a dialogue between the
researcher and the participants.

TSR 3013
Ethical Guideposts
 Be cognizant of the broader social
principles that define your ethical stance.
Potential results do not drive ethical
standards.
 Minimize the potential for harm to your
participants.
 Attend to confidentiality and omit
deception.

TSR 3013