690+anything+else?

We've covered everything on Marcie's study guide, but is there anything else we should study?

Types of Studies Research Process Quantitative/Categorical Variables Indep./Dep.Variables Hypothesis Top of Page

from Fraenkel/Wallen

3 different types of studies:

A. **descriptive studies** precursors to more scientific / experimental designs, to understand the people, word picture, great for visualizing a situation

B. **associational studies:** looking at relationships, is there a relationship betw. x and y NOT if x causes y, not causal. data already exist, so looking at reading tests/data, on another test of a similar kind, socioeconomic, characteristics of people, whether people differ in performance

C. **intervention studies**: where we manipulate the situation, two different modalities to implement a lesson, measure the ability before and after, built around random sampling

from Fraenkel/Wallen top of page the research process

1. statement of resarch problem problem statement followed by description of background of the problem, what factors caused it, and rationale/justification for studying it.

2. hypothesis : prediction, statement of results expected, indicate relationships betw. variables (factors, characteristics, conditions),

3. definitions: all key terms in problem statement/hypothesis should be defined clearly

4. Review of related lit; brief summary of other studies; lit review shed light on what is known, and why this study would be an extension

5. sample: subjects and larger group or population should be id'd. sampling plan should be described.

6. instrumentation: measuring instruments described in detail, and rationale given for their use

7. procedures: specifice procedure begin to end in detail, time schedule outline, all materials described, general design.

8. data analysis: statistical techniques should be described, comparison made clear

from Fraenkel/Wallen variables: def'n and classificat'n top of page

A relationship is a statement about variables variable: a concept, nouns standing for a variation within a class of objects if all members of a class are identical then there is no variable identical are called constants

variables are classified: 1. quantitative variables: to some degree on a continuum of less to more, assign numbers to indicate how much of the variable they possess, example height, weight, or interest level (very interested, slightly interested, ...) no all or none

2. categorical variables: do not vary but are qualitatively different. (eye color, gender, religion, occupation,...) either one or the other

categorical variable: a category like zip codes, men/women, city names, you would never find the mean NOT age, house square footage, test scores, height/weight

educational research usually:

2 quantitative variables: age and amount of interest in school, reading achievement and math achievement, amount of time watching TV and aggression

OR

one categorical and one quantitative variable: counseling approach and level of anxiety, nationality and liking school, student gender and praise from teacher

OR two categorical variables: ethnicity and dad's job, gender of teacher and subject taught

from Fraenkel/Wallen top of page Independent v. dependent variables:

independent variables: believed to affect another variable, purposely selected for that reason, can be manipulated (created) (manipulated variables, experimental variables, treatment variables) or selected, differences, statis (stays the same like gender, race), type of instruction

dependent variable: the variable the independent will affect, things that's measured like scores outcome variable:

moderator variable: indept, secondary indept, modifies relationship betw. primary indept variable and dept variable

extraneous variables: other variables that can affect the ones under study, indept and have not been controlled, try to hold extraneous by holding them constant, think about how to control their possible effects, must account for it statisticlly so you have to try to control it

@http://psy.st-andrews.ac.uk/resources/glossary.shtml Indep. variable: The variable manipulated by the experimenter. It is a feature of a task given to subjects, or a manipulation of the external or internal environment. Internal environment refers to attitudes, beliefs etc.

Dependent Variable: The selected behavior which is measured to try to gauge the effect of the independent variable in an experimental design.

top of page @http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/help/user_guide/graph/variables.asp Many people have trouble remembering which is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable. An easy way to remember is to insert the names of the two variables you are using in this sentence in they way that makes the most sense. Then you can figure out which is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable: (Independent variable) causes a change in (Dependent Variable) and it isn't possible that (Dependent Variable) could cause a change in (Independent Variable). (Time Spent Studying) causes a change in (Test Score) and it isn't possible that (Test Score) could cause a change in (Time Spent Studying). We see that "Time Spent Studying" must be the independent variable and "Test Score" must be the dependent variable because the sentence doesn't make sense the other way around.
 * Question:** What's an independent variable?
 * Answer:** An independent variable is exactly what it sounds like. It is a variable that stands alone and isn't changed by the other variables you are trying to measure. For example, someone's age might be an independent variable. Other factors (such as what they eat, how much they go to school, how much television they watch) aren't going to change a person's age. In fact, when you are looking for some kind of relationship between variables you are trying to see if the independent variable causes some kind of change in the other variables, or dependent variables.
 * Question:** What's a dependent variable?
 * Answer:** Just like an independent variable, a dependent variable is exactly what it sounds like. It is something that depends on other factors. For example, a test score could be a dependent variable because it could change depending on several factors such as how much you studied, how much sleep you got the night before you took the test, or even how hungry you were when you took it. Usually when you are looking for a relationship between two things you are trying to find out what makes the dependent variable change the way it does.
 * For example:**

top of page __**Independent & Dependent Variables**__ http://www.uncp.edu/home/collierw/ivdv.htm

In an experiment, the //independent variable// is the variable that is varied or manipulated by the researcher, and the //dependent variable// is the response that is measured.
 * Independent Variables (IV) & Dependent Variables (DV)**

The following is a hypothesis for a study. 1. "There will be a statistically significant difference in graduation rates of at-risk high-school seniors who participate in an intensive study program as opposed to at-risk high-school seniors who do not participate in the intensive study program." (LaFountain & Bartos, 2002, p. 57) The following is a description of a study. 2. "A director of residential living on a large university campus is concerned about the large turnover rate in resident assistants. In recent years many resident assistants have left their positions before completing even 1 year in their assignments. The director wants to identify the factors that predict commitment as a resident assistant (defined as continuing in the position a minimum of 2 years). The director decides to assess knowledge of the position, attitude toward residential policies, and ability to handle conflicts as predictors for commitment to the position." (LaFountain & Bartos, 2002, p. 8)
 * Some Examples of Independent and Dependent Variables**
 * IV:** Participation in intensive study program. **DV:** Graduation rates.
 * IV:** knowledge of position, attitude toward policies, and ability to handle conflicts. **DV:** commitment to position (continuing in position for 2 years or not continuing).

from Marcie's study session:

dependent /independent ex. methods they are taught (indep.) test afterwards (depend.) what's being measured whether perception or performance is dependent what's being manipulated is independent

top of page from Frankel/Wallen ch. 3

research question into a hypothesis (statement/sentence)
 * hypothesis**: prediction of possible outcomes

advantage of stating a hypothesis: 1. deeper understanding 2. lets you predict based on prior knowledge or research disadvantage of stating hypothesis: 1. may lead to bias 2. might be unnecessary or inappropriate 3. may prevent researcher from noticing other phenomena

a significant hypothesis means it may lead to more useful knowledge

directional hypothesis: specific direction, higher, lower, more, less that is expected to emerge nondirectional hypothesis: does not make this type of prediction