Research Methods and Research Questions

Objective 1. This assignment introduces you to 6 different methods for conducting research.
Objective 2. This assignment introduces you to how researchers write research questions/purposes for 6 different types of studies.
For this assignment, locate 1 article for each of the following 6 types of studies that relate to your research problem or what you are interested in researching for your research proposal. If you haven’t identified a research topic, this assignment may help you focus on a specific research interest. If you can’t find a study of a certain type that relates to your study directly, find a study that deals with your topic more indirectly.
For each study you locate, copy from the article the reference, the abstract, and the research questions/purrpose. To locate the research question, go into the PDF of the article and use the find command to search for “question”. Often times, the researchers will list their research questions. If so, simply copy and paste into a Word document. If question does not appear, look for a “Purpose” statement. Copy the purpose into the Word document
See the example below related to studies that look at mathematics. Types of Studies
1. Experiment (one of these terms should get you a type of experiment: true experiment, randomized controlled trial, cluster randomized controlled trial, quasi-experiment, or quantitative single case design)
2. Quantitative non-experimental (one of these terms should get you a type of quantitative, non- experimental design: correlational, causal predictors)
3. Meta-analysis
4. Metasynthesis or Meta-synthesis
5. Qualitative (one of these terms should get you a type of qualitative study: case study,
phenomenological, narrative, ethnography, narrative, life history)
6. Mixed Methods (one of these terms should get you a type of mixed method study: sequential
explanatory, sequential exploratory, Concurrent Triangulation Design, Concurrent Nested (Embedded)
Example
1. Quasi-experiment
Koedinger, K. R., McLaughlin, E. A., & Heffernan, N. T. (2010). A quasi-experimental evaluation of an on-line formative assessment and tutoring system. Journal of Educational Computing
Research, 43(4), 489–510. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/10.2190/EC.43.4.dLinks to an external site. (https://doi- org.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/10.2190/EC.43.4.dLinks%20to%20an%20external%20site.)
ASSISTments is a web-based math tutor designed to address the need for timely student assessment while simultaneously providing instruction, thereby avoiding lost instruction time that typically occurs during assessment. This article presents a quasi-experiment that evaluates whether ASSISTments use has an effect on improving middle school students’ year-end test scores. The data was collected from 1240 seventh graders in three treatment schools and one comparison school. Post-test (7th grade year-end test) results indicate, after adjusting for the pre-test (6th grade year-end test), that students in the treatment schools significantly outperformed students in the comparison school and the difference was especially present for special education students. A usage analysis reveals that greater student use of ASSISTments is associated with greater learning consistent with the hypothesis that it is useful as a tutoring system. We also found evidence consistent with the hypothesis that teachers adapt their whole class instruction based on overall.
Research Question: “Do students learn more from using the ASSISTments system, as measured by the MCAS test, than a group of comparison students who did not use ASSISTments?”
2. Correlational Design
Blankson, A. N., & Blair, C. (2016). Cognition and classroom quality as predictors of math achievement in the kindergarten year. Learning & Instruction, 41, 32–40. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.09.004)
Using a sample of 171 children, we examined classroom quality as a potential moderator of the link between three distinct but related aspects of cognition (fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and executive functioning) and math achievement across the kindergarten year. Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to account for nesting of students within classrooms. Results revealed significant aptitude by treatment interactions for fluid and crystallized intelligence, suggesting that classroom practices may affect children differently depending on their abilities. Children with higher levels of fluid intelligence and of crystallized intelligence fared better in higher quality classrooms. Results also provide some support for Cattell’s investment hypothesis. Implications of the results are discussed.
Purpose: “The primary aim of the present research was to examine the extent to which cognition at the start of kindergarten predicts math achievement in the spring of the child’s kindergarten year while controlling for fall math achievement and determine whether these effects differ across different levels of classroom quality.”
3. Meta-analysis
Graham, S., Kiuhara, S., & MacKay, M. (2020). The effects of writing on learning in science, social studies, and mathematics: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 90(2), 179-226. 003465432091474. 10.3102/0034654320914744.
This meta-analysis examined if students writing about content material in science, social studies, and mathematics facilitated learning (k = 56 experiments). Studies in this review were true or quasi- experiments (with pretests), written in English, and conducted with students in Grades 1 to 12 in which the writing-to-learn activity was part of instruction. Studies were not included if the control condition used writing to support learning (except when treatment students spent more time engaging in writing-to-learn activities), study attrition exceeded 20%, instructional time and content coverage differed between treatment and control conditions, pretest scores approached ceiling levels, letter grades were the learning outcome, and students attended a special school for students with disabilities. As predicted, writing about content reliably enhanced learning (effect size = 0.30). It was equally effective at improving learning in science, social studies, and mathematics as well as the learning of elementary, middle, and high school students. Writing-to-learn effects were not moderated by the features of writing activities, instruction, or assessment. Furthermore, variability in obtained effects were not related to features of study quality. Directions for future research and implications for practice are provided.
Research Questions:
“We asked the following research questions for students in Grades 1 to 12:
Research Question 1: Does writing about content material improve students’ learning (RQ1)?
Research Question 2: Do the effects of writing differ across science, social studies, and mathematics (RQ2)?
Research Question 3: Is there a relationship between magnitude of effects by grade level, features of the writing-to-learn activities, features of instruction, features of the assessments, type of treatment/control comparisons, and indices of study quality (RQ3)?”
4. Metasynthesis
Thomas, C. A., & Berry III, R. Q. (2019). A qualitative metasynthesis of culturally relevant pedagogy & culturally responsive teaching: Unpacking mathematics teaching practices. Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, 10(1), 21–30.
This article uses Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) as the theoretical frameworks and qualitative metasynthesis as the methodological framework to synthesize qualitative research published between 1994 and February of 2016. Initial searches produced 1,224 articles, but through a process of appraisals, 12 articles were synthesized to understand how researchers interpret mathematics teaching practices that support CRP and CRT in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. There were five findings focused on teacher practices, classroom interactions, and student experiences with CRP and CRT within mathematics education, including: caring, context, cultural competency, high expectations, and mathematics instruction.
Research Question: “How do researchers interpret mathematics teaching practices that support Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade?”
5. Qualitative (Case Study)
Mapolelo, D. C. (1999). Do pre-service primary teachers who excel in mathematics become good mathematics teachers? Teaching & Teacher Education, 15(6), 715–725. https://doi- (Links to an
external site.) (https://doi-/) org.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/10.1016/S0742-
The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature of pedagogical competency of three student teachers by comparing their planning, teaching and post-lesson reflections. The three student teachers were identified as outstanding in mathematics. Qualitative case study research methodology was used to collect, analyse and present data. Data collected from interviews, observations of each student teacher’s classroom teaching, and the field notes were used in summarising characteristics of these student teachers. The student teachers were observed
teaching mathematics for 1 week of instruction and were interviewed prior to and following each lesson presentation. Differences and similarities in thinking and actions were summarised under three categories; (a) their lesson planning process, (b) their instructional activities and (c) their reflections after teaching. Within each of these three areas, many commonalities were identified among the three student teachers. They were not yet skillful in improvising activities and explanations that could make children enhance their understanding of the concepts. Lack of ability to self-evaluate their teaching activities was evident among the student teachers. Despite their content knowledge competence and detailed written lesson plans, the student teachers’ lesson presentation was much less comprehensive. Their lesson explanations were more procedural than conceptual.
Purpose: “The purpose of this study is to characterise the commonality of three Botswana pre- service primary teachers who are outstanding in mathematics in terms of their performance, their conceptions of mathematics teaching (i.e., their pedagogical D.C. Mapolelo / Teaching and Teacher Education 15 (1999) 715}725 717 content knowledge) and their behaviours. The study focuses on the views and practices of these outstanding pre-service primary teachers as they relate to their student teaching experiences. The evidence I attempt to provide is descriptive in nature.”
6. Mixed Methods
Losenno, K. M., Muis, K. R., Munzar, B., Denton, C. A., & Perry, N. E. (2020). The dynamic roles of cognitive reappraisal and self-regulated learning during mathematics problem solving: A mixed methods investigation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61. https://doi- (Links to an external site.) (https://doi-/) org.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101869
Reciprocal relations between cognitive reappraisal and self-regulated learning were explored. • An explanatory mixed methods approach was used. • Results revealed that cognitive reappraisal predicted better self-regulated learning. • Effective self-regulated learning predicted better math problem-solving outcomes. • Cognitive reappraisal supports self-regulated learning and problem- solving outcomes. Emotion regulation (ER) and self-regulated learning (SRL) are crucial to learners’ academic achievements. To date, little research has considered the dynamic relations cognitive reappraisal (as a form of ER) and SRL in middle-to-upper-elementary-aged children. To address this gap, we conducted an explanatory mixed-methods study to examine relations between cognitive reappraisal, the four macro phases of SRL (task definition, planning/goal setting, enactment of learning strategies, monitoring/evaluation), and mathematics problem-solving outcomes in a sample of 134 elementary students from grades 3 through 6. Path analysis revealed that cognitive reappraisal positively predicted all four phases of SRL, but that the four phases of SRL did not predict cognitive reappraisal. Moreover, both task definition and planning/goal setting positively predicted enactment and monitoring/evaluation. Results from path analyses further revealed that task definition mediated relations between cognitive reappraisal and enactment, and reappraisal and monitoring. Enactment mediated relations between reappraisal and mathematics problem-solving outcomes. Finally, enactment predicted mathematics problem-solving outcomes. Further, quantitative results were cross-validated by results from trend analyses; results converged regarding the weakly sequenced nature of SRL and with regard to cognitive reappraisal serving as an important antecedent for effective SRL.
Research Questions: “Our specific research questions were as follows:
(1) Does a weakly sequenced model of SRL fit better than one in which the four phases of SRL work
in parallel during mathematics problem solving?
(2) What is the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and the four phases of SRL (task definition, planning/goal setting, enactment of learning strategies, monitoring/evaluation)?
(3) Do the four phases of SRL mediate relations between cognitive reappraisal and complex mathematics problem-solving outcomes?”(99)00012-8