Week 7 Application Resubmitted

Applying the Appropriate Research Method

In determining which research method should be applied to the four scenarios described below, I reference the work of McMillan and Schumacher in Research in Education: Evidence-Based Inquiry (2008).

Scenario 1: Ten students are available for in-depth interviews. Participants will be selected based on their involvement with the peer mediation program. They will be observed over three weeks. Analysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.

McMillan and Schumacher explains phenomenology, “The typical technique is for the researcher to conduct long interview with the informants directed toward understanding their perspectives on their everyday lived experience with the phenomenon” (p.26). I believe that the qualitative research design of phenomenology should be implemented for this scenario. The researcher is trying to gain and understanding of the “phenomenon” of peer mediation and the issues that concern it by collecting data, in-depth interviews, that are narrative in nature.

Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.

I believe that the researcher in this scenario is implementing the True Experimental, quantitative research design. He/she is randomly assigning students to the two different groups. One group is receiving the intervention of peer mediation while peer mediation is withheld from the second group. McMillan and Schumacher explain the true experimental design.

The unique characteristic of a true experimental design is that there is random assignment of subjects to different groups. With random assignment, every subject used in the study has an equal chance of being in each group. This procedure, when carried out with a large enough sample size, helps ensure that there are no major differences between subjects in each group before intervention begins.

(p. 24)

Finally, the researcher analyzes numerical data, the number of office referrals received by subjects in each group, to determine the effect of peer mediation on the students’ behavior.

Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.

I believe that a mixed-methodology, exploratory research design should be implemented in this scenario. McMillan and Schumacher explain on page 28, “The purpose of … an explanatory design, is typically to use the initial qualitative phase with a few individuals to identify themes, ideas, perspectives, and beliefs that can then be used to design the larger-scale, quantitative part of the study.” Qualitative data can be collected on the students’ attitude about peer mediation. Once there is an understanding about the students’ attitude, the research can make certain adjustments to the peer mediation program or continue practices that seem to be successful. Finally, quantitative data, the number of office referrals, can be collected both before and after the adjustments are made. Analysis then can be done to determine if the adjustments lead to a decrease in the number of office referrals that are filed. There is a qualitative phase in the beginning that is used to later design a quantitative phase of the study.

Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.

The method that is used here is the Mixed-Method design of Triangulation. According to McMilan and Schumacher, in triangulation design, “… both qualitative and quantitative data are collected at about the same time” (p.28). The survey results make up the quantitative data while the qualitative results come from the interviews conducted. Both types of data are collected to make the most valid and appropriate conclusion about the feelings of those involved in the peer mediation process.

References

McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2008). Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson.

Applying the Appropriate Research Method

Scenario 1: Ten students are available for in-depth interviews. Participants will be selected based on their involvement with the peer mediation program. They will be observed over three weeks. Analysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.

I believe that the qualitative research design of phenomenology should be implemented for this scenario. The researcher is trying to gain and understanding of the “phenomenon” of peer mediation and the issues that concern it by collecting data that is narrative in nature.

Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.

I believe that the researcher in this scenario is implementing the True Experimental, quantitative research design. He/she is randomly assigning students to the two different groups. One group is receiving the intervention of peer mediation while peer mediation is withheld from the second group. Finally, the researcher analyzes numerical data, the number of office referrals received by subjects in each group, to determine the effect of peer mediation on the students’ behavior.

Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.

I believe that a mixed-methodology, exploratory research design should be implemented in this scenario. Qualitative data can be collected on the students’ attitude about peer mediation. Once there is an understanding about the students’ attitude, the research can make certain adjustments to the peer mediation program or continue practices that seem to be successful. Finally, quantitative data, the number of office referrals, can be collected both before and after the adjustments are made. Analysis then can be done to determine if the adjustments lead to a decrease in the number of office referrals that are filed. There is a qualitative phase in the beginning that is used to later design a quantitative phase of the study.

Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.

The method that is used here is the Mixed-Method design of Triangulation. Both qualitative and quantitative data are collected. The survey results make up the quantitative data while the qualitative results come from the interviews conducted. Both types of data are collected to make the most valid and appropriate conclusion about the feelings of those involved in the peer mediation process.

My Research Questions and Design

My Research Questions and Design

My problem statement is:

I plan to determine which approach, project-based learning, particularly with end products involving technology learning tools, or traditional quiz and test learning, results in higher end-of-year standardized test scores for tenth grade students.

What: Using project-based learning

Who: Tenth Grade Students

Why: The students' achievement on the living environment regents is a major factor that will influence whether or not the school will remain open. I need to determine and apply the most effective method of teaching the content in order to raise their test scores.

Research Questions:

- What is the effect of using technology as a learning tool on student achievement on standardized tests? (Descriptive)

- Is project-based learning more effective than traditional quiz and test learning? (Relationship)

- Given the same content, is there a difference in student achievement on standardized exams when student learning is assessed by projects as opposed to quizzes and tests? (Difference)

- Does student centered instruction, particularly project-based learning involving the use of technology tools, increase student achievement on standardized tests over teacher centered instruction? (Difference)

- Does software such as Eduware, which uses technology when students take quizzes and tests, increase student achievement on standardized tests scores over pen and paper tests and quiz taking methods?

Research Method:

For this study I plan on implementing the quantitative, non-experimental research design of secondary data analysis. I can analyze data that had been gathered by others, such as student standardized-test scores and compare the achievement among groups that were instructed using project-based learning and teacher centered instructional methods.

Revised Problem Statement

My Problem Statement

My problem statement is:

I plan to determine which approach, project-based learning, particularly with end products involving technology learning tools, or traditional quiz and test learning, results in higher end-of-year standardized test scores for tenth grade students.

What: Using project-based learning

Who: Tenth Grade Students

Why: The students' achievement on the living environment regents is a major factor that will influence whether or not the school will remain open. I need to determine and apply the most effective method of teaching the content in order to raise their test scores.