These are all the core readings for the Quiz. I have included all Quiz readings, plus the seminar notes, as well as the guided readings for further referencing. They are useful for identifying the different types of methods used in research and its strengths and weaknesses. Just skim through them and if you find anything you can add to the quiz notes just reference them. Other than that, don’t worry about going too deep, just need to show a thorough understanding of the readings whilst answering the key questions. You can just use dot points if you like to write your answers in.
I have done Johnson’s readings (Quiz 1) as well as Connell’s (Quiz 6) and I will also do Darling-Hammond’s article (Quiz 4a), there is only 2 more left, just Freebody & Zhang (Quiz 3) and Kupchik & Bracy (Quiz 4). It would help if you like to focus on 2 core readings that you want to compare such as Johnson’s article and use that for comparing the types of evidence. Questions that need to be answered are as follows: 1. What does it mean to comment on the significance of the research problem? Answer: In order to comment on the significance of the problem you must understand the nature of the problem and how it is defined in the research paper you are analyzing. You might answer this question by asking, who is it a problem for? How widespread is the problem? Who will benefit from research? Why is it necessary to undertake research? 1. 2. What does it mean to describe the main features of the research design, including its strengths and limitations? The research design or research methodology is the approach that is developed by a researcher to answer a research question. All scholarly research should be conducted in a systematic, rigorous and ethical way. However, each research design adopts different kinds of methods, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, that match the question being investigated (see 1 above). The chapter by O’Toole (2009) will help you to distinguish between some of the main types of methodologies. When you describe the main features of the research design you should answer questions appropriate to the methodology. For example, in survey research, you should describe the type of sampling (random or convenience), and in interview research you should describe whether the questions are open-ended or closed. The purpose of a research design is to collect evidence that will answer a research question. All research methodologies have strengths (things they do well) and limitations (things they don’t do well). When you list the strengths and limitations of a research design, you are not expected to comment on something that the methodology is not intended to do. For example, it is not necessary to state that qualitative research is limited because it generally does not involve large numbers of participants. An acknowledged feature of qualitative research is that it does not produce findings of a general nature because it involves in-depth analysis of a small number of carefully chosen cases.Bourke (2008) compares the emphases, or strengths of quantitative, mixed methods and qualitative research in Table 2.1. A weakness maybe something that is missing, such as the perspective of an important group. For example, students are often excluded from research in education. Flick (2002) describes some qualitative methodologies and the specific limitations of each method. Different types of methods also have strengths and limitations. Cohen (2000) lists the strengths and weaknesses of different types of interviews in Table 15.3. 2. 4. What does it mean to critically evaluate the suitability of the research design to the research problem? In order to answer this question, you first need to identify the research problem (see Q 1 above). A critical evaluation of the suitability of the research design assesses what is gained and lost by the approach taken. It might also involve an assessment of alternative approaches to investigating the question. The Week 4 seminar notes list some research methods and examples of questions for the topic computer games in primary school. For example, correlational & causal-comparative questions seek to establish relationships and possible natural differences. Questions might include: What are the differences between girls’ and boys’ computer game choices in primary school?; What is the effect of the family’s SES on primary school students’ choices of computer games?; What is the relationship between primary students’ attitudes towards computer games and computer. Whereas, ethnographic questions look for cultural patterns and perspectives in specific natural settings. An example of an ethnographic question is: What are cultural norms and practices in eGamerscommunity of primary school children? The Week 4 worksheet also details the logical chain between research questions/aims, methods, data sources and data analysis techniques. Hence, the correlational & causal-comparative questions above would require research designs that include surveys, measurement instruments (tests, questionnaires), while the ethnographic questions would require research designs that include observations, field notes, interviews, focus groups, documents, etc. When you critically evaluate suitability of the research design to the research problem you demonstrate an understanding of these logical chains. 4. What does it mean to compare the types of evidence produced by different research designs. Answer: This question asks you to do two things (1) identify the evidence produced by the research paper you will be given in the quiz. For example, is the evidence numerical in nature and the result of responses to a survey, or perhaps test results or some type of documentary analysis? Is the evidence qualitative in nature and the result of interviews, or perhaps observations conducted as part of an ethnographic study? (2) You must compare the type of evidence you identify with in the given article with at least one research article which can be (but not limited to) one of the other core readings. You should compare the nature of the evidence and the kinds of conclusions that can be drawn. Even when the evidence is suited to the research design, the data is not always of sufficient quality, or comprehensive enough, or detailed enough to answer the research question. The six studies handout that you complete in the Week 3 tutorial will help you to identify different types of evidence associated with different kinds of research designs.. 5. What does it mean to assess the validity and reliability or trustworthiness of the research design?Answer: In quantitative research, validity is enhanced when the research design measures what it purports to measure. In qualitative research, validity is enhanced when the research design accounts accurately for the social phenomena being investigated. In quantitative research, reliability is enhanced when there is stability and consistency in how the research technique/ instrument measures the phenomenon. In qualitative research, reliability is enhanced different researchers or observers (or the same observers on different occasions) make the same observations or collect the same data about the same object of study. To answer this question well, you need to assess the type of reliability and validity that is relevant and needed for each research design (see Week 4 Reliability, validity and trustworthiness.doc ) 6. What does it mean to identify relevant ethical issues and discuss if these are appropriately addressed in the research design? Answer: There is no one solution.to identifying and addressing ethical issues in research involving human participants (there are also ethical issues associated in research involving animals but these are not generally relevant to research in education). Ethical concerns and measures to address them depend of the nature of research, methods, setting, etc. Ethical concerns exist in almost every stage/aspect of researchprocess, refer to the seminar handout.doc in week 6 details. Not all research papers describe the specific measures adopted to address ethical issues. Hence, when answering this question, you are not required to know these details, but to be able to anticipate the ethical issues associated with research questions and methodologies. The nature of the findings, and what is reported will give you some insight into whether these issues were appropriately addressed.
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