• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
Common flawsRunning head: COMMON FLAWSScientific Research in Education:Common FlawsJohn KoetsierUniversity of British Columbia1
 
Common flawsAbstractResearch studies are difficult to do right and easy to do wrong. There aremany potholes to avoid, and many factors can impact a study’s validity andreliability. To find and understand some of the common problems, I’m goingto look at three different types of studies, see what the researchers did, howthey did it, and what problems they encountered. The studies are Beck andFetherston’s
The effects of incorporating a word processor into a year threewriting program
(2003), Schweingruber and Brandenburg’s
Middle School Students’ Technology Practices and Preferences: Re-examining Gender Differences
(2001), and Haye’s
 A comparison of fifth graders’ frequency using web-based activities versus traditional activities for self-directed enrichment 
(2003).2
 
Common flawsIn the first study, Natalie Beck and Tony Fetherston studied the effects of teaching writing with a word processor in primary grades. For six weeks, theystudied both how students felt about using word processing technologyversus paper and pencil, and what effects technology had on the quality of their writing. As a result, they concluded that students who used wordprocessors wrote significantly better than students using pencil and paper.Unfortunately, the quality of the study was severely and negativelyundermined by several design and procedural decisions. Together those flawscause it to miss the standard for research that is generalizable to othersettings and can be counted upon when creating programs and curricula.In brief, the problems with the study include a very small sampling size -only seven students – which basically eliminates any opportunity for externalvalidity. The sample cannot possibly be representative enough. And – notthat it matters that much with such a small sample - the researchers usedconvenience sampling rather than random sampling.In addition, the short six-week study ensured that researchers could notcompensate for the effects of novelty … any new technique employed in aneducational setting might result in a temporary bump in performance as thesheer newness galvanizes student attention and effort. Oddly, in what mustbe a rare problem for a study with a novelty issue, maturation was also aproblem, since the students apparently used the word processing software3
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...