Activity 1 – Educ 200

Due Date: Nov 7, 9 p.m.

File Type: Word File
File Name: ActivityNo_MAED2_YourSurname_YourName (e.g. Activity1_MAED2_DelaCruz_Juan)
Note: If you cannot submit your answer due to technical problems, you may email your answer at
jadterrago@neu.edu.ph.

1. Find three (3) journal articles in your area of interest which are experimental in nature (where
groups are compared). Do the following:

a. Briefly discuss what the journal article is about by stating the research questions and the
results or answer to each question using the following format:
Research Problem:

Research Question 1:
Result:
…
Research Question n:
Result

Conclusion:

b. Identify the independent variables (IV) and the dependent variables (DV).

c. For each DV, specify how it was measured and whether it is clearly defined.

d. Identify the levels of each IV. What other IV would you find of interest to study?

e. State how the researcher(s) address or control the extraneous variables. Based on the
limitation of the study, list also the extraneous variables that the researchers fail to address, if
there is any. Do you think there are other variables that could have threaten the validity of the
result but the researcher failed to acknowledge? If yes, what are those?

2. A researcher spent five years on a project and majority of the findings were not significant. How
can lack of significant results still make an important contribution to the field?

 In research, if the findings were not significant maybe the groups are not large enough to have a
statistically significant. It maybe overlaps each other. Also, it means that the possibilities are
remain as usual. In terms of time difference, it still makes an important contribution to the field
as at the end of the research may have suggestions and/or lead to more specific questions to
find significant. Also, it will the problem open for the future researches.
Research Problem 1:

How do the digital competences of students in vocational schools differ from those of
students in cooperative higher education institutions in Germany?

 Research Question 1: Students in cooperative higher education possess higher digital

competences than students in vocational training.

 Result: In all dimensions, students of cooperative higher education show

more advanced abilities than do students of vocational training programs.

 Research Question 2: Female students have more advanced digital competences than
male students.

 Result: Hypothesis two must rejected. Male participants tend to show better
values relative to female participants in the dimension “problem solving and
safety”.

 Research Question 3: Students with an upper social background have more advanced
digital competences.

 Result: Hypothesis must also be rejected, as they found no perceivable link

between digital competences and social background.

 Independent Variable: The digital competences of students in both schools/institutions.

 Dependent Variable: The demographic variables such as social background and
educational biography of the students in both schools/institutions.

 Weakness of the research: They used self-reports rather than objective tests to collect
data for digital competences.
Research Problem 2:

Why companies prefer applicants from non-immigrant families: investigating access to

vocational training among low-qualified adolescents with an interlinked firm-applicant survey

 Research Question 1: German language skills are a very important criterion for
recruiting apprentices will be less inclined to employ applicants from migrant families
than other firms, while for native applicants it does not matter how strongly companies
support this selection criterion

 Result: The results speak against Hypothesis 1: school graduates from

immigrant families who applied to a company which considered the ability to
verbally express oneself very important had about the same chance of
success as peers of native parentage.

 Research Question 2: Companies that stress that apprentices should fit well into the
domestic world are expected to choose VET applicants from immigrant families less
often than other firms, while this selection criterion is not decisive for native applicants

 Result: The results show that this distinction makes a difference for
applicants from immigrant families as compared to ethnic majority
candidates to some extent.

 Independent Variable: The criteria and/or qualification standards of companies.

 Dependent Variable: The competence of applicants corresponds to the qualifications of

companies.

 Weakness of the research: The major drawback is for quantitative analysis wherein the
cases is small and lack of representativeness. Still, the interlinking panel survey on
applicants with the company survey is very suitable design for this.
Research Problem 3:

Personality Traits and Excessive Computer and Internet Usage: A Robust Relation?

 Research Question 1: Certain personality traits will be related to the excessive usage of
the computer and internet.

 Result: Agreeableness and conscientiousness were common predictors for

both personality traits measures. Standardized regression coefficients as well
as part-correlations suggest that conscientiousness is a stronger predictor in
comparison to agreeableness.

 Research Question 2: The strength of excessive usage of the computer and internet
prediction will be affected by the specific personality traits instrument used.

 Result: None of the BFI personality traits was revealed as a significant

predictor. On the other hand, two IPIP traits (Emotional Stability and
Conscientiousness) were found to be significant predictors of the excessive
use of the internet. Therefore, people who are emotionally stable and
conscious tend to spend less time online.

 Independent Variable: The time allotment of computer and internet usage of Greek
university students based on their mood and/or personality

 Dependent Variable: The personality traits of Greek university students regards with
the computer and internet usage.

 Weakness of the research: As the respondents may have different interpretations of the
item content, it may also have different measures. The researchers used more
personality traits to measures relied solely on univariate associations to make inferences
about convergent validity.