Educational Research: Descriptive Research

Educational Research: Descriptive Research Shannelle Gay P. Paracha Master of English in Applied Linguistics

Research... • The systematic application of a family of methods employed to provide trustworthy information about problems. • "recherche"

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH (“SURVEY RESEARCH”) …collects data in order to answer questions about the current status of the subject or topic of study …uses formal instruments to study preferences, attitudes, practices, concerns, or interests of a sample

Descriptive-Qualitative(Ethnography/ Case Study) Detailed descriptions of specific situation(s) using interviews, observations, document review You describe things as they are. • How do people implement this program? • What challenges do people face? • What are people’s perceptions? Did the program cause any changes in participants’ outcomes?

Descriptive-Quantitative Numerical descriptions (frequency, average) You measure things as they are. • How many people are participating in this program? • What are the characteristics of people in this program? • How well did participants in this program do? Did the program cause any changes in participants’ outcomes? Why did the program work this way?

The basic steps of conducting a descriptive research... recognizing and identifying a topic to be studied selecting an appropriate sample of participants collecting valid and reliable data reporting conclusions

Descriptive Research Step 1: Statement of the problem • Do teachers hold favorable attitudes toward using computers in schools? • What is the best way to provide access to computer equipment in schools? • What is generally the word-formation process utilized in the formation of text- message registers?

Step 2: Identification of information needed to solve the problem

Step 3: Selection or development of instruments for gathering the information • surveys, • interviews, • observations, and • portfolios

Kinds of Survey CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY… …involves collecting data from selected individuals in a single time period however long it takes to collect data from participants

LONGITUDINAL SURVEY… …involves collecting data at two or more instances in order to measure changes over time

SELF-REPORT SURVEY… …requires individuals to respond to a series of statements or questions about themselves

OBSERVATION STUDY… …the researcher obtains data by watching participants in a situation

TYPES OF SELF-REPORT ITEMS …scaled …ranked …checklist …free response

Step 4: Identification of target population and determination of sampling procedure …use an appropriate sampling technique …participants must be able to provide the desired information sought and willing to provide it to the researcher

Step 5: Design of procedure for information collection Step 6: Collection of information Step 7: Analysis of information Step 8: Generalizations and/or predictions

Conducting a questionnaire study… 1. state the problem 2. select participants 3. construct the questionnaire 4. prepare cover letter 5. pretest questionnaire 6. follow up activities 7. analyze/report results

Designing an instrument… …include a brief statement describing the study and its purpose at the top of the instrument …provide standardized directions …organize items leaving sufficient white space on instrument

…place similar items together …ask general, non-threatening items first, moving into more specific, self-revealing items

SOME DO’S AND DON’T’S… …construct items according to a set of predetermined guidelines …include only items relating directly to the purpose of the study …avoid jargon or any term or concept that might mean different things to different people

…each item should deal with a single concept and be worded as clearly as possible …items should indicate a point of reference beyond the self in order to judge the self …avoid ambiguous terms like several or usually

…avoid touchy matters in items which respondents might not respond to honestly or at all …avoid leading questions which suggest that one response may be more appropriate than another …each item must be able to stand on its own

…don’t jam items together …don’t put the most important questions at the end of the instrument

prepare the cover letter… …a brief, neat, explanation of the significance of the study and what is being asked of the respondent and why …addressed to the specific, potential respondent

…an endorsement adds credibility …guarantee anonymity or confidentiality …include a specific deadline date by which the completed instrument (“questionnaire”) is to be returned

…individually sign each letter …include a self-addressed, stamped, return envelope

pretest the instrument… …conduct a pilot study to gather information about deficiencies and suggestions for improving the instrument …provides greater content validity

follow-up activities… …because first mailing results tend to be low (30% - 50% response rate), researchers need strategies to increase the response rate

initial follow-up strategies to increase response rate up to 20%… …send out reminder postcard …mail a second packet with a new, positively worded cover letter and another self-addressed, stamped, return envelope

secondary follow-up strategies to increase response rate up to 10%… …telephone nonrespondents to encourage them to respond

dealing with nonrespondents …study whether nonrespondents differ from respondents in some systematic way by selecting a sample from the nonrespondents …telephone sample, aggregate data, include in report

dealing with nonresponses …study the items to determine the problem with the item …include description of the nonresponses and the determination of the reason in the report

analyze/report results… …discriminant item analysis includes giving the response rate for each item as well as the total sample size and the overall percentage of returns, since not all respondents will answer questions

…group items into clusters that address the same issue and develop total scores across an item cluster in order to avoid “information overload”

Conducting an interview study… 1. state the problem 2. select participants 3. construct the interview guide 4. communicate professionally and record responses accurately 5. pretest interview procedure 6. analyze/report results

1. STATE THE PROBLEM… …topic must be of sufficient significance to motivate individuals to participate and justify the research effort in the first place …define topic in terms of specific objectives indicating the kind of information needed

2. SELECT PARTICIPANTS… …use an appropriate sampling technique …participants must be able to provide the desired information sought and willing to provide it to the researcher

3. CONSTRUCT THE INTERVIEW INSTRUMENT (“INSTRUMENT GUIDE”)… …indicates the question to be asked, the order, and how much additional prompting or probing is permitted …the goal is to obtain standardized, comparable data from each interviewee

4. COMMUNICATE PROFESSIONALLY AND RECORD RESPONSES ACCURATELY… …effective interviewing requires training and experience to avoid interviewer bias and interviewer error

…record responses manually on the interview guide …(requires interviewee permission) use a tape recorder or VCR to verify accuracy of responses

5. PRETEST INTERVIEW PROCEDURE… …use a small group from the same population or a similar population to the one being studied to validate the interview instrument and the interviewer’s communication and recording skills

6. ANALYZE/REPORT RESULTS… …item analysis includes giving the response rate for each item, as well as the total sample size and the overall percentage of returns, since not every respondent will answer all questions

…also include in-depth data to open-ended interview items to portray responses in more accurate and honest terms

Conducting an observational study… 1. state the problem 2. select participants 3. define the observational variables 4. record observations 5. assess observer reliability 6. reduce observer bias 7. analyze/report results

1. STATE THE PROBLEM… …topic must be of sufficient significance to motivate potential respondents and justify the research effort in the first place …define topic in terms of specific objectives indicating the kind of information needed

2. SELECT PARTICIPANTS… …use an appropriate sampling technique …participants must be able to provide the desired information sought and willing to provide it to the researcher

3. DEFINE THE OBSERVATIONAL VARIABLES… …operationalize the variables to be observed in terms of specific behaviors that can be quantified …ensure that the observations can be quantified in a way so that all observers will count the behavioral activities in exactly the same way

…simplify procedure for recording observations by developing a coding procedure

4. RECORD OBSERVATIONS… …record behavior at the time it occurs …alternate observation periods and recording periods

5. ASSESS OBSERVER RELIABILITY… …use at least two observers who make independent observations …compute interobserver reliability

Educational Research: Descriptive Research