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What's Research?

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 16mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Endeavors to explain, predict, and/or control phenomena are the goal of ...

a)

tradition.

b)

inductive logic.

c)

deductive logic.

d)

the scientific method.

2.

Ms. Tina has been coordinating the Independence Day Festival at her school for the last several years. She wants to be sure the students and parents enjoy the festival again this year. On which source is she MOST likely to rely when making decisions about what to do?

a)

Tradition

b)

Personal experience

c)

Expert opinions.

d)

Research.

3.

Ms. Turner is thinking about changing her instructional approach to a more mastery-learning orientation. She is interested in knowing more about this topic as well as its effectiveness when working with elementary school students. On which source should she rely for such information?

a)

Tradition

b)

Research

c)

Personal experience

d)

Intuition

4.

The application of the scientific method to the study of educational problems is called ...

a)

inductive reasoning

b)

deductive reasoning

c)

grounded theory

d)

educational research

5.

Which of the following steps of the scientific method is exemplified by the researcher reviewing the literature and focusing on a specific problem that has yet to be resolved?

a)

Identify a topic

b)

Analyze the collected information

c)

Describe the procedure to collect information

d)

State the results of the data analysis

6.

If a researcher (1) identified a topic and a specific educational problem related to it, (2) carefully described the ways by which data was collected and analyzed, and (3) wrote a report reflecting on this work and its contribution to what is known about the topic, her work can BEST be described as ...

a)

educational research

b)

qualitative research

c)

quantitative research

d)

evaluation research

7.

If a researcher was studying the use of various instructional approaches to the "multiple intelligences" of a class of students, he is likely to be conducting which type of research?

a)

Basic

b)

Applied

c)

Evaluation

d)

Action

8.

Which of the following is characterized by (1) an attempt to provide a solution to an educator's problem in his or her own school and (2) the fact that the educator is the researcher?

a)

Action research

b)

Experimental research

c)

Narrative design

d)

Evaluation research

9.

Which of the following studies most likely uses quantitative methods?

a)

Comparing test results across groups to understand the effects of a particular instructional approach.

b)

Understanding historical perspective for an educational topic.

c)

Understanding the shared beliefs and practices of teachers in a school.

d)

Developing a theory grounded in the beliefs of the group being studied.

10.

Which of the following is most aligned with a researcher using quantitative methods?

a)

Studying a large number of subjects as a detached, objective observer.

b)

Studying an interesting phenomenon in the context in which it naturally occurs.

c)

Communicating the results of the study in a loosely structured report that uses informal language.

d)

Using a research design that changes as narrative data is collected and analyzed.

11.

Which of the following problems is most appropriate to a quantitative experimental approach?

a)

Studying the nature of student interactions in an inclusionary classroom.

b)

Studying the effect of using formative quizzes on student's knowledge of key concepts.

c)

Analyzing the use of a site-based decision making model as it is being implemented in a local high school.

d)

Understanding the experiences of a veteran teacher who has been moved into an administrative position in her school.

12.

Which of the following designs studies causal relationships?

a)

Descriptive

b)

Experimental

c)

Causal-comparative

d)

Correlational

13.

Which of the following designs is characterized by the researchers' inability to actually manipulate an independent variable even though they are often interested in a causal relationship?

a)

Descriptive

b)

Correlational

c)

Experimental

d)

Causal-comparative

14.

The results from which of the following designs examining the relationships between variables SHOULD NOT BE interpreted as causal?

a)

Descriptive

b)

Correlational

c)

Experimental

d)

Ethnography

15.

Which design would you use to assess the attitudes of parents, teachers, and students toward a new disciplinary policy?

a)

Descriptive

b)

Correlational

c)

Experimental

d)

Causal-comparative

16.

Experimental designs can be differentiated most clearly from descriptive, correlational, or causal-comparative designs on which of the following characteristics?

a)

Collecting numerical data

b)

A clear intent to establish cause and effect relationships.

c)

The use of structured designs.

d)

The statistical analysis of data.

17.

Which of the following problems is most appropriate to a qualitative approach?

a)

Describing the relationship between students' math attitudes and their math achievement.

b)

Identifying the characteristics that differentiate students who drop out of high school from those students who do not drop out.

c)

Describing the effect of creating a student-centered assessment environment on students' achievement.

d)

Understanding what it is like to work in a school that is changing the decision-making process from a top-down, administratively driven model to a bottom-up, teacher driven model.

18.

Mr. Rahman's choice of a specific research approach to his research problem should be guided by the extent to which the approach

a)

provides a reasonable answer to the research question.

b)

describes the study.

c)

indicates the limitations of the study.

d)

provides a summary of the research.

19.

Mr. Hamzah has collected a number of stories from his mother who was an elementary school teacher for 30 years. By documenting some of these stories he has recorded experiences that were unique, interesting, and meaningful. Which type of research describes Mr. Hamzah's work?

a)

Causal comparative

b)

Descriptive

c)

Narrative

d)

Ethnographic

20.

After studying reinforcement theory, a teacher hypothesizes that using a tutorial computer program will lead to superior achievement in language arts. She devices a study in which the tutorial is used with two sixth-grade classes, whereas conventional materials are used with two other sixth-grade classes. This example of source of knowledge can be classified as ...

a)

Inductive reasoning

b)

Deductive reasoning

c)

Scientific approach

d)

Personal experience