WorksheetsACTION RESEARCH
Total questions: 46
Worksheet time: 25mins
A teacher wants to count how often students interrupt classmates during group work. Which tool is most appropriate?
Narrative observation
Reflective observation
Behaviour checklist
Unstructured interview
Collecting data at different stages of a course (beginning, middle, end) is an example of _____.
Space triangulation
Researcher triangulation
Theory triangulation
Time triangulation
Which measure of dispersion provides information about how far data points deviate from the average?
Mean
Median
Range
Standard deviation
What is the very first step in initiating an Action Research (AR) project according to the text?
Identifying a specific research 'problem' to focus on
Critiquing your teaching style to find errors
Drafting a comprehensive solution
Revising Chapter 1 of a teaching manual
Why is it beneficial to narrow a broad focus into specific questions?
To keep the research theoretical.
To avoid "what, why, and how" questions.
To guide appropriate data collection and analysis.
To prove the teacher is at fault.
What is the main purpose of collecting multiple types of data in action research?
To meet external accountability requirements
To ensure teaching follows national standards
To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies
To compare teachers within the same school
In action research, a general idea mainly refers to _____.
a broad educational theory
a statement that links an idea to an action for improvement
a fixed research topic chosen in advance
a list of classroom problems
Which structure best represents how a general idea is developed in action research?
Hypothesis → Data → Conclusion
Observation → Question for improvement
Theory → Experiment → Test
Problem → Literature review → Survey
What does it mean that an area of focus should be within the teacher’s locus of control?
It must be approved by school leaders
It should be easy to measure
It is something the teacher can directly influence
It involves collaboration with parents
What is the main goal of the Explanation step during reconnaissance?
To collect quantitative data
To describe what is happening in the situation
To identify participants in the study
To understand why the situation occurs and what factors influence it
Self-reflection helps the teacher better understand the problem before _____.
writing the research report
implementing an intervention
selecting participants
collecting statistical data
What is the main purpose of RRL in Action Research?
Copy other teachers’ lessons
Identify the gap or problem in your own classroom
Write a very long assignment
Show how many articles you have read
In Action Research, RRL is done only once at the beginning.
True
False
Which statement best describes a qualitative approach in a literature review?
Testing hypotheses with stats
Emphasizes listening to participants
Relies on numerical data
Begins with fixed theory
In a quantitative approach, the literature review is mainly used to _____.
explore personal experiences
provide direction for research questions/hypotheses
avoid theories
collect qualitative interview data
Which type of data is used in quantitative research?
Interviews and observations
Personal stories
Non-numerical descriptions
Numerical data (surveys, test scores)
Since the rise of learner-centered approaches around 2015, the traditional role of teachers as 'directors' has shifted to _____.
facilitators
students
principals
AI co-pilot
When reviewing empirical studies, why does Burns advise teachers to consider how much research has already been conducted on a topic?
To avoid repeating research
To see if topic is fashionable
To identify gaps & refine focus
To ensure generalization
Which best defines RRL in Action Research?
Chronological list
Textbook summary
Critical synthesis of theory & empirical studies
Description of instruments
What is NOT a component of effective observation when recording field notes?
Observe and record everything
Observe and look for nothing
Look for paradoxes
Observe and interact with the observed participants
In AR, it is untrustworthy if interviewers are students.
True
False
According to Twining et al. (2017), you can mix and match different methods, and both quantitative (i.e. numerical) and qualitative (i.e. non-numerical) data so long as you are doing so in a way that is consistent with your methodology and design.
True
False
According to Twining et al. (2017), researchers can mix quantitative and qualitative methodologies (theoretical stances) within a single study.
True
False
Mr. Johnson, a 5th-grade teacher, wants to understand how his students' writing skills have developed over the course of the semester. Instead of giving a new test, he collects their existing written work, drawings, and reflective journal entries that they have collected in folders.
According to Mills (2018), what specific type of data source is Mr. Johnson collecting?
Maps
Attitude Scales
Artifacts
Semantic Differentials
If a teacher wants to measure a student's "confidence" in speaking (the construct), which question demonstrates the best Construct Validity?
How often do you speak English in class?
How do you feel when you speak English in class?
Do you speak English with your friends?
How many words can you speak in one minute?
Which of the following best defines "Construct Validity"?
It ensures the data collection tool actually measures the specific concept it claims to measure.
It ensures the sample size is large enough to create a normal distribution.
It ensures the tool covers all possible content and aspects of the topic.
It compares the results of the instrument against another trusted standard.
Choose the INCORRECT statement.
The goal of action research is to understand what is happening in your school to improve the status quo.
Action researchers don't need to worry about generalizability of findings because they're not seeking to define ultimate truths.
Generalizability refers to the applicability of findings in one study to other studies with different settings.
Teachers still need to ensure good generalizability in their action research so that readers can relate to their own contexts.
Match the criterion with its correct strategy.
Credibility
Do prolonged participation at study site
Transferability
Collect detailed descriptive data
Dependability
Establish an audit trail
Confirmability
Practice triangulation and reflexivity
After data collection in action research, the main purpose of analysis and interpretation is to _____.
prove that the teacher’s original hypothesis is correct
turn raw data into meaningful patterns that inform classroom decisions
check whether the research questions were written correctly
prepare data for external researchers to use
Which of the following is an example of qualitative data in an action research project?
The percentage of students who passed a test.
The average score on a reading comprehension quiz.
Student interview transcripts about their feelings toward group work.
The number of days each student was absent.
Which statement best describes the role of quantitative analysis in action research?
It replaces qualitative data so the study is more scientific
It provides numerical summaries (e.g., frequencies, percentages, averages) to describe patterns.
It is only used in large-scale national research, not in classrooms.
It makes interpretation unnecessary.
Why do action researchers often use triangulation (multiple data sources)?
To make the project look more complicated
To save time in data collection
To increase the credibility of findings by checking them from different angles
To avoid doing any quantitative analysis
In action research, data analysis mainly refers to _____.
explaining the meaning of data
summarizing and organizing collected data
drawing final conclusions
making instructional decisions
During an action research project, a teacher collects students’ test scores and classroom observation notes. After organizing the data, the teacher compares the results with the original research question and explains how the findings suggest changes in teaching strategies for the next cycle of instruction.
What is the teacher mainly doing in this stage of the research?
Collecting data
Coding qualitative data
Analyzing data
Interpreting data
Which measure of central tendency represents the middle score when data are ordered from lowest to highest?
Mean
Mode
Median
Range
What is the fundamental difference between data analysis and data interpretation in the context of action research?
Data analysis focuses on summarizing and representing collected data accurately, while interpretation focuses on finding meaning and answering the question "So what?".
Data analysis is for numerical data, while data interpretation is for narrative data.
Data analysis happens before the study, while data interpretation happens only after the study is completed.
There is no difference; both terms refer to the same process of "number crunching".
After analyzing and interpreting her data, a teacher identifies a clear instructional problem and designs a specific change to classroom practice for the next semester. She bases this plan directly on patterns found in her data rather than on personal opinions or school traditions.
This step best represents:
Data coding
Action planning for educational change
Data display
Quantitative analysis
Which verb tense should you generally use for the Literature Review?
Future Tense
Present Tense
Past Tense
Present Continuous
According to the principles of clear research writing, how should you handle key technical terms throughout your paper?
Use a variety of synonyms to make the writing interesting.
Use the exact same term consistently every time to avoid ambiguity.
Use abbreviations without defining them to save space.
Switch between English and Latin terms to sound more academic.
Beyond grammatical style, what is the ethical and practical reason to avoid the passive voice in Action Research?
It increases the word count, which is dishonest.
It sounds too casual for academic work.
It hides the actor who is responsible for the action.
It makes the sentence harder to understand.
Which best describes the blind review process?
Reviewers do not read the full article.
Authors review their own work anonymously.
Reviewers do not know the author’s identity.
Editors skip peer review.
Which citation tool is free, can extract citation information directly from websites, and can store PDFs and generate formatted citations?
EndNote
RefWorks
Zotero
Google Scholar
After trying a new gamified app, the teacher writes in his report "Students looked like having fun, so I don't need to look at the test scores/recorded logs because I could feel the energy in the room."
Which specific pillar does his research lack?
Ethical responsibility
Rigor and reflective analysis
Practicality of the action
A teacher wants to study how students interact during group work. She hides a microphone under a desk to record their private conversations.
Which specific evaluative criteria has been violated here?
Ethics
Practicality
Rigor
Why does Mills (2018) argue that a research report would be of “inferior quality” without an action-data connection?
Because the data may not be statistically significant.
Because ethical procedures may not be followed.
Because proposed actions would not be justified by evidence.
Because qualitative data are less reliable than quantitative data.
According to Mills (2018), which situation BEST demonstrates a strong action-data connection in action research?
A teacher collects questionnaires and test scores to report student performance.
A teacher analyzes data and uses the findings to decide specific instructional actions.
A teacher reflects on teaching practices based on personal experience.
A teacher presents data visually without linking them to classroom decisions.
