Tim+McLellan


 * Here is a list of research term definitions for anyone who needs them.

Research Term Definitions**

 Operational definition - An operational definition, when applied to data collection, is a clear, concise detailed definition of a measure. Any time data is being collected, it is necessary to define how to collect the data, to observe and measure the variables.

 Independent Variable -The Independent part is what you, the experimenter, changes or enacts in order to do your experiment.

 Dependent Variable -The dependent variable is what changes when the independent variable changes - the dependent variable depends on the outcome of the independent variable.

 Basic Research (Theoretical Research) - Theoretical research is a critical component of many scientific fields, because it leads to a greater understanding of the exact science behind experimental results.

 Applied Research -The basic definition for applied research is any fact gathering project that is conducted with an eye to acquiring and applying knowledge that will address a specific problem or meet a specific need within the scope of the entity.

 Action Research -Action research is inquiry or research in the context of focused efforts to improve the quality of an organization and its performance. It typically is designed and conducted by practitioners who analyze the data to improve their own practice. Action research can be done by individuals or by teams of colleagues. The team approach is called collaborative inquiry. Action research has the potential to generate genuine and sustained improvements in schools. It gives educators new opportunities to reflect on and assess their teaching; to explore and test new ideas, methods, and materials; to assess how effective the new approaches were; to share feedback with fellow team members; and to make decisions about which new approaches to include in the team's curriculum, instruction, and assessment plans.

 Concepts - Something thought or imagined, broad principle affecting perception and behavior, understanding or grasp, way of doing or perceiving something

 Constructs - Something that exists theoretically but is not directly observable.  Control Group - In experimental research, a group that, for the sake of comparison, does not receive the treatment the experimenter is interested in.

 Internal validity - the extent to which the results of a study (usually an experiment) can be attributed to the treatments rather than a flaw in the research design; in other words, the degree to which one can draw valid conclusions about the causal effects of one variable on another.  External validity - the extent to which the findings of a study are relevant to subjects and settings beyond those in the study. (generalizability).  Reliability - the consistency or stability of a measure or test from one use to the next. When repeated measurements of the same thing give identical or very similar results, the measure is said to be reliable. Sample - A group of subjects selected from a larger group in the hope that studying this smaller group (the sample) will reveal important things about the larger group.

 Data - information collected by a researcher. (Data is the plural term; datum the singular). Data are often thought of as statistical or quantitative, but they may take many other forms as well--such as transcripts of interviews or videotapes of social interactions. Nonquantitative data such as transcripts or videotapes are often coded or translated into numbers to make them easier to analyze.

Correlation -The extent to which two or more things are related ("co-related") to one another. This is usually expressed as a correlation coefficient.

 Hypothesis - A tentative explanation based on theory to predict a causal relationship between variables.

 Bias - Any influence that distorts the results of a research study.

My first research problem identification: <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Timothy McLellan <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Tech 561 <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Research Methods <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Assignment #2 <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Problem: The most efficient time Middle School students get on task throughout the day. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Importance: This research is important because it would allow a teacher to plan the most efficient time, whereby students get on task quickly. Allowing the teacher to introduce critical information to a class of Middle School students. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Question to be answered: Is there a certain time during the school day when Middle School students get on task quicker, which would allow the teacher more time to introduce more information during the class. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">The study would take place in a Middle school. The class would be randomly selected based on the times the teacher met with them (before lunch, after lunch, last period of the day). The study would take place over a one month time frame. The teacher would observe how much time it took the students to get on task during different periods of the day. The task would be writing an open ended response to a journal question. The data would be recorded as it was observed and then evaluated at the end of the month long time frame.

Paul, and anyone interested in some robotics curriculum for middle school should check out this site. http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/content/curriculum/middle_school/sub_page_999/index.htm