Test Bank For Practical Research Planning And Design 11th Edition By PEARSON

Description

Test Bank For Practical Research Planning And Design 11th Edition By PEARSON

ABOUT THIS INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL AND TEST BANK

This instructor’s manual and test bank provides suggested learning activities and test questions for Chapters 1 through 13 of the textbook. 

I. Learning Activities

The suggested learning activities feature short-term group projects or hands-on activities to reinforce major concepts and issues from each chapter.

II. Test Bank

The test bank includes multiple-choice and essay questions for each chapter.  The multiple-choice items have been developed to assess both basic and higher level learning. The essay questions are integrated and process-oriented.

Directions for the Test Bank Items

Although students are likely to be familiar with both multiple-choice and essay exam formats, it is still a good idea to provide clear instructions for how to respond to your questions.  Here are examples of directions for exams that contain a mix of multiple-choice and essay questions:

For hand-scored exams:

Directions.  Read each question and all alternatives carefully.  For multiple-choice questions, circle the letter that corresponds to the one best answer.  For essay questions, use the space provided and the backs of pages to write your response.  Make sure you understand each question before you attempt to answer it.  If you have questions about the items on the exam, ask for clarification.  If you want to explain your thinking about any item on the exam, you may write a note to me on the exam.

For machine-scored exams:

Directions.  Read each question and all alternatives carefully.  For multiple-choice questions, blacken the circle that corresponds to the one best answer.  For essay questions, use the sheet(s) of paper attached to your answer sheet to write your responses.  Make sure you understand each question before you attempt to answer it.  If you have questions about the items on the exam, ask for clarification.  If you want to explain your thinking about any item on the exam, you may write a note to me on the exam.

In addition to receiving these directions, students should be informed of point values for all items.  This information is particularly important for essay questions, as it allows students to make strategic decisions about how to spend the available time.   

Guidelines for Scoring Tests

An answer key, which includes model responses for the essay questions, is provided after each chapter’s test bank items.  Scoring of multiple-choice items is fairly straightforward.  You may want to keep a running tally of the specific incorrect answers chosen by your students as you score their exams.  This simple method of item analysis will allow you to make informed decisions about the fairness of any particular item for the group being tested.  It may also offer insights for future instruction or item revisions.  If you allow students to defend their multiple-choice answers, you will need to make some judgments about whether a student understands the concept being tested in spite of choosing an incorrect response.  

Scoring responses to the essay questions will be more subjective and time consuming.  Model answers are provided to assist you in scoring essay responses in a consistent and reliable manner.  However, these criteria may need to be revised or expanded to match what was actually presented, emphasized, or discussed in your classes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1        The Nature and Tools of Research 5                                            

Chapter 2        The Problem: The Heart of the Research Process 10

Chapter 3        Review of the Related Literature 15

Chapter 4       Planning Your Research Project 22

  

Chapter 5       Writing the Research Proposal 28

 

Chapter 6        Descriptive Research 32

 

Chapter 7        Experimental, Quasi-Experimental, and Ex Post Facto Designs 38

  

Chapter 8        Analyzing Quantitative Data 44

Chapter 9        Qualitative Research Methods 50

Chapter 10      Historical Research 55

Chapter 11      Analyzing Qualitative Data 59

Chapter 12      Mixed-Methods Designs 62

Chapter 13      Planning and Preparing a Final Research Report 66

Answer Key 71

Chapter 1

The Nature and Tools of Research

The purpose of this chapter is to get students to think critically about what constitutes research.  To further familiarize students with the research literature, try this exercise.  It will help them understand what research is and the many forms it may take.  

Ask students to bring copies of one or two research articles they’ve read recently to class.  This will create a pool of articles to work with.  Chances are the pool will include review articles, meta-analyses, theoretical pieces, and empirical studies employing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.  To the extent that the class includes students from a variety of fields, the pool will represent these diverse fields.  If there are certain types of articles that you particularly want included in the sample pool, or that you anticipate will be missing from the pool, you may want to provide these.

Place students into groups of about five.  Make these groups diverse by field to the extent possible.  Without providing any opening discussion about the nature of research, ask students to look through their group’s collection of articles and determine how they are similar to each other and how they differ.  After groups have explored the articles and attempted to classify them on various criteria, conduct a discussion of the content of Chapter 1.  Returning to the pool of sample articles, assist students in identifying what types of articles are in the sample pool and which of the articles are true research as described in Chapter 1.

I suggest collecting the articles from class members at the end of the activity to keep on hand for use throughout the course.  I make additional suggestions for their use in conjunction with subsequent chapters.

Chapter 1

The Nature and Tools of Research

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. To be considered true research, a project must:

1. gather together a body of existing information and communicate it in a clear and concise way.
2. uncover obscure or esoteric information and bring it to the consideration of the broader research community.
3. gather and interpret information in a systematic fashion so as to increase understanding of some phenomenon.
4. produce definitive conclusions regarding the subject of study.

1. Which of the following examples illustrates research as it is described in your textbook?

1. Sally is writing a paper about the effects of the Harry Potter books on the reading habits of fourth graders in the United States and United Kingdom.  She goes to a research library to find information to include in her paper.
2. Ian wants to know why the population of songbirds has declined in recent years in the Sutton Wilderness Area.  He carefully collects soil and water samples, systematically surveys the entire area for predators, and then sits down to make sense of his findings.
3. Leonard is starting a woodworking business and is not sure how to calculate the cost of his labor so he can be both profitable and fair to the customers.  He asks several established business owners how they calculate labor changes.  
4. Bill is doing a report on the sonnets of Shakespeare.  He carefully reads a number of sonnets and then carefully reads scholarly reviews of those same sonnets written by various Shakespeare scholars.  He synthesizes all of this information in his report.

1. Research is considered cyclical because:

1. the researcher articulates the goals of the project and then collects data to solve a particular problem.
2. questions lead to data collection which leads to interpretations and then to new problems.
3. it has a number of steps that should be followed in order.
4. it is based on solving problems and subproblems in a systematic, unbiased way.

1. Cameron is conducting a study that addresses the differences in achievement scores between schools that use block scheduling and schools that use a traditional scheduling format.  He has accessed average achievement scores for 1200 schools and now is comparing the two groups.  In which research step is Cameron engaged? 

1. Recognize and identify a problem
2. Interpret the meaning of the data
3. Analyze the collected data
4. Develop a specific plan to address the problem

1. Which of the following is most likely a statement made by a qualitative researcher?

1. I would like to interview a few of the participants to understand their training.
2. I would like to give participants a test to determine their skill level.
3. I would like to use teacher ratings to see if the program worked.
4. I would like to control which students get the training so we can compare groups of children that did and did not get training.

1. Which of the following is most likely a statement made by a quantitative researcher?

1. Let’s follow the groups for the course of the project and take notes about their social interactions and dialogues.
2. Let’s conduct some focus groups with college students about the types of cooperative learning they have encountered in their schooling.
3. Let’s compare unit test scores of those who were placed in cooperative groups and those who were not.
4. Let’s enroll in a course that uses cooperative groups and observe the nature of the instruction from a student perspective.

1. The philosophical assumption that objective scientific research can uncover true cause-and-effect relationships in the world is known as:

1. empiricism
2. positivism
3. experimentation
4. realism

1. Qualitative researchers most commonly (but not exclusively) align with which of the following philosophical approaches to research?

1. positivism
2. postpositivism
3. constructivism
4. empiricism

1. A specific mechanism or strategy the researcher uses to collect, manipulate, or interpret data is known as a:

1. research tool.
2. research method.
3. statistical test.
4. theory.

1. Research methodology refers to:

1. the general approach the researcher takes to conducting a research project.
2. a specific device the researcher uses to collect data.
3. the specific theoretical basis of the research project.
4. the statistical tests to be employed in a research project.