TOPIC: SCHOOL SIZE (MACRO ANALYSES)QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES & SAMPLING

Jacob Werblow, Ph.D. Central Connecticut State University

Tonight’s Agenda

Thesis workshop A simple structure to follow IV & DV review A beginner’s Template to Analyzing

Research Sampling

Practice analyzing a sample Summary of this weeks readings

Practice & Prepare: framing your next paper

Thesis workshop

Get into groups of 3 or 4 Swap your recent synthesis paper with

another student Read their intro, and write the thesis on

the back of their paper. Pass the paper to another student who

will write the thesis on the front Return papers to author

Thesis workshop (cont)

Reflection & discussion Are there varying differences between what

you thought your thesis was and what others thought?

How well do your body paragraphs directly support your thesis?

Reading Strategies, what strategies do you use to skim the articles?

Etc..

A simple structure: NCLB

Thesis:

Support #1

Support #2

Support #3

Closure:

IV & DV Review

DV = Dependent Variable (outcome) IV = Independent Variable (malleable,

manipulated)

After reading the Abstract, can you identify the IV and DV in the following two studies? Werblow & Duesbery (2009) Darling-Hammond, Ancess, & Ort (2002)

A beginner’s Template to Analyzing Research List: Author(s) Last Name, Initials (year). Title of the

article. Name of Journal(Vol), p.# What is the main point of the article? Describe the methodology used (Include the number

of subjects, controls, treatment, etc.) Describe the findings. What, if anything, is notable about this article? (Is it a

landmark (seminal) study? Does it have flaws? Is it qualitative or quantitative? Is it an experimental study?)

Note specific details you find especially relevant to the topic of your review (Make this as long as necessary).

  Taken from: Galvan, J.L. (2004). Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for students of the Social

and Behavior Sciences. CA: Pyrczak

Sampling: Basic questions to ask How were participants selected? How many were selected? Who was selected (demographics)?

Did any participants dropout of the study? If so, how did the researcher account for this?

What is the sample representative of? How generalizable is this sample?

Why sampling matters

Many learning theories developed out of the field of psychology in the 1950’s, including Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Socio-Cognitivism, among others. Almost all of which, were developed using a sample of middle-class, white children and adults.

Are these theories appropriate to describe how children and adults learn in the U.S. today?

Analyzing the sample: Practice it Analyze the sampling of Darling-Hammond,

Ancess, & Ort (2002)

A summary of this week’s reading http://edresearch.yolasite.com/

Practice & Prepare

Thesis:

Support #1

Support #2

Support #3

Closure: