Descriptive and experimental research are different in many ways. One obvious way is the research question. The descriptive research question is asking what, how or why something is happening. The experimental research question is asking if something will cause an effect.
Descriptive research uses three basic research designs. The first design collects data from people, settings, or organizations for the purpose of studying the findings. This is called simple descriptive research. The second design is called comparative descriptive research design. In this design, two or more groups of samples are compared and studied against each other for the purpose of research. The third design is called the correlational design. This design model searches for statistical correlations between two or more variables in the study.
There are two basic experimental research designs. The first is the true experimental design. The researcher varies the independent variables and studies the reaction of the dependent variable in the experiment. These are sometimes call the treatment and control groups. The sample in the treatment group will be issued some type of treatment and the control group will not receive any treatments at all. Then the two groups can be compared and contrasted.
The second experimental research design is call the quasi-experimental design. With this design, the researcher does not randomly select a sample group. Instead, the researcher groups people based on a common characteristic that will affect the outcome if they were selected randomly.
2) Explain correlational research.
Correlational research is research that studies the statistical correlation between two or more variables. This type of research will vary depending on the number of variables in the study itself.
An example of a correlational research situation related to my field of mathematics is when researchers want to compare the three method or formats of offering Intermediate Algebra at the community college level. The problem with intermediate algebra is that community college students vary in age. Some students are fresh out of high school and just completed 4 years of high school mathematics. Other students haven't taken any classes at the college level in over 30 years and are returning back to school for an education.
The three formats Intermediate Algebra is currently offered are online, hybrid, and traditional formats. This would be considered a correlational research example because the researcher could issue a pre-test at the beginning of the semester to determine where the students place before they learn anything from instruction. Then the students would spend over 14 weeks while receiving instruction in their varying formats (online, hybrid or traditional). At the end of the semester, we would give the students a common final examination. Then the researcher could compare pre-test and common final exam to determine which method instruction showed the most improvement. This type of research could be useful when determining the number of each type of format of math classes to offer in future semesters.
3) Explain the key differences between quantitative and qualitative research.
The key differences between quantitative and qualitative research are in the data that is collected and how the data is compared or used. In quantitative research, the data that is collected are numerical values or measurements. These values can be used in mathematical calculations to find the mean, median or mode. However, in qualitative research, the data collected will be non-numeric. The data cannot be used to calculate the mean, median or mode. The data will be observations.
Also, qualitative research uses more case studies and ethnography to collect data rather than experimental techniques. Qualitative research usually is less controlled (without control group) than quantitative research.
An example of the two types of researches would be if I wanted to perform two studies at my school. For the quantitative research, I could compare the overall assessment scores of the students in one part level of math classes. Some classes would meet with an instructor once a week, twice a week, three times a week or five times during the week. I could compare the attrition rates in those classes versus the success of the students' learning in those classes by examining their scores on the common final exam. This would be an example of quantitative research.
For qualitative research, I could compare the teaching strategies of the instructors that teaches these classes that were described above. Do the instructors who teach through the course over five days a week have more time to answer homework questions in class or demonstrate more examples of problems than the instructors in the classes that meet only once a week have time for? What is the attention span of the students in the classes that meet for longer durations of time? Do they fall sleep after two hours? These examples are qualitative research projects.
4) What is action research?
Action research is the type of research that generally occurs in our mathematics department at my college. Action research first identifies what potentially could be an issue or problem area that the research should focus on. Data is then collected from a sample and discussed among the math faculty. We look at what we can do to hopefully lessen the problem or possibly eliminate the issues. Then a committee is developed to come up with a plan of action. This committee would design and develop the plan, and then implement the plan into action. Once comparable data can be collected, the committee will examine the data and compare the results to see if the action plan made improvements to the problem area. The committee will decide if the plan was successful, a little successful or a failure. If there are improvements that can be made to the plan, we will adjust the plan according to the results from the committee and implement a new testing sequence until the results are satisfactory.
The benefits of performing action research are many. For one, action research allows for reflection on the data that is collected. Discussion with committee members on the data that is collected is important and leads to better action plans most of the time. Strategies for improvement is a strong benefit of action research. The discussions that occur within committee members regarding strategies for improvement are usually more beneficial, especially when you have different perspectives. The only time that I have experienced that action research does not work well is when one persons demand that everything should go their way and their methods of improvement are the best and only way things should be done. Finally, collaborative action research has the benefit of engaging the administration and faculty to discuss teaching strategies of improvement for the benefit of all. Most of the time when faculty and administration can work together as a cohesive group, the end results are usually successful.
James
9 comments:
Hi James
It is impressive to read your experiences and how they are related to the questions. They were great examples of the terms.
James, I enjoyed reading your perspective on research in the math department. In answer to your question on my blog: I think teachers engage in various hybrid forms of action and experimental research as they refine their teaching techniques. We all want to answer the question,'What works best with this student?' I think administrators use descriptive research because they want to quantify and measure what is happening at their site. Our admin has a new mandate to visit classrooms 100x and use handheld dataloggers to record what method of instruction is happening in the classroom. I shudder to think what (if anything) they do with the results.
Hello James
It was interesting to read your experiences with these types of research, I especially enjoyed your experience with correlational research. It is very important to understand that there would be different students with different background taking intermediate mathematics. Understanding that there would be differences would help your community college employ the best method that would serve all students.
We do pre-assessment in my department. Sounds great, as science, but I'm sure this affects the data you measure. That is, no matter how you set up the test -- not for a grade, no risk, no worries, think of this as a way to prepare for where we're going in this unit -- students with math anxiety will freak out when presented with a test where they know very little of the material. This could possibly affect the results of the test as well as the student's attitude toward the material during the unit.
I don't know a solution for this.
James,
Very nice responses, thank you for the details on your own experiences. These are the type of things that help me to better understand these topics, and hopefully help all of us.
Check back on my blog, I am going to post an example of my own that I think is kind of funny.
I really enjoyed the examples that you used in qualitative and quantitive research. I think as teachers we need to become more aware of the various types of research available to us. Then when we make certain decisions, we can actually back it up with research to demonstrate our decision if we are questioned by administrators. I am now doing an unofficial study at my school to see if primary students benefit from staying together as a class for more than one year. My principal will be using the quantitative data by looking at their test scores and I will be providing qualitative research by doing interviews with the students and teachers as well as observing the students. Like I said it is real unofficial. Kathy
Hey James,
I agree with your thoughts on correlational research and I think most teachers do this without thinking or labeling it. Even myself, every new class I look through my projects and assess which worked, which need to be altered and which need to be filed into the trash. I never thought of it as research but in the end that's really what we're doing.
Hi James,
Much of the work you are describing sounds like the programs that are performed in Professional Learning Communities (PLC's). I would be interested in learning more about your work, as I am looking to complete my Master's Thesis in Math Education, and would like to use my Community College classroom as part of the study.
Hi James!
I always enjoy reading your blogs. They are so informational. I hope all is going well for you.I now you are just about done with the program. Woohoo!
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