AO Assignment Woodall
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University of Texas, Arlington *
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Course
5394
Subject
Mathematics
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Assignment 2: Identifying Scales of Measurement and Types of Research Designs
Instructions:
As teachers, you are often asked to make data-driven decisions in your classroom. For this assignment, you will be given common types of variables used in educational research (gender, race/ethnicity, age, etc.). First, you will be asked to identify the level of measurement for each variable (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio). Second, these educational variables will be
applied in vignettes using different research methods (observational, correlational, developmental (cross sectional or longitudinal), survey, experience-sampling methods, etc.). You
will need to identify which research method is being used in each vignette. A worksheet with specific questions and instructions will be provided. Each question is worth 2 points (total points = 20).
Possible Options for Levels of Measurement:
Nominal, Interval, Ordinal, and Ratio. Each variable of interest can only be at ONE level of measurement.
Possible Options for Research Designs:
Observational, correlational, developmental (either cross sectional or longitudinal), experience-sampling, and survey research. Some vignettes may include more than one
research design. 1.
Sally is a 10
th
grade teacher at a Title 1 school. She has noticed that students with less parental involvement, perform worse on in-class academic assessments. To test this theory, she asks students to complete a questionnaire about their parental support at home. She then analyzes the relationship between the questionnaire responses and her students’ GPA.
a.
Variables of Interest: i.
GPA
-
Interval
ii.
Parental involvement questionnaire (measured on a Likert scale)
-
Ordinal
iii.
Student race/ethnicity
-
Nominal b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
This research is design is survey and correlational. Students are asked
to complete a questionnaire about parental support at home. Then, it with be compared to their GPA. 2.
Bob is a kindergarten teacher. It is the first week of class and he is interested in learning more about how his students make friends with other students. During play time he observes the students and takes some field notes. He notices that more outgoing students have an easier time making friends because they initiate play with other students.
a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Student personality (introvert or extravert)
-
Nominal
ii.
Student gender (male, female, other)
-
Nominal iii.
Whether students attended a pre-K program (yes, no)
-
Nominal
b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
This is an observational research design. Bob is watching the students
and seeing how they interact with other students. 3.
Kurt works for the National Center for Education Statistics and is in charge of producing the Nation’s Report Card. Every year, students complete assessments in core subjects such as math and reading to determine whether they are proficient in those areas. Kurt wants to compare 4
th
grade students to 8
th
students on math proficiency. Specifically he wants to know what math concepts 8
th
grade students know that 4
th
grade students do not know. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Student age
-
Ratio
ii.
Student grade (4
th
or 8
th
)
-
Interval
iii.
School that the student attends
-
Nominal b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
This is a correlational research design. Scores of students in 4
th
and 8
th
grade are being compared. 4.
Bianca works at a small school in rural Texas. As the only English language arts teacher in a middle school that serves students from 6-9
th
grade, she has the opportunity to work with the same students for three years. She wants to know whether her students are learning, so she tracks their writing proficiency over three years by measuring the number
of words they spelled correctly on their essays. At the end of the three years, she concludes that students’ writing skills have improved over the three years. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Writing proficiency (number of words spelled correctly)
-
Interval
ii.
Amount of time students spent writing outside of school (in minutes)
-
Ratio
iii.
Student enjoyment of writing (enjoy writing, don’t enjoy writing)
-
Ordinal
b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
This is a developmental research design. She is following the same students over 3 years to see how much they grow in their spelling. 5.
Sam is interested in the relationship between student math performance and anxiety. He realizes that heart rate can be a proxy for anxiety (the higher your heart rate, the higher your anxiety). To test this hypothesis he buys the students in his class a heart rate monitor. He has the students wear the heart rate monitor during a typical math lesson and then during a math exam. He compares the relationship between the students’ heart rates during the math lesson and the math exam. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Students’ math exam scores
-
Interval
ii.
Students’ heart rates
-
Interval
iii.
Students’ confidence in math (confident, not confident)
-
Nominal
b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
This research design would be correlational. He is comparing students
heart rates during a math lesson and a math exam.
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6.
Jane is a principal who has the money to invest in a new playground for her elementary school. To determine what types of playground equipment to buy, she visits four neighboring elementary schools in her district. She then sits outside during recess at each elementary school and watches the students to see what playground equipment is used the
most. She noticed that students mostly used the slides and swings. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Number of students on each type of playground equipment
-
Interval
ii.
Number of playground equipment pieces at each school
-
Interval
iii.
Student grade levels (1
st
, 2
nd
, 3
rd
, 4
th
, 5
th
)
-
Ordinal
b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
The research design that was used was observational because the principal is watching to see what kind of playground equipment is being used the most. 7.
Allie is a district administrator who is interested in the relationship between out of school
suspensions and school achievement for students with disabilities. She collected data from every student in her district on the number of out of school suspension days and STAAR achievement scores. She found that students with lower STAAR achievement scores were suspended more often. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
STAAR achievement scores
-
Interval
ii.
Number of times suspended in a school year
-
Interval
iii.
Number of missed days due to suspension
-
Interval
b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
The research design that is being used by Allie is correlational. She is comparing the relationship between out of school suspensions and school achievement for students with disabilities. The achievement scores were gathered using STAAR.
8.
Barney works in the cafeteria. He wants to know what meals the students like eating the most. He asks students to indicate their top three lunch meals. He discovered that students
enjoyed eating chicken patties, pizza, and corn dogs. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Type of lunch meal indicated
-
Nominal
ii.
Lunch shift of students (1
st
shift, 2
nd
shift, 3
rd
shift)
-
Nominal
iii.
Food group preference (fruit, veggies, dairy, grains, fats/sugar)
-
Nominsl
b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
Barney used a survey research design to see what types of meals students preferred to eat the most. 9.
Sophia is a reading specialist who wants to know how effective her school’s core reading program is. The core reading program has been in place for six years. She is interested comparing the scores of 4
th
, 5
th
, and 6
th
graders on the same assessment (
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)
. She finds that students are performing well. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Score (assessment)
-
Interval
ii.
Whether the student transferred from another school (yes, no)
-
Nominal
iii.
Whether English is the student’s first language (yes, no)
-
Nominal
b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
Sophia is using a developmental and correlational design. She is looking at data across several grade levels and then see how they compared on the DIBELS assessment. 10.
Laura want to know how effective the college and career advisory program is at her high school. To measure success she sends a survey to individuals from the 2010 graduating class every year in the spring. The survey asks questions related to the education and employment status of respondents and their annual salary. By using this survey, Laura can track the same graduates by year. a.
Variables of interest:
i.
Salary (in dollars)
-
Interval
ii.
Education level (high school diploma, GED, bachelors, masters, PhD/MD)
-
Nominal
iii.
Level of employment (full-time, part-time, unemployed, self-employed, volunteer)
-
Nominal b.
What is the research design(s)? Why did you select that research design(s)?
-
The designs that Laura used would be survey and developmental. Laura sends the 2010 graduating class a survey every spring. Then she can also track the graduates every year using the same survey.
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