EDRE6606 - Quantitative Research Methods in Education I

Gabriella Belli, Ph.D.

office: 703.538.8477
home: 301.951.5291
e-mail: gbelli@vt.edu

Office: Room#438

Catalogue description: This two-course sequence [EDRE 6606-6606] is designed to provide an overview of basic research design, measurement and statistical concepts in social and behavioral research. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the process of social and educational research in field settings, hands on experience of designing and conducting research and analysis of data.

EDRE 6606 (fall semester) – Intro to research methods and to descriptive and inferential statistics. The focus will be on experimental and quasi-experimental research designs and analyses used to compare group differences: t-tests, ANOVA, and ANCOVA.

EDRE 6606 (spring semester) – The research methods focus will be on non-experimental quantitative designs, survey research, and qualitative designs. The quantitative part of the course will deal with measurement issues and the statistical analyses often used with survey data and to explore relationships
between variables: correlation, regression, and chi-square analyses.

TEXT AND RESOURCES
1) Blackboard is used for course materials, announcements, email, etc.:
    a) From a web browser (Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla), go to the Blackboard site - http://learn.vt.edu
    b) logon using your VT PID and password
    c) click on EDRE 6606, which should be shown in your “List of Courses”
2) Text and Electronic Resources:
    Slavin, R.E. (2007). Educational Research in an Age of Accountability. Pearson Education Inc.
    Lowry, R. (1999-2008). Concepts and applications of inferential statistics. Retrieved October 10, 2007 from http://faculty.vassar.edu/lowry/webtext.html
    StatSoft Electronic Textbook (1984-2007). http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html
    Stockburger, D. W. (1996-1998). Introductory statistics: Concepts, models, and applications. WWW Version 1.0
    Trochim, W. M. The Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd Edition. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/). (version current as of August 16, 2004) A web resource for statistical and research information.
    Finding Published Instruments (http://www.apa.org/science/faq-findtests.html) A web guide for locating and using published and unpublished instruments:
American Psychological Association, Science Directorate (2002), FAQ/Finding Information About Psychological Tests.

3) Readings (Available in Blackboard. Additional readings will be posted during the semester.)
    a) Hutchinson, S.R. (2004) Survey Research. In K. deMarrais and S. D. Lapan (eds.) Foundation for research: Methods of inquiry in education and the social sciences (pp. 283-301). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
    b) Robinson, D. H., Levin, J. R., Thomas, G. D., Pituch, K. A., & Vaughn, S. (2007). The incidence of “causal” statements in teaching-and-learning research journals. American Educational Research Journal, 44(2), 400-413.
4) Software: JMP Statistical Software; free for students through the Software Network.
Log on at the following site using your VT PID and password:
https://www.ita.vt.edu/Apps/WebObjects/NetSoftware and scroll down to: SAS JMP.
Note about Text: Slavin (2007) concludes every chapter with the following:
    • Research Navigator (Key terms & Activities)
    • Exercises
    • Further reading
Review these sections and use www.researchnavigator.com in studying for each chapter.
Additionally, consider using Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/) for finding articles (or go to
www.google.com; click on “more” and select “scholar” from the list.

COMMUNICATION
Blackboard email lists contain VT PIDs. IF YOU DO NOT USE YOUR VT EMAIL, PLEASE MODIFY IT SO THAT ANY MESSAGES WILL REDIRECT TO YOUR OWN ACCOUNT.
    • SENDING EMAIL – Please put EDRE 6606 in subject line.
    • SENDING ATTACHMENTS – Send files using the following format for file names:
EDRE6606-your last name-descriptive name for file.doc

COURSE STRUCTURE/GRADES:
 • The tenets of the Virginia Tech Graduate Honor Code will be strictly enforced in this course, and all graded assignments shall be subject to the stipulations of the Graduate Honor Code. For more information on the Graduate Honor Code, please refer to the GHS Constitution, located online at
http://fbox.vt.edu/studentinfo/gradhonor/

• Please note that ungraded assignments may (and probably should) be done with classmates. There will be three graded exams, whose formats will vary and could include short essays or  article reviews. Additional assignments will be given using JMP, the web, or articles. If you miss a deadline, assignments need to be turned in before the next class meeting, when the graded papers are returned to class. Final grade will be assigned based on total percentage points,
generally in the following manner, after adjusting for class average, which is usually a B.
95-100% - A 85-89% - B+ 70-74% - C+ Below 60% - F
90-94% - A- 80-84% - B 65-69% - C
75-79% - B- 60-64% - C

Accomodations

If you need adaptations or accommodations because of a disability (learning disability, attention deficit
disorder, psychological, physical, etc.); if you have emergency medical information to share with me; or if
you need special arrangements, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.

Additional References
Bogdan, R.C. and Biklen, S.K. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Elmore, P.B. and Woehlke, P.L. (1997) Basic Statistics. NY: Longman.

Howell, D.C. (2002). Statistical Methods for Psychology (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth
Publishing.
Pedhazur, E.J. and Schmelkin, L.P. (1991) Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach.
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. (a great reference book; lots of detail)

Course Schedule
The following pages provide a tentative course schedule, which we will follow as closely as possible.
Modifications may be made throughout the semester.

 

Week	Main Topics Text and other readings	Subtopics
1. 1/16	Introduction to Survey Research • Text, chapter 6	Types of surveys Creating a simple questionnaires
2. 1/23	Questionnaire items & Sampling • Text, end of chapter 6 • Review Trochim, Sampling section • Read Hutchinson (2004) Determining sample size • text, pp.194-196	External validity or generalizability Key terms in sampling Probability and nonprobability sampling
3. 1/30	Brief review of Inferential statistics • Text 256-260 • Lowry, chapters 4 & 7 • StatSoft, Elementary concepts in statistics Statistical versus practical significance • Text, 197-198 Correlation Simple or bivariate regression • Text 281-286 • Lowry, chapter 3 • StatSoft, Basic statistics tabÆcorrelation • Stockburger, correlation tab Introduction to JMP	The null hypothesis & tests of significance Meaning of p-value Relationship with quantitative variables Predicting one variable from another r and r2 Partial correlations Spurious correlations Correlations with categorical variables Rank order correlations
4. 2/6	Multiple regression (MR) • StatSoft, Linear Regression tab JMP	R and R2 Control variables in regression
5. 2/13	Multiple regression continued JMP Causal Language • Read Robinson, et al (2007)	Stepwise regression Hierarchical regression Using control variables
	Exam 1 – handout out Week 5; due Week 6
6. 2/20	Chi-square (nonparametric statistic) • Text, pp. 286-288 • Lowry, chapter 8 • StatSoft, Basic statistics tab Æcrosstabulation JMP	Chi-square goodness-of-fit test  Chi-square test of independence or association
7. 2/27	Review of t-test • Text, 263-286 • Lowry, chapters 13 & 14 • StatSoft, Basic statistics tabÆt-tests for independent samples & t-tests for dependent samples One-way ANOVA • Text, chapter 14 • Stockburger, ANOVA tab JMP	Comparing means for two sets of scores or two groups • Paired or correlated samples t-test • Independent samples t-test One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) • Why ANOVA? • Multiple comparison tests
3/5	NO CLASS - BREAK WEEK
Week	Main Topics Text and other readings	Subtopics
1. 1/16	Introduction to Survey Research • Text, chapter 6	Types of surveys Creating a simple questionnaires
2. 1/23	Questionnaire items & Sampling • Text, end of chapter 6 • Review Trochim, Sampling section • Read Hutchinson (2004) Determining sample size • text, pp.194-196	External validity or generalizability Key terms in sampling Probability and nonprobability sampling
3. 1/30	Brief review of Inferential statistics • Text 256-260 • Lowry, chapters 4 & 7 • StatSoft, Elementary concepts in statistics Statistical versus practical significance • Text, 197-198 Correlation Simple or bivariate regression • Text 281-286 • Lowry, chapter 3 • StatSoft, Basic statistics tabÆcorrelation • Stockburger, correlation tab Introduction to JMP	The null hypothesis & tests of significance Meaning of p-value Relationship with quantitative variables Predicting one variable from another r and r2 Partial correlations Spurious correlations Correlations with categorical variables Rank order correlations
4. 2/6	Multiple regression (MR) • StatSoft, Linear Regression tab JMP	R and R2 Control variables in regression
5. 2/13	Multiple regression continued JMP Causal Language • Read Robinson, et al (2007)	Stepwise regression Hierarchical regression Using control variables
	Exam 1 – handout out Week 5; due Week 6
6. 2/20	Chi-square (nonparametric statistic) • Text, pp. 286-288 • Lowry, chapter 8 • StatSoft, Basic statistics tab Æcrosstabulation JMP	Chi-square goodness-of-fit test  Chi-square test of independence or association
7. 2/27	Review of t-test • Text, 263-286 • Lowry, chapters 13 & 14 • StatSoft, Basic statistics tabÆt-tests for independent samples & t-tests for dependent samples One-way ANOVA • Text, chapter 14 • Stockburger, ANOVA tab JMP	Comparing means for two sets of scores or two groups • Paired or correlated samples t-test • Independent samples t-test One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) • Why ANOVA? • Multiple comparison tests
3/5	NO CLASS - BREAK WEEK
8. 3/12	Factorial ANOVA • Text, 271-275 • Lowry, chapter 16 • StatSoft, ANOVA/MANOVA tab JMP	Two-way & three-way ANOVA • Main effects & interaction effects • Interaction effects • Graphing interactions
9. 3/19	ANCOVA • Text, 275-280  • Lowry, chapter 17 JMP	Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) Effect size (ES) ANCOVA versus ANOVA ANCOVA versus regression
10. 3/26	NO CLASS – Take Home assignment
	Exam 3 – handed out Week 10	Due Week 11
11. 4/2	Measurement • Text, Chapter 10 + 289-290 • Lowry, Chapter 1 • Stockburger, Measurment • StatSoft, Reliability/Item analysis tab	Scales and subscales Reliability and validity of measures Cronbach ‘s alpha
12. 4/9	Finding published instruments • APA webpage Tools for questionnaire design	When can you create your own questionnaire? When should you use published instruments? Constructing a questionnaire with published instruments.
13. 4/16	Qualitative research • Text, chapters 7 & 8
14. 4/23	Program Evaluation Action research • Text, chapter 9
15. 4/30	Wrap-up discussion Prospectus & dissertation chapters
	Exam 3 – handed out Week 15	Due Week 16 -  Finals Week
5/7	Finals Week – last test due

Published by admin on September 26 of 2008