Exam 1: Introduction to Educational Research

Basic research has as its primary focus:

Exploratory research is often conducted in the early phases of research on a topic because little is known about the topic.

Which of the following is a characteristic of a good theory or explanation?

Researcher A completed a study of home-schooled children and found that 67% of the home-schooled students reported that they currently had difficulty relating to other children their age. Researcher B conducted a study to determine whether children who are home-schooled during their elementary school years will have problems relating to their peers during their college years. What type of studies were these researchers conducting?

A group of teachers decided to review the research literature to find a possible solution for a problem they were having at their school. Different cohorts worked together and finally presented their findings. Which of the following represents the scenario they should consider the best and most reasonable presentation of research literature?

There is a set of churches in the U.S. where part of the service involves snake handling. The researcher wants to find out why the people attending these churches do this and find out how they feel and think about it. In this case, the primary purpose of the study is:

Qualitative and quantitative researchers focus on different parts of the research cycle and neither goes through the entire research cycle.

The rule of parsimony suggests that scientists should:

A researcher has conducted several studies to verify her theory of school motivational factors. These studies have validated her theory so now she wants to conduct research to see if changing aspects of the school classroom based on her theory leads to improvements in the classroom. This is an example of:

"Dr. Smith has parked in the same parking space for over a year now. Most likely, she will be parking there again tomorrow." This statement is an example of:

Describe evaluation research, action research, and orientational research.

Basic research:

What type of evaluation is focused on improving an educational program?

A researcher has developed a theory about student's motivation in school. She conducts several studies to test the theory. This is an example of:

Epistemology is the:

Studying educational research least to improvements in critical thinking skills.

A state school supervisor wants to know who is more likely to skip school, male or female students, so the researcher obtains graduation records which will show the male and female students' graduation rates. In this case, the primary purpose of the study is:

According to the principle of evidence, empirical research provides degrees of evidence but it does not provide proof.

A researcher makes a judgment of how well the finished product of Toyota's new Hybrid car performs, and based on that judgment, consumers will have the information needed to know if they want to purchase this car. What type of evaluation would this be?

The theory testing approach to science is called: