Assignment:
In Unit 4 key terms and reading sections, you learned about quantitative and qualitative terminology for use in research studies.
Which of these terms and/or techniques are the most relevant to you, given your unique content area and/or grade level? Choose at least four terms and/or techniques from the list in the key terms section, and describe how these might be useful to you if you were to conduct a research study in your own classroom. Cite your readings about qualitative and quantitative research in your post.
Reply to at least two classmates' posts with your own thoughts on using these tools in teacher-led research.
Topic
At its core, research is about asking and answering questions. Research questions (sometimes abbreviated as "RQs") need to be specifically written so that a study is clearly targeted to answer them. Well-phrased research questions are also needed so that a study can be properly replicated in the future, or perhaps expanded upon. Review this multimedia file for examples of strong and weak research questions.
Depending upon the type of research being performed, there may be other types of questions involved. For example, the researcher might be conducting a survey that asks questions of the participants. These questions on the survey are not to be confused with the actual, core research questions for the study. The research questions are about the main points that the study will answer.
For example, perhaps you have made an observation that your students prefer essay tests to multiple choice tests. Based on this observation, you might ask the research question, "What percentage of students prefer essay tests to multiple choice tests, and why?" In order to answer this question, your survey questions to your students might be, "Do you prefer essay tests or multiple choice tests?" and "Why do you prefer this type of test?"
Imagine that you are conducting teacher-led research about the use of homework in your classroom. In order to collect data for your study, you will be sending home a survey for parents, asking them their thoughts about homework in your content area and/or grade level.
Complete the following:
• Develop two research questions that you would like to answer by doing teacher-led research on this topic.
• Develop a list of several (four or more) survey questions to ask the parents on the survey. The answers to the survey questions would serve as data to help you to answer your overarching research questions.
• Explain how your survey questions help you to answer your research questions.