class 5 09/29/08 building research skills (cont.)

class 5 09/29/08 building research skills (cont.)

research is • finding it out (Becker) • the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind (anonymous) • searching for invisible needles in infinite haystacks (Geertz) • extremely extended acquaintances with extremely small matters (Geertz)

all researchers must • find some small part of the world to explore, describe, and explain • write a narrative that reports their exploration, description, and explanation to an audience • in other words: first find it out, then tell people about what you found

drawing a model • label the variables • connect the variables with arrows • curved, no arrowheads: correlation • single headed: direction of “effect” • parallel single headed in both directions: mutual effect • describe the strength of the paths • +, -, low, moderate, strong

K. ch 9: optimization & constraints building credibility with audience—validity as subjective—”in the ear of the beholder” in your research • build on accepted knowledge • familiarity with relevant literature • avoid weaknesses of previous studies • use accepted research methods • justify use of non-standard methods

in the presentation (research report) • provide expected evidence • anticipate and answer questions and concerns • reflect the study’s strengths and weaknesses • convey your integrity

trade-off between internal and external validity • strengthening internal validity usually diminishes external validity • basic research emphasizes internal validity • applied research emphasizes external validity • Bronfenbrenner’s critique of lab studies: “the science of strange behavior of children in strange situations with strange adults for the briefest possible time”

constraints • ethical • institutional • resources

Types of errors in synthesizing research in education (Michael J. Dunkin) primary stage errors • unexplained selectivity • lack of discrimination

secondary stage errors • erroneous detailing • double counting • non-recognition of faulty author conclusions • unwarranted attributions • suppression of contrary findings

tertiary stage errors • consequential errors • failure to marshal all evidence relevant to a generalization

“...potential users of syntheses should be encouraged to develop a healthy skepticism toward them. The availability of a typology of synthesized errors should assist in the process” (Dunkin, p. 95)

Vogt • nominal scale • non sequitur • operational definition • outlier • parsimony • path diagram • population • practical significance • Pygmalion effect • regression line

ethics case 2 (needs a title) 1. What are the ethical issues? 2. Are there problematic issues here that are not ethical? 3. What should Mary do about the references? 4. Can Mary mention the implications of the article for Wright's research to Wright? 5. What's your question?

writing Becker • writing in grad school, and for the rest of your academic life, a very different process from writing up to this point • the days of the one-draft paper are over • writing becomes a public process • writing part of the research process, not simply something one does at the end

Becker ch 2: persona and authority • “Somewhere, probably in college, I picked up that articulate people used big words, which impressed me” (p. 28). • Ideas written so that they are difficult for untrained people to understand. This is scholarly writing (p. 30). • “I am looking for a writing style that makes me sound smart” (p. 31) • “Gee, Howie, if you say it that way it sounds like something anyone could say.” (41)

“To overcome the academic prose you have to first overcome the academic pose” (Mills) • “Some—I favor this persona—take a Will Rogers line. We are just plain folks who emphasize our similarities to ordinary people, rather than the differences. We may know a few things others don’t, but it’s nothing special” ( p.36). • “The author can’t be nobody, so every author will necessarily be somebody” (p. 37).

that vs. which (APA p. 55) • that is restrictive, that is, the relative clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. • which can restrictive, or nonrestrictive, that is, merely adds further information not essential to the meaning of the sentence • APA suggests using that for restrictive clauses and which for nonrestrictive clauses

restrictive clauses—no comma restrictive The animals that performed well on the first task were not successful on the second task. nonrestrictive • nonrestrictive clauses—comma The animals, which performed well on the first task, were not successful on the second task.

Grad Life Research Specialization Committees (08-09) • Evaluation: Katherine Ryan, Chair; Debra Bragg; Lizanne DeStefano • Interpretive: Cris Mayo, Chair; Christopher Lubienski; Christopher Span • Qualitative: Ruth Nicole Brown, Co-Chair; Brenda Trofanenko, Co-Chair; Lisa Spanierman • Quantitative: Hua-Hua Chang, Chair; Carolyn Anderson; James Halle

more bests best fine bakery • Mirabelle, Main St, downtown U best downtown square • Monticello best bookstore • Pages for All Ages, Curtis Road west of Neil, Savoy additional Asian grocery store • Green Union, 2020 S. Neil St., C

useful website • the217.com best place to watch corn and beans being harvested • leave town in any direction; pull over best place to watch a sunset • Philo road south until it ends (2 miles south of Windsor); turn left; go to top of hill (Yankee Ridge) park north side of road (room for 1 car, be careful of the ditch) “you can't really enjoy a Chambana fall without a trip to Curtis Apple Orchard”

this week free or cheap • Asian Film Festival 2008: Young in Japan • Friday through Sunday • Boardman’s Art Theatre, C • free (Donations welcomed) • 6 movies, five played twice • Saturday 1:00pm Hinokio (for kids) • more info • www.aems.uiuc.edu

class 5 09/29/08 building research skills (cont.)