Educational Research Study

For my educational research class, we are to develop a problem statement along with the research questions that would be asked to assess the study’s results. When completing this week’s reading in preparation of this blog, I discovered that there are basically two types of research design: qualitative and quantitative design (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008). As a result, I have come to the conclusion that my research questions below represent quantitative research design.

The following questions are quantitative due to the results they encourage. The main characteristic of quantitative designs is that it “maximizes objectivity by using numbers, statistics, structure, and control” (McMillan & Schumacher, 23). All three of the following questions do just that.

One type of quantitative design is called experimental design. This design is characterized by the fact that the researcher manipulates some aspect of what the subject will experience (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008). In my research study, I will have one group of students collaborate face to face with other students, while the other two groups of students will collaborate online with students in a different state. The two groups collaborating online are integrating technology with the project, while the other group will not. Because the students are not assigned to these groups randomly, the design is quasi-experimental. My students are grouped according to class period, therefore they do not have an equal chance of being in each group. They will be assigned to their group according to their English class period.

My specialization for this master’s program is in the area of integrating technology into adolescent literacy. Therefore, my problem statement is:

I plan to evaluate the impact of online collaboration on student motivation and literacy scores of state standardized tests of 8th grade students.

Like McMillan and Schumacher (2008) state, three types of questions exist when conducting research: Descriptive, Relationship, and Difference. Each type of question represents a different design.

The questions I would ask during my research stage are:

1. Is there a difference between student motivation when students collaborated online versus face to face with other students? (Difference)
2. Do achievement scores increase when technology is utilized with projects? (Relationship)
3. What is the percentage increase of student achievement test scores using online collaboration versus student achievement test scores using face to face collaboration? (Descriptive)

References
McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2008). Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson