This Assessment for this Competency is a series of short-answer responses to questions that ask you to apply your knowledge of research methodologies.

CECS RC002: Research Methodologies

Short-Answer Response Assessment Submission Form

Contact Information

Please provide your contact information and date of submission below.

Your Name: First and Last

Your E-mail address: Your e-mail here.

Date: Click here to enter a date

Instructions

This Competency includes a Short-Answer Response Assessment. Write your response to each prompt below—in the space provided. Beneath the prompts is the Rubric, which will be used by the Competency Assessor to evaluate your responses. Carefully review the Rubric rows associated with each prompt to provide a complete response.

When writing your response, begin typing where it reads “

Enter Your Response Here

.” Write as much as needed to satisfy the requirements of the prompt.

Note: Save this file as RC002_firstinitial_lastname, and upload it to this Assessment within the learning platform. For example, RC002_B_Smith.

Short Answer 1

Read the descriptions of research studies below. Indicate the type of qualitative study and provide a 2- to 3-sentence rationale for your selection. Choose from the following types of qualitative research:

· Phenomenological study

· Case study

· Ethnographic study

· Narrative analysis

Study A

A researcher decides to compare an early reading lesson in a public school that starts reading instruction in kindergarten with a reading lesson in a Waldorf school that begins reading instruction in second grade. She carefully notes her observations of each teacher’s methods and materials along with the students’ questions and learning.

Your Response
Enter Your Response Here

Study B

A group of researchers observe play periods at a school as a way to address the concept of how teachers can balance the need to provide adult guidance with the need to allow child independence. The researchers initially set aside their own beliefs and attitudes about discipline, freedom, and play, and then collect data. They analyze the data from the points of views of both teachers and children and gradually cluster themes in order to identify the essential issues.

Your Response
Enter Your Response Here

Study C

A researcher uncovers the autobiography of a kindergarten teacher from the early 20th century and analyzes this document in order to identify common themes related to the teacher’s professional concerns.

Your Response
Enter Your Response Here

Study D

A researcher is studying the cultural attitudes of recent immigrant groups to the United States and how these attitudes affect female students in early childhood. The researcher focuses on immigrants from Romania and researches and analyzes their traditions, beliefs, and cultural practices in many areas as a lens through which to interpret parental attitudes toward, and children’s experiences of, American early childhood education.
Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 1: Describe the types of qualitative research designs.

Learning Objective 1.1:
Describe the types of qualitative research.

Description is not present.

Descriptions of the types of qualitative research is vague, incomplete, or inaccurate.

Descriptions of the types of qualitative research are clear, complete, and accurate.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:
Provides detailed information about the types of qualitative research.

Short Answer 2
What is a grounded theory study? (1–2 paragraphs).
Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 1: Describe the types of qualitative research designs.

Learning Objective 1.2:
Define grounded theory.

Definition is not present.

Response includes an unclear or incomplete definition of grounded theory.

Response includes a clear and accurate definition of grounded theory.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:
Response provides an example from a peer-reviewed research article that illustrates grounded theory and a rationale supporting the example.

Short Answer 3
Describe at least five characteristics of good qualitative research and explain why each characteristic is important. Your response should be 3–5 paragraphs in length.
Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 2: Explain the common characteristics of qualitative research methods.

Learning Objective 2.1:
Describe characteristics of good qualitative research and their importance.

Response is not present or is inaccurate.

Response includes an unclear or incomplete description of five characteristics of good qualitative research, or response includes a clear and accurate description of fewer than five characteristics of good qualitative research.

Response includes a clear and accurate description of five characteristics of good qualitative research.
Response thoroughly explains the importance of each of the five identified characteristics of good qualitative research.
Response is supported by references to the professional knowledge base.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:
Response thoroughly explains the importance of more than five characteristics of good qualitative research.

Short Answer 4

Which of the following is an example of a semi-experimental study? Provide a rationale for your choice.

Study A: A researcher wants to study the effects of napping on preschooler behavior. The researcher has access to teachers at a number of preschools where most students take a daily nap, but students are allowed to opt out and play quietly during naptime if they wish. The researcher asks the students’ teachers to rate the students’ behavior after naptime on a number of scales to determine if those who nap have fewer behavior problems in the afternoon than those who do not nap.

Study B: A researcher hypothesizes that a particular behavioral management system will reduce the amount of time preschool teachers must spend dealing with student behavior problems. From the 32 preschools in a city, the researcher randomly selects three. Half of the teachers in the school are trained on how to use the new behavior management system and half are not. The researcher then quantifies the amount of time each group of teachers spends dealing with behavior problems and determines that the management system reduces time spent by 28%.

Study C: A researcher has access to a small group of preschoolers who have been identified as having mild to moderate anxiety disorders and whose parents and teachers are open to new methods to help these children cope with anxiety-producing situations. The researcher trains the teachers in the implementation of an intervention for reducing the students’ anxiety and then rates the students’ anxiety on a known scale after implementation has been underway in the classroom for 3 months.

Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 3: Describe the types of quantitative research designs.

Learning Objective 3.1:
Describe semi-experimental studies.

Response is not present.

Response identifies an incorrect study or provides an illogical rationale.

Response identifies the correct study and provides a logical rationale.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:
Response provides an example from a peer-reviewed research article illustrating a semi-experimental research design and a rationale supporting the example.

Short Answer 5
Define the concepts of correlation and causation and explain how they are different. Explain the significance of these concepts within the context of research.
Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 4: Explain the common characteristics of quantitative research methods.

Learning Objective 4.1: Describe correlation and causation and their significance in research.

Response is not present.

Response provides an unclear or inaccurate description of correlation and causation.
Response provides an illogical explanation of the significance of the concepts in research.

Response provides a clear and accurate description of correlation and causation.
Response provides a logical explanation of the significance of the concepts in research.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:
Response provides a clear explanation of why it is difficult to prove causation in early childhood research.

Short Answer 6
Identify at least five characteristics of good quantitative research and explain the importance of each. Your response should be 3–5 paragraphs in length.
Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 4: Explain the common characteristics of quantitative research methods.

Learning Objective 4.2:
Describe characteristics of good quantitative research and the importance of the characteristics.

Response is not present.

Response includes an unclear or incomplete description

Response includes a clear and accurate description of five characteristics of good quantitative research.
Response thoroughly explains the importance of each of the five identified characteristics of good quantitative research.
Response is grounded in the professional knowledge base.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:
Response thoroughly explains the importance of more than five identified characteristics of good quantitative research.

Short Answer 7
Explain the differences among dependent, independent, and extraneous variables.
Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 4: Explain the common characteristics of quantitative research methods.

Learning Objective 4.3:
Explain the differences among dependent, independent, and extraneous variables.

Response is not present.

Response includes an unclear or incomplete description of the differences among all three types of variables.

Response includes a clear and accurate description of the differences between dependent, independent, and extraneous variables.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as “2,” plus the following:
Response provides an example of a dependent and independent from a peer reviewed research article.

Short Answer 8

Define mixed methods research and explain its applications and benefits. Your response should be 1–3 paragraphs in length.

Your Response
Enter Your Response Here
Rubric

0

Not Present

1

Needs Improvement

2

Meets Expectations

3

Exceeds Expectations

Sub-Competency 5: Explain the common characteristics of mixed methods research.

Learning Objective 5.1:
Explain the common characteristics of mixed methods research.

Response is not present.

Response includes a partial explanation of the common characteristics of mixed methods research.
Response provides an unclear or illogical explanation of how mixed methods approaches can be beneficial.

Response includes a clear and accurate explanation of the common characteristics of mixed methods research.
Response thoroughly explains how mixed methods approaches can be applied to research studies, including the benefits of using a mixed methods design.

Demonstrates the same level of achievement as level “2,” plus the following:
Response includes a citation from a research article that uses a mixed methods approach and describes which characteristics the study exemplifies.

©2014 Walden University 3

Academic Writing Expectations Checklist

The faculty Assessor will use this checklist to evaluate whether your written responses adhere to the conventions of scholarly writing. Review this checklist prior to submitting your Assessment to ensure your writing follows academic writing expectations. Click the links to access Writing Center resources:

Sentence-Level Skills

|_| Constructing complete and correct sentences
Note: See an explanation of

sentence components

and how to avoid

sentence fragments and run-ons

.

|_| Using and spelling words correctly
Note: See a list of

commonly misused words

and information on

MS Word’s spell check

.

|_| Using

punctuation

appropriately
Note: See the different types of

punctuation and their uses.

|_| Using grammar appropriately
Note: See a

Grammarly tutorial

to catch further errors.

Paragraph-Level Skills

|_| Using paragraph breaks
Note: See a description of

paragraph basics

.

|_| Focusing each paragraph on one central idea (rather than multiple ideas)
Note: See an explanation of how

topic sentences

work.

Use of Evidence

|_| Using resources appropriately
Note: See examples of

integrating evidence

in a paper.

|_| Citing and referencing resources accurately
Note: See examples of

citing and referencing resources

in a paper.

|_| Paraphrasing (explaining in one’s own words) to avoid plagiarizing the source
Note: See

paraphrasing strategies

.

Formatting Written Assignments

|_| Using appropriate APA formatting, including title page, margins, and font
Note: See

APA overview

and

APA template

from the Writing Center.

Comments:

©2014 Walden University 1