Article Review

Course Project Assignment 1
Article Review
The purpose of our project is to construct a survey containing a scale to measure graduate students attitude towards research (or attitude towards quantitative and qualitative research). The first step is to conduct a lit search on the topic. So here is your assignment for that:

1) Conduct a search for articles pertaining to graduate student or practitioners in different disciplines (like nurses or physicians), their attitude towards research. These articles could include articles reporting on using scale to measure attitude towards quantitative research, qualitative research, or research in a certain discipline like psychology. Compile the articles you found, report them in a reference list, and choose one to review (see item 2).

If by Wednesday the 12th you can’t find one (and you have to explain how you tried), look up the reference list below and pick one and declare it right away to avoid duplication by posting a note in this conference. Please note that the reference list was created more than 15 years ago and some of them are not directly related to measuring attitude towards research, it is important that you find more recent and on topic publications.

2) Review the chosen article by responding to the following questions:
a. What was the purpose of the study?
b. What general (target) population are the findings meant to represent?
c. What specific selection strategies were used in the study to draw the sample?
d. What are the names of the constructs measured in the survey instrument?
e. Was validity and reliability information provided for the survey construct(s)? What was it?
f. Was some type of incentive used to encourage respondents to complete the questionnaire? What was the incentive? If an incentive was used, do you think this incentive influenced questionnaire responses?
g. Was the response rate provided? What was it, for all listed groups in the study?
h. What was good and bad about the survey methodology used in the study? e.g., good/bad sampling plan, good/bad item review, response rate listed (or not), support for reliability and validity (or not)? Provide a response to (h) in paragraph

Course Project Assignment 2
Sub-conference 1: Definition of construct and sub-constructs

A construct typically comprises sub-constructs or factors that jointly measure the construct. For the ATR construct, there should be different aspects of research that can serve as its sub-constructs. Based on the article you reviewed and contributions by your group mates to Sub-Conference 2 of Week 6 (Survey Development Framework), come up with the sub-constructs of ATR that you like the most (by adopting or adapting an existing set), and develop (or choose) a definition of ATR and definitions for each of the sub-constructs. (See Table 5.1.) At the end of the week, we will come up with the best structure of the construct and definitions by the class.

Sub-conference 2: Hypotheses, evidence and variable

In Sub-Conference 2 of Week 6, you were asked to report hypotheses that are included in the article you reviewed. The majority of the articles reviewed by the class include hypotheses. Based on your review and that by your classmates, generate a list of hypotheses based on the factor structure you proposed in sub-conference 1. Try to differentiate hypotheses that refer to inference and hypotheses that refer to assumptions.

You should identify the evidence needed for each hypothesis and the data you need (variables you should include in your design). For example, if a hypothesis is about gender difference in GPA. The evidence would be finding of significant difference in GPA, and the variables needed are gender and GPA. (See last part of Chapter 5 for examples.)

To make it easier to follow, in your contribution you should include your contribution to Sub-Conference 1 (factors and definitions) again here first before listing your hypotheses. And if you can differentiate between inference and assumption hypotheses, separately present them.

Here is the structure you should use in presenting your posting:

A. Construct and Sub-constructs definition
(You copy this from Sub-Conference 1)

B. Hypotheses

Hypo 1: XXXXX
Evidence:
Variable(s):
Hypo 2: XXXXX
Evidence:
Variable(s):
….
Hypo k: XXXXX
Evidence:
Variable(s):

Course Project Assignment 3 Item Writing

Thus far in the course project, we have taken a look at the literature and practice developing theory and hypotheses. Now we move to writing items for the construct and sub-constructs. For that, I have prepared an exercise for you to work on.

For a previous class, I developed a set of items related to attitude towards research that are designed with education Ph.D. students in mind (see attached). I’d like to share with you this pool of items and ask that you do the following for this third assignment of the course project.

1) Identify the sub-constructs or factors measured by the items.
Follow this process:
• Review items
• Identify similar items
• Identify the themes measured by the different groups of similar items
• Provide a name and a brief description or explanation for each group of similar items

2) With the factors you identified, group the items by these factors.

Don’t just use the number assigned to the items, copy and paste the whole items with the numbers associated with them under the factor. Do not use table.

Factor: Name (definition)
Items (#) item description
Items (#) item description
Item ——-.

3) What other factor(s) should be considered?

In light of what you learned from the first two course project assignments, are there factor(s) that should be included in this scale? If there is, provide the name and description of the factor(s).To help you recall what was posted, I have attached here a list of factors identified in the class. (See attached.)

Assignment 4
Item Review
For the item review assignment, I’d like you download the attached “Attitude Towards Research Methods Questionnaire,” respond to it, and then do the following 4 tasks:
——
Task 1: The items are designed to measure the following three factors (sub-constructs):

* World view (Philosophical view of nature of reality or ontology and knowledge or epistimology)

* Methodology (Soundness of the methods and procedures used to collect and analyze data)

* Validity of findings (Quality of data collected by different methods and procedures)

Place the items in three groups according to these three factors.

Task 2: Item review and analysis

Do the review by completing the table below.
Instruction: complete columns A & B

Column A: Imagine you are both a content expert in research and a methodologist in item writing, review and identify flaws of the items in Part A and make suggestions for improving them. If you have issue with an item, put a X in column A next to the item, and if you have a suggestion for improving the item, write down your idea.

Column B: Review the items again, this time identify items that if participants agree (somewhat or strongly) suggest that they prefer qualitative method and items if they agree (somewhat or strongly) suggest that they prefer qualitative method. If you think an item is leaning qualitative put L in column B. If you think an item is leaning quantitative put N in column B.

# Item A
B
1 Scientific acts and personal values can be separated.

2 It is very difficult for researchers to be detached from the research
participants and stay objective.

3 Reality is subjective because different people have different perspectives.

4 Before conducting research we must clearly state our hypotheses predicting
what results we should expect to obtain.

5 Researchers should spend substantial amount of timewith the research
participants to get to know them.

6 In order to minimize extraneous influences, research should be
conducted in controlled environment like in a laboratory (and not in
the natural environment).

7 Instead of deliberately seeking individuals who can provide us
with the most information, we should randomly
select a sample of individuals to collect data from them.

8 The kind of data we collect in research, the data collection
schedule, and from whom the data are collected should all
be flexible.

9 Using structured data collection instruments that clearly spell
out the instruction and procedure is important to assure credibility
of findings.

10 Setting hypotheses (prediction of findings) in research should be
based on theoretical justification and not on empirical data.

11 To examine the causal effects of an instructional strategy on student
learning, it is better for researchers to control how the instruction should
be delivered and to whom than letting the instruction take place naturally.

12 When conducting research, the researchers should spend time immerse
themselves in the setting they are studying.

13 To measure cooperative behavior of students through observation, it is
better to describe such behavior through detail narratives than counting
the frequency of occurrence of different aspects of such behavior.

14 Complex behavior is best measured with in-depth verbal descriptions than
rating procedures.

15 Averages, range and other statistics are more effective ways of presenting
findings.

16 To determine if an observed difference between groups is due to chance, it
is better to rely on mathematical models than human judgment.

Task 3: Conduct a verbal probing cognitive interview on yourself or on a friend in OISE with these two items that are not included in the survey. Transcribe the verbal responses.
Item 1
To determine the effectiveness of an instruction method, researchers must gather information about the perspectives of key stakeholders like teachers, students, administrators and parents.

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Item 2
I
The ultimate goal of educational research is to discover the universal law of effective teaching.

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

Here are the steps:
# Step
1 Set up a recording devise and record the interview.

2 Inform yourself or your friend about this exercise with instruction with like this:

“I’d like you to respond to two items related to your opinion about research qualitative and quantitative research methods. You respond by selecting one of the four options provided below the item. Any questions?”

3 Present the items one at a time to yourself or a friend in OISE and say:

“ Please read aloud the item and select one of the four response options that best represents your opinion about the idea presented by the item.”

4 After the answer is provided, ask the following 5 verbal probing questions:

(1) “How did you come up with (say the option selected)?”

(2) “In your own words, what is the item saying?”

(3) “How sure are you of your answer?”

(4) “Is there any specific part of this item and the response options that you are not comfortable with?”

(5)“What can be done to this item to make it better, if any?”

5 Proceed and repeat steps 1 through 4 for item 2.

Task 4: Review the background questions in Part B and answer these questions:

1) Should some of these questions be deleted or revised? If yes, how?

2) Are there questions that should be added? If yes, what are the questions?

Assignment 5
Validation

For this assignment, similar to the last assignment, propose what kind of validity evidence you would realistically collect for the attitude towards research scale. Discuss potentially difficulties and why certain validity evidences are not feasible given the practical constraints.

The homework I have submited:
Course Project Assignment 1

Choosing: Butt, I. H., & Shams, J. A. (2020). Master in education student attitudes towards research: A comparison between two public sector universities in Punjab. South Asian Studies, 28(1).
The study explored the attitudes of Pakistani trainee teachers towards research. The study’s findings aimed to represent the general population of trainee teachers. The specific selection strategy used in the study to draw the sample was the census sampling technique (Butt & Shams, 2020). The researchers used the attitude towards research (ATR) scale to measure five constructs: usefulness of research, anxiety towards research, positive attitude, relevance to life, and difficulty in research. The authors did not provide validity and reliability information for the constructs measured. The researchers did not use incentives to encourage the students to complete the questionnaire. The researchers provided the response rate. Of the 200 sampled participants, 194 returned questionnaires, equaling a 97% response rate (Butt & Shams, 2020). Therefore, the response rate was high.
The census sampling technique was appropriate for the study. Since this technique collects data for every unit of the study population, it likely provided the researchers with in-depth and intensive information on their problem. Also, the study conclusions are probably more accurate and reliable. The items used to collect data on the attitudes of trained teachers towards research were good. The items, i.e., the usefulness of research, anxiety towards research, positive attitude, relevance to life, and difficulty in research, were relevant to the scope of the study. The authors listed the response rate, i.e., a 97% response rate (Butt & Shams, 2020). The authors failed to provide information on the study’s validity and reliability. The quality of the research is questionable as good quality research should provide evidence of how validity and reliability have been addressed. Evidence of these constructs influence researcher’s decision to either generalize research findings or not.

Reference
Butt, I. H., & Shams, J. A. (2020). Master in education student attitudes towards research: A comparison between two public sector universities in Punjab. South Asian Studies, 28(1).

Course Project Assignment 2
Sub-conference 1: Definition of construct and sub-constructs
Contributors Subconstructs & Definitions Reference
Karenveer Pannu

a. (participants’) Perspective on reading educational research
b. (participants’) Perspective on conducting education research. Hennessy, & Lynch, R. (2019). Straddling the marshy divide: exploring pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards teacher research. Educational Review (Birmingham), 71(5), 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2018.1459482
Mengyuan Zhang

a. Importance
b. Enjoyment
c. Anxiety
d. Motivation at taking quantitative research methods as a course Manuel, R., Fenton, R., & Philemon, M. (2013). University students’ attitudes towards quantitative research methods: a comparative/contrastive analysis. International Journal Of Education And Information Studies, 3(2), 27-33.
Youwen Wu (a) perceived research complexity
(b) usefulness of research in daily personal life
(c) attitudes toward research
(d) relevance of research to professional practice
(e) anxiety about the ability to participate in research Morgenshtern, Freymond, N., Agyapong, S., & Greeson, C. (2011). Graduate Social Work Students’ Attitudes Toward Research: Problems and Prospects. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 31(5), 552–568. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2011.615287
Wang Yao a. cognitive attitude of students toward research
b. affective attitude of students toward research
c. behavioral intention of students to conduct research Damianus Abun, Theogenia Magallanes, Mary Joy Encarnacion, Sylvia Lalaine Foronda. The Atti- tude of Graduate students toward Research and their Intention to Conduct Research in the Future. International Journal of Modern Research in Engineering & Management, IOR Publication, 2019, 2 (11), pp.74-87. hal-02388128
Yina Yao a. learning preferences
b. research self-efficacy

c. perceived utility of research methods Richardson, D., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2002, November). Attitudes toward research of African American students as a function of locality. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Chattanooga, TN. (ERIC ED 471 296)
Jingjing Yi a. attitudes towards research and professional development
b. conceptualisation of research
c. actual engagement with research literature Kostoulas, Babić, S., Glettler, C., Karner, A., Mercer, S., & Seidl, E. (2019). Lost in research: educators’ attitudes towards research and professional development. Teacher Development, 23(3), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2019.1614655

Ziqiu Zhai a. student’s learning style
b. research interest and research
c. self-efficacy West, C. R., Kahn, J. H., & Nauta, M. M. (2007). Learning styles as predictors of self-efficacy and interest in research: Implications for graduate research training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 1, 174-183.
Yunjia Jia a. perceptions of research training
b. attitudes toward quantitative research Steele, J. M., & Rawls, G. J. (2015). Quantitative research attitudes and research training perceptions among master’s‐level students. Counselor Education and Supervision, 54(2), 134-146. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12010
Jian Wang a. attitudes towards individual research

b. attitudes towards team research,
c. subjective norms
d. perceived behavioral control
e. intentions to produce research through teamwork Exploring Graduate Students’ Attitudes towards Team Research and Their Scholarly Productivity: A Survey Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior
Hongfei Jin a. participation and utilization of nursing research (Relevance and Importance of devoting oneself to research in nursing)
b. nursing professional development (i.e., participants’ perspectives on regarding PhD as a prerequisite for nursing)
c. language of nursing research (i.e., perceived language complexity of nursing research)
d. developing capacity of nurses (i.e., essentiality of research on profession development)
e. need of nursing research (i.e., participants’ perceptions on the importance of further training in research and research-based studies) Rachmawati, Schultz, T., & Cusack, L. (2017). Translation, adaptation and psychometric testing of a tool for measuring nurses’ attitudes towards research in Indonesian primary health care. Nursing Open, 4(2), 96–107.
Jiayi Wang a. demographic information
b. research background (i.e., research experience in medical school): students who have research experience may hold more positive attitudes towards research.
c. career aspirations (i.e., comparison of changing attitudes throughout time): students who have future career interests may hold more positive attitudes towards research.
d. Academic support: students who have academic support like mentor’s help may hold more positive attitudes towards research.
e. Time: Students who have available time may hold more positive attitudes towards research.
Siemens, Punnen, S., Wong, J., & Kanji, N. (2010). A survey on the attitudes towards research in medical school. BMC Medical Education, 10(1), 1–7.
Yuanyuan (Christina) Ma a. types of participants ( student clusters)
b. age and character of the participants
c. different types of universities (GClasses)
d. economic conditions and attractiveness between each state in German
e. participants’ attitude towards research methods and statistics (positive as opposed to negative) Mutz, & Daniel, H.-D. (2013). University and student segmentation: Multilevel latent-class analysis of students’ attitudes towards research methods and statistics. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(2), 280–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02062.x
Chang Liu a.self-perceptions that were positively related to the research course seemed to influence the level of anxiety
b.the grades that students were expecting to earn in such courses did not predict students’ anxiety
c. students who considered research to be important for their profession had higher levels of anxiety
d. students who had low levels of test anxiety had high levels of research methods anxiety.
e.gender played a role on students’ attitudes since males experienced lower levels of anxiety compared to females. Papanastasiou, E. C. & Zembylas, M. (2008). Anxiety in undergraduate research methods courses: its nature and implications. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 31, 155-167.

Jingjing Yi a. types of participants (i.e., secondary- and tertiary-level teachers in Austria.
b. teachers’ engagement with research in the future
c. types and attractiveness of universities (GClasses)
d. Attitudes towards research and professional development, conceptualisation of research, and actual engagement with research literature.
(positive as opposed to negative) Kostoulas, Babić, S., Glettler, C., Karner, A., Mercer, S., & Seidl, E. (2019). Lost in research: educators’ attitudes towards research and professional development. Teacher Development, 23(3), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2019.1614655

Sub-conference 2: Hypotheses, evidence and variable
A: Construct and Sub-constructs definition:
The usefulness of research, anxiety towards research, positive attitude, relevance to life, and difficulty in research, were relevant to the scope of the study.

B. Hypotheses
Hypo: The value of research in teachers’ careers, professional development, and the benefits of research to students, these factors do not have a positive impact on teachers in graduate school.
Evidence: The median for the scale was 3 but the mean for this factor was 2.06, which shows low student teacher attitudes towards “research usefulness”
Variables: research usefulness and teacher attitudes.
1) Identify the sub-constructs or factors measured by the items.
1. Self-efficiency in Research
2. Research purpose
3. Research design
4. Significance of research

2) With the factors you identified, group the items by these factors.
1. Self-efficiency in Research
27) I am confident in my ability to conduct qualitative research.
39) I am academically prepared to complete a research project.
40) I am confident in my ability to conduct qualitative research.
49) I regularly read research articles.
50) Research should be taught to all graduate students.
52) I am confident in my ability to conduct quantitative research.
53) Research is connected to my field of study.

2. Research purpose
3) In search of effective instructional strategy, variability of perspectives of different stakeholders is unwanted noise that should be removed through research procedures.
4) In designing a research, researchers must clearly state what results they expect to obtain.
25) In designing a research, researchers must clearly state what results they expect to obtain.

3. Research design
1) One can disregard his or her viewpoints when doing research.
2) Researchers can detach themselves from the research participants.
5) Researchers should spend substantial amount of time to get to know their research participants.
6) Research should be conducted in a laboratory instead of a natural environment
7) We should randomly select a sample of individuals from whom to collect data in order to assure generalizability of findings.
8) It is best to keep the data collection procedure flexible.
9) Using data collection instruments that clearly explain the instruction is important to assure credibility of findings.
10) Researchers should set hypotheses (prediction of findings) based on theoretical justification prior to data collection.
11) To examine the effects of an instructional strategy on student learning, researchers should control how the teaching should be delivered.
12) When conducting research, the researchers should spend time immersing themselves in the setting they are studying
13) To measure student interactions with other students through observation, it is best to describe such behavior through detail narratives.
14) Behavior is best measured with rating procedures.
15) Using numbers is an effective way to present findings.
16) To determine the importance of research findings, researchers should rely on human judgments instead of results from statistical analysis.
17) In search of effective instructional strategy, variability of perspectives of different stakeholders is unwanted noise that should be removed through research procedures.
20) Researchers should spend substantial amount of time to get to know their research participants.
22) Research should be conducted in a laboratory instead of a natural environment.
28) It is best to keep the data collection procedure flexible.
29) To examine the effects of an instructional strategy on student learning, researchers should control how the teaching should be delivered.
30) The most useful findings in my discipline are obtained with qualitative methods.
31) Researchers should set hypotheses (prediction of findings) based on theoretical justification prior to data collection.
32) We should randomly select a sample of individuals from whom to collect data in order to assure generalizability of findings.
34) When conducting research, the researchers should spend time immersing themselves in the setting they are studying.
35) The most useful findings in my discipline are obtained with qualitative methods.
36) The most useful findings in my discipline are obtained with quantitative methods.
37) Using data collection instruments that clearly communicate the instruction is important to assure credibility of findings.
38) To measure student interacting with other students through observation, it is best to describe such behavior through detail narratives.
41) Behavior is best measured with rating procedures.
43) To determine the importance of research findings, researchers should rely on human judgments instead of results from statistical analysis.
45) One can disregard his or her viewpoints when doing research.
48) Using numbers is an effective way to present findings.
51) Researchers can detach themselves from the research participants.
54) Research using qualitative methods have allowed me deep and breadth of understanding of issues in my profession.

4. Significance of research
18) Research means finding out facts elft out by early researchers; information not considered in past research.
19) Research provides a deeper insight and understanding of a particular topic.
21) Research means searching for more knowledge ina particular field; to accumulate more knowledge.
23) Research summarizes existing knowledge and /or new knowedge to create previously unknown insights.
24) Research is the careful and thorought study of a problem.
26) Quantitative research findings have allowed me great breadth of issues in my profession.
42) Research means studying a particular subject of interests in depth.
44) Qualitative research findings have allowed me deep understanding of issues in my profession.
46) Results of research studies are useful in my profession.
47) I apply my research knowledge and skills in my professional work.

3) What other factor(s) should be considered?
Personal experience and background.

Assignment 4
Task 1:

Worldview:
1 – Scientific acts and personal values can be separated.
2 – It is very difficult for researchers to be detached from the research participants.
3 – Reality is subjective because different people have different perspectives.

Methodology:
4 – Before conducting research, we must clearly state our hypotheses predicting what results we should expect to obtain.
5 – Researchers should spend substantial amount of time with the research participants to get to know them.
7 – Instead of deliberately seeking individuals who can provide us with the most information, we should randomly select a sample of individuals to collect data from them.
10 – Setting hypotheses (prediction of findings) in research should be based on theoretical justification and not on empirical data.
11 – To examine the causal effects of an instructional strategy on student learning, it is better for researchers to control how the instruction should be delivered and to whom than letting the instruction take place naturally.
12 – When conducting research, the researchers should spend time immersing themselves in the setting they are studying.
13 – To measure cooperative behavior of student through observation, it is better to describe such behavior through detail narratives that counting the frequency of occurrence of different aspects of such behaviour.
14 – Complex behaviour is best measured with in-depth verbal descriptions than rating procedures.
15 – Averages, range and other statistics are more effective ways of presenting findings.

Validity of Findings:
6 – In order to minimize extraneous influences, research should be conducted in controlled environments like in a laboratory (and not in a natural environment).
8 – The kind of data we collect in research, the data collection schedule and from whom the data are collected should all be flexible.
9 – Using structured data collection instruments that clearly spell out the instruments and procedure is important to assure credibility of findings.
16 – To determine if an observed difference between groups is due to chance, it is better to rely on mathematical models than human judgement.

Task 2:

# Item A
B
1 Scientific acts and personal values can be separated.
N
2 It is very difficult for researchers to be detached from the research participants and stay objective.
L
3 Reality is subjective because different people have different perspectives.
L
4 Before conducting research, we must clearly state our hypotheses predicting
what results we should expect to obtain.
L
5 Researchers should spend substantial amount of time with the research
participants to get to know them.
L
6 In order to minimize extraneous influences, research should be
conducted in controlled environment like in a laboratory (and not in
the natural environment).
N
7 Instead of deliberately seeking individuals who can provide us
with the most information, we should randomly
select a sample of individuals to collect data from them.
N
8 The kind of data we collect in research, the data collection
schedule, and from whom the data are collected should all
be flexible.
N
9 Using structured data collection instruments that clearly spell
out the instruction and procedure are important to assure credibility
of findings.
N
10 Setting hypotheses (prediction of findings) in research should be
based on theoretical justification and not on empirical data.
L
11 To examine the causal effects of an instructional strategy on student
learning, it is better for researchers to control how the instruction should
be delivered and to whom than letting the instruction take place naturally.
N
12 When conducting research, the researchers should spend time immerse
themselves in the setting they are studying.
L
13 To measure cooperative behavior of students through observation, it is
better to describe such behavior through detail narratives than counting
the frequency of occurrence of different aspects of such behavior.
L
14 Complex behavior is best measured with in-depth verbal descriptions than
rating procedures.
L
15 Averages, range and other statistics are more effective ways of presenting
findings.
Special circumstances also need to be considered. N
16 To determine if an observed difference between groups is due to chance, it
is better to rely on mathematical models than human judgment.
N

Task 3:
Item 1
To determine the effectiveness of an instruction method, researchers must gather information about the perspectives of key stakeholders like teachers, students, administrators and parents.