Educational Research

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Test Bank

to accompany

Educational Research

Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating
Quantitativeand Qualitative Research

Third Edition

John W. Creswell

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

Columbus, Ohio

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Instructors of classes using Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitativeand Qualitative Research, Third Edition,may reproduce material from the test bank for classroom use.

109 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-233950-6

ISBN-10: 0-13-233950-1

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Introduction

This Test Bank is written to assist individuals who teach students using the text, Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Third Edition, by John W. Creswell. It contains test questions for each chapter in the book.

Test Items

The test questions consist of multiple choice, matching, short answer, and fill-in-the-blank questions. Answers are provided for each question, and in the case of short answer questions, "reasonable” response choices from the material in the text are offered. These test items were written from a rubric based on Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, cognitive domain (Bloom, 1964).* This taxonomy provides guidance for writing objectives from a simplified cognitive level to a more advanced level. These levels are factual recall, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The test items have been written to include some questions at the easiest level, the level of recall of factual information. For instructors teaching junior/senior level students, these items may be most applicable. For instructors teaching graduate students, many items address applications in which students are asked to apply the material to research situations. A few questions were written to ask students to analyze and synthesize a written passage from a journal article or the sample article provided at the end of Chapter 1 or at the end of each research design chapter, Chapters 11-18. The highest level of cognitive thinking is also included in a few questions in which students are asked to critically evaluate a sample passage from one of the journal articles provided in the text.

A complete PowerPoint® presentation of slides for each chapter has been prepared by Ron Shope, Ph.D., GraceUniversity, and is available for download from the Instructor’s ResourceCenter,

John W. Creswell

Lincoln, Nebraska

May 2007

*Bloom, B. S. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals/by a committee of college and university examiners. New York: D. McKay.

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TEST BANK

Chapter 1. The Process of Conducting Research

For each question below, circle the correct or best answer.

1. Which one of the reasons below is NOT an argument for why research is important?

a. It adds to knowledge about educational issues.

b. It informs policy makers about important issues.

c. It is useful in developing your research skills.

d. It confirms or disconfirms prior results of studies.

2.To apply research in your practical educational setting, you might:

a. examine what other practitioners are doing in their settings

b. find out what research has to say by examining research studies

c. look to research methods professors in your courses

d. go to the educational library and begin to locate topics

3.From the following list of skills, identify the skills that you areNOT likely to obtain during your study of educational research:

a. an ability to write better

b. an ability to organize large amounts of information

c. an ability to present material in an organized way

d. an ability to negotiate topics with faculty

4.Which of the following is an example of a research problem?

a. the need to conduct additional research on children.

b. the need to address problems of teenage pregnancies.

c. the need to learn about how classrooms work

d. the need to address problems in schools

5.An individual you are studying asks that his name not be mentioned in your research report. What type of ethical issue have you breached if you report the name?

a. the right to have his privacy protected.

b. the right to not be disturbed in his workplace.

c. the right to stay away from personal disclosure

d. the right to report researchhonestly

6. Which one of the following has set standards for the ethical practice of

educational research?

a. American Ethics Union

b. American Educational Association

c. American Principles of Ethical Practices

d. American Educational Research Association

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7.Place in order from 1 to 6 the steps in the process of research:

__2__ reviewing the literature
__3__ specifying a purpose
__5__ analyzing and interpreting data
__6__ reporting and evaluating reearch
__4__ collecting data
__1__ identifying a research problem

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8. Identify three skills that you bring to research from your life experiences.

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(Answers: An ability to solve puzzles; an ability to write, such as letters; an ability to look up materials in the library; an ability to focus attention for a sustained period of time)

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9. List three potential shortcomings of educational research today.

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(Answers: contradictory or vague results, questionable data, unclear statements of intent, lack of full disclosure of data collection procedures, inadequate description of the research problem)

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10.Describe three ways in which a research study might contribute to knowledge about an educational topic.

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(Answer: It adds to knowledge; it adds to practice; it lifts up the voices of participants.)

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11.A researcher decides to study an elementary school classroom. This investigator wants to surprise the teacher and the students, and comes in to the class unannounced during a spelling test. Indicate below the type of ethical issue involved in this situation.

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(Answer: The ethical issue involved is one of honoring a research site and not wanting to disturb it unnecessarily.)

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Chapter 2. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

For each question below, circle the correct or best answer.

12.The history of statistics in quantitative research shows:

a. Many statistical procedures developed in the 19th century are still used today.

b. Statistics are difficult to use and apply in educational research.

c. Infighting between scientists led to the development of statistics.

d. The increasing use of numbers to analyze data in research.

How are quantitative and qualitative research similar?

both follow the steps in the research process
both use similar formats for presenting the research problem
both use data collection procedures

d. all of the above

14. Who were the individuals who first pioneered the ideas of qualitative research in education?

a. researchers who advocated for individuals marginalized in our society

b. researchers who developed procedures for conducting qualitative research

c. researchers who suggested alternatives to traditional quantitative research

d. researchers who advanced the importance of studying views of participants

15. Which factors listed below indicate differences between quantitative and qualitative research in the use of the literature? (check all that apply)

a. the amount of literature review included in a study.

b. the use of literature to justify the research problem.

c. the use of literature to support the need for research questions.

d. the extent to which the literature is quantitative or qualitative.

16. What is a research design?

a. a plan for an educational research study.

b. methods for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data

c. a way for researchers to design a study

d. a type of design in quantitative/qualitative research

17. You are examining a published journal article to determine if it is more of a quantitative or qualitative study. What characteristics listed belowwould you identify to determine that it is a quantitative study? (checkall that apply)

a. specific research questions

b. use of numeric or numbered data

c. a large number of individuals

d. interpretation of the larger meaning

18.You are examining a published journal article to determine if it is more of a quantitative or qualitative study. What characteristics listed below would you identify to determine that it is a qualitative study? (check all that apply)

a. the literature justifies the research problem

b. an analysis of text data by the researcher

c. an objective reporting stance by the researcher

d. a comparison of results with predictions from studies

19. Which of the following is NOT a good reason for selecting eithera quantitative or qualitative approach to your study?

a. You have taken courses in statistics and experiments.

b. Your research problem addresses characteristics of one of the approaches.

c. Your advisor is trained in one of the approaches and not the other.

d. You are more comfortable with words than with numbers.

20.What characteristic of quantitative research is evident in the parent involvement study by Deslandes and Bertrand (2005)?

a. The researchers do not refer to themselves

b. The problem of parent involvement in education is an issue today

c. The writing of the report is different than that of the gunman study

d. The authors had first-hand experiences with parenting children

21.What characteristic of qualitative research is evident in the gunmancase study by Asmussen and Creswell (1995)?

a. It is a quality study written in user-friendly terms.

b. The research questions are broad, open-ended questions.

c. The researchers report some numbers about the incident.

d. The authors remain invisible throughout the study.

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22.Look at the title to the gunman incident case study by Asmussen and Creswell (1995): “Campus Response to a Student Gunman.” Whatqualitative characteristics does this title suggest to a reader?

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(Answer: participants’ experiences or views of participants)

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23. Examine the title of the parent involvement study by Deslandes and Bertrand (2005): “Motivation of parent involvement in secondary-level schooling.” What quantitative characteristic does this title suggest to a reader?

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(Answer: explanation-oriented)

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24.Identify the type of research design that a researcher might useto examine the impact of a new lesson plan on student achievementof elementary 4th grade children.

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(Answer: an experiment or quasi-experimental research design)

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25.What type of research problem is best studied using a quantitative approach?

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(Answer: When the researcher wants to explain why some factors relate to an outcome.)

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26.What type of research problem is best studied using a qualitative approach?

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(Answer: When the researcher wants to explore or develop a deep understanding of a phenomenon.)

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27.As you compare quantitative and qualitative research, what three aspects are often the easiest to spot when you are reading an article?

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(Answer: students will likely mention the type of data collected (numbers verses words), the data analysis (statistics versus text), and the number of individuals studied (large versus small).

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28.A research study contains in-depth interviews with participants based on a set of questions designed by the researchers. From this data, the authors specify a number of themes and then follow up with a brief survey to elicit attitudes. Which is this study, mostly quantitative or qualitative?

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(Answer: qualitative)

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29.What two forms of research designs combine characteristics from both quantitative and qualitative research?

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(Answer: mixed methods designs and action research designs)

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30.Explain the role of procedural writers in the historical development of qualitative research.

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(Answer: These writers advanced the “how-to” procedures that are used today in qualitative research. They focused on such topics as procedures for collecting interview and observational data, use of computers, and systematic ways to analyze data.)

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For each of the following statements, indicate whether it is a characteristic more applicable to quantitative or qualitative research or both. Place an “X” in the appropriate column.

QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE

31. Use of predetermined

instruments__X______

32. Standard and fixed

writing structure__X______

33. Biased reporting______X__

34. Questions to elicit

participants’ experiences ______X__

35. Analysis by themes______X__

36. Major role of the literature__X______

37. Small number of sites studied ______X__

38. Comparison of results with predictions__X______

39. Justification of the research problem__X____X______