Category: LDRS500

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-5-learning-activities/

 

As a consumer of research reports, the most important thing(s) for me in the methods and results section of a high-quality quantitative research report are: to understand the purpose of the study and how the study will be conducted, and for a clear discussion of the results, including the interpretation of the data.  As a person with limited knowledge of statstics, it is easier for me to understand the results when they are presented as a discussion in the conclusion section, rather than being presented in a Table.

Can one read the abstract and the data analysis and conclusion sections only, to have a basic understanding of the research?

Unit 5 Learning Activities

 

1. The data were rigorously scored and prepared (3/3) – Cerit provides a clear explanation of the scoring process and results of the questionnaire. The servant leadership scale (OLA), developed by Laub in 1999, was used in this research. It is a measurement scale that uses six factors of servant leadership. Respondents were required to respond to questions using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). (Cerit, Y. 2009, P 608). Plano-Clark and Creswell suggest that clear and consistent manners should be used to score the data. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 278). The scale used is clearly described and it is consistent. The author also clearly explains how the data was prepared.
2. Good descriptive analyses were conducted (2/3) – The author outlines the correlation matrix, the standard deviation, standardized regression coefficients (β ), and variance inflation factors (VIF). The tables provide information on the central tendency as well as the mean. The tables were somewhat confusing to interpret as not all of the statistical variables used align with the statistical variables in Plano-Clark and Creswell. For a person with no statistics courses in their background, it is difficult to understand what each variable represents.
3. Good hypothesis testing procedures were used (1/3) – Upon my review of the article, I cannot see that a null hypothesis is stated. Cerit states an alternative hypothesis.The author does provide Cronbach’s alpha coefficient but does not provide the alpha level. The researcher did collect, analyze and interpret the data that was collected in the questionnaire.
4. The results are comprehensive (2/3) – The study refers to number of years of teaching experience, gender and level of education however they only do this to clarify that the selection of teachers is random. They do not report the results based on these different variables. Cerit does comment on the reliability of the OLA. “The OLA is a reliable instrument for measuring servant leadership. The internal consistency of the survey instrument was reliable at an acceptable level.” (Cerit Y., 2009, P 609-610).
5. The results include sufficient information (2/3) – The author provides tables and figures. As previously stated, I personally found the tables somewhat difficult to interpret as not all of the variables align with Plano-Clark and Creswells variables. Cerit does provide a p value and did provide a clear determination that significant results were found. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 279).
6. The data analysis represents a good process (3/3) – SPSS was used for the data analysis (Cerit Y., 2009, P 610). The analysis provided an explanation with the correlation between variables. The analysis was deductive, linear and objective.
7. The results provide a good explanation of the study’s purpose (3/3) – “The results of this study revealed that there was a positive and significant relationship between servant leadership behaviours of principals and teachers’ job satisfaction, and that servant leadership behaviours of principals had a significant effect on job satisfaction.” (Cerit, Y., 2009, P 613). Cerit provides the reader with a clear understanding of the results and purpose of the study.

References

Cerit, Y. (2009). The Effects of Servant Leadership Behaviours of School Principals on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37(5), 600. doi:10.1177/1741143209339650

Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, 5th Edition. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780133570847/

Plano-Clark, V., Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Unit 5 Learning Activities

 

• The sampling strategy is appropriate and justified (3/3) –  Cerit provides a clear explanation of the gender, teaching experience and levels of education for the teachers that responded to the survey. The survey was sent out to 700 teachers and 595 responded. This is an appropriate sample size for the survey. Plano Clark and Creswell suggest that a higher quality sampling strategy should be “fully described and clear” (Plano Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 249). Cerit justified his sampling by stating, “no studies on this subject have been carried out in Turkey.” (Cerit Y., 2009, P  601)
• The sample size is appropriate and justified (2/3) – The sample size for this survey was appropriate. Plano-Clark and Creswell suggest that a survey study should have at least 350 responses. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 238).  Cerit surveyed across 29 different schools and had 595 teachers respond to the survey. Plano Clark and Creswell state that in order to meet criteria for higher quality quantitative research, the author needs to strongly justify the sample size using a procedure. Cerit stated the sample size but did not justify it.
• High quality instruments are used to gather data (3/3) – Cerit provides an explanation of the instrument used in the research. The servant leadership scale (OLA), developed by Laub in 1999, is a measurement scale that uses six factors of servant leadership. Respondents were required to respond to questions using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). (Cerit, Y., 2009, P 608). Plano-Clark and Creswell state that the author should indicate that the instrument was previously developed for research purposes. Cerit provides references to other servant leadership research in which this instrument was used. (Cerit, Y., 2009, P 608).
• The data gathered using ethical quantitative procedures (1/3) –  Cerit sent out 700 survey questionnaires.  Of those 585 elementary teachers responded; an 85% response rate.  Cerit does not indicate specifically what consent was formally obtained, if any, before the survey was sent out.  One can only infer that consent was specifically asked for on the survey questionnaire document, or alternatively that consent was assumed by virtue of the fact that the teacher responded to the questionnaire.
• The data are gathered using standardized quantitative procedures (2/3) – Plano-Clark and Creswell state that all participants must be asked the same questions, are given the same choices for responding, are given the same instructions for completing the survey and can complete the survey under similar conditions such as the same amount of time etc. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 245-246). Cerit meets all of these criteria for using standardized quantitative procedures. A criticism of the standardized quantitative procedures for this research may be that respondents may have had the opportunity to talk to others while completing the questionnaire and I believe that this could easily influence their responses. Plano-Clark and Creswell, (2015) suggest that researchers should ensure that participants cannot talk to each other while completing the survey, however, with a sample size this large, that would be difficult to control.
• The study has a high level of internal validity (3/3) – This research measured the relationship between factors of servant leadership and job satisfaction. “Results of correlation analysis revealed a positive and significant relationship between extrinsic job satisfaction of teachers and factors of servant leadership. (Cerit Y., 2009, P 611). I believe this study has good internal validity.
• The study has high level of external validity (3/3) – The study had an 85% rate of response. Plano-Clark and Creswell (2015) suggest that 80% or higher indicates high external validity. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 247). The researchers also examined the demographics of the participants including gender, teaching experience and education

 

References

Cerit, Y. (2009). The Effects of Servant Leadership Behaviours of School Principals on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37(5), 600. doi:10.1177/1741143209339650

Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, 5th Edition. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780133570847/

Plano-Clark, V., Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Unit 5 Learning Activities

• What quantitative research design is used and is it justified?

The quantitative research design used in this nonexperimental research is a survey design. (Plano Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 196). The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of the servant leadership behaviour in principals of elementary schools, and determine how it impacted teacher’s job satisfaction.(Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 600). “Justifying the research problem means that you use the literature to document the importance of the issue examined in the study” (Creswell, J.,2015, p.13).The study is justified as there is a significant review of literature and current research on the subject matter, and this type of study has not ever been done in Turkey. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 601) The leadership scale developed by Laub (1999) was used to determine servant leadership behaviours in principals, and the job satisfaction scale developed by Mohrman et al. (1977), to determine teacher job satisfaction. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 600). The study method is high quality in that it provides trends to variables in a given population: in this case principals and teachers. The study was conducted by giving questionnaires out to 700 primary school teachers in 29 different primary schools in Turkey. They had an 85% response rate, as 595 teachers responded. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 608) The reason for the research was very clear and was justified.

• Are good quantitative procedures used to select and assign participants?

The procedure for obtaining participants was appropriate.  Participants were randomly selected within the population.  Researchers sent the questionnaire to 700 primary school teachers in 29 different primary schools and out of this, 595 responded. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 608) Of this group, 56.3% were female and 43.7% were male.(Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 608) “21% of the teachers had a bachelor’s degree, 67.9 a college degree and 10.9% a master’s degree”(Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 608) In terms of the experience that the teacher’s had, the number of years teaching varied from 1 year to 21 years or more. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 608) The researchers identified a few variables to study based on the leadership scale developed by Laub (1999), which was used to determine servant leadership behaviours in principals, and the job satisfaction scale developed by Mohrman et al. (1977), to determine teacher job satisfaction. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 600).

• Are good quantitative data collection procedures used?

Rigorous quantitative data collection procedures were used. The instrument used for quantifying the data was a questionnaire made up of 68 questions. Of those, 60 were related to determining the servant leadership behaviour of principals and 8 were questions to measure teacher job satisfaction (Cerit., Y., 2009, p. 608) After collecting and analyzing the data, the researchers were able to draw conclusions from the results.

• Does the quantitative research design address the study’s purpose?

The basic quantitative research design format was: introduction, review of the literature, methods, results, and discussion to address the study’s purpose. The results of the questionnaire were broken down and rigorously analyzed using statistical analyses, such as: standard deviation, mean, correlation and multi-regression analysis. The researchers found that there is a positive and significant relationship between a teacher’s level of job satisfaction and the servant leadership qualities displayed by the principal. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p.613).The findings were supported by other studies that had been conducted previously, but not in Turkey. The researchers concluded the study by acknowledging that the answers to the questionnaires were based on an individual teacher’s perception and biases within their school setting, and it is recommended that in order to generalize the results, more studies would have to be conducted in different places. (Cerit, Y., 2009, p. 617). I would rate this research as: 3.

Reference:

Cerit, Y. (2009). The Effects of Servant Leadership Behaviours of School Principals on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37(5), 600. doi:10.1177/1741143209339650

Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, 5th Edition. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780133570847/

Plano-Clark, V., Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson.

I have learned many new and more efficient ways to use the TWU library search page and I believe that this will help me to be more successful with my research. Although I found some of the topics for e-books very interesting, I believe that I will find the most current and valuable information through peer reviewed articles. In Clark and Creswell’s Understanding Research, they state, “when reading about research on a specific topic, journal articles are generally the best source.” (Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 11). The explain that journal articles are the best source because they are written by the people who actually conducted the research. This provides an unbiased viewpoint.

To ensure that the articles are credible and reliable, I will invest time in not only reading th research article, but researching the background/credentials of the author(s). Also, I noticed with some of the articles that you can tell how many times it has been cited. I will look for this as well because if it has been cited by other authors of peer review journals, it is more reliable. I will also make sure that the majority of the articles that I reference have a publishing date that is current.

Once I have found a reliable article, I will also access the sources referenced within that article for further information.

Even though most of my resources will be peer reviewed articles, I will still access some information found in e-books on the TWU website as I feel that the information is valuable and helpful.

My topic that I have started with is as follows. It is formatted according to the 3 step statements that were provided to me by Dr. Strong.

1. I am researching chemicals or dyes in processed and packaged foods and children with special needs (topic)
2. because I want to find out if chemicals/dyes in processed and packaged foods have an effect on the behaviour of children with special needs(issue/question)
3. in order to develop a nutrition program at our school that promotes the health and well-being of our students (application – audience).

 

As I learn more about being an effective researcher, I believe that this topic will change and evolve so that I can more effectively and efficiently find reliable sources.

References:

Plano-Clark, V., Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

The e-book I have found for this learning activity is Hope for the autism spectrum [electronic resource] : a mother and son journey of insight and biomedical intervention. The author of this books is Sally Kirk. It was published by Jessica Kingsley out of London, Philadelphia in 2008, c2009. http://library.twu.ca/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/?ps=pDd8hy8duD/MAIN/16210070/9

The author, Sally Kirk, is a mother of a son who has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. When her son was diagnosed, she took it upon herself to learn all that she possibly could about treatment and therapy for this disorder.

In this book, the author intended to share her family’s experience with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She intends to target other families who may be experiencing similar situations.The book provides a wealth of information on biomedical interventions for ASD. Her information is intended to target family’s, physiologists, practitioners and pediatricians who may be able to share the information with other families as well.

This book is published in 2008 and copyright in 2009. According to the Unit 2 notes, this follows the general rule that a source published within the last 10 years is up to date.

I found it more difficult to determine if the e-book is peer reviewed. I do not believe it is peer reviewed. You can find reviews of the book online, written by authors of other books on similar subjects and founders of recognized societies such as the Autism Society of America, and the Director of the Autism Research Institute.

The book may have biases in that it is a personal experience told from Sally Kirk. Her experiences may not be the same for others in similar situations.

This is an article that I found in my search in the Academic Search Complete database:

Exposures to Environmental Toxicants and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in U.S. Children (http://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:2152/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=dfb18b79-999d-4e90-a886-bd5ec14eef2b%40sessionmgr4006)

There are 5 authors for this article. They are Joe M. Braun, Robert S. Kahn, Tanya Froehlich, Peggy Auinger, and Bruce P. Lanphear. There credentials are as follows:

Joe M. Braun: College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA;

Robert S. Kahn: Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA;

Tanya Froehlich:Cincinnati Children’s Environmental Health Center, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA;

Peggy Auinger: Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA;

Bruce P. Lanphear: Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, USA

This article was published on December 1, 2006. According to the Unit 2 notes, a current article is one that has been published within the past 10 years. According to this general rule, this article would not be considered current.

The authors intentions in the publications of this journal were to study the effects of exposures to tobacco smoke and environmental lead with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In Clark and Creswell’s Understanding Research (2015), they discuss that intended audiences are usually found in the Introducation. (Clark and Creswell, 2015). Intended audiences for this research article are not listed, however they may include health practitioners, tobacco companies, advocates for prenatal health, pediatricians, ADHD specialists, and other audiences as well.

The article was published by Environmental Health Perspectives. Dec2006, Vol. 114 Issue 12, p1904-1909. This article is peer reviewed. I confirmed this by selecting the peer reviewed articles filter in my search.

The author does not acknowledge obvious biases within the article. They discuss and consider all angles and factors of their research. I believe this research is unbiased. The authors used rigorous statistical analysis and the sample size was significant.