Lab 2 - Part Two:
ONE empirical journal article.
- must be data-based and including the sections (abstract, introduction,
methods, results, discussion)
- dated any time after 1999
Answer the following 10 questions
- type your responses,
numbering them 1-10 to correspond to the question number
- paraphrase your
responses
10 Questions:
1. What is the question being asked? Is it clearly stated?
Will students be better able to learn certain conceptual definitions and
examples if presented with diagrams that illustrate them? This answer
is stated very clearly at the end of the first paragraph in the introduction.
2. What past work has been done on this subject, and what has been found?
At least three different studies were cited which concluded the importance
of defining concepts, and at least two studies made account of how analyzing
statements and explaining via both examples and non examples are also key
factors for understanding how concepts are structured. Concept definitions
tend to be abstract, but when concrete examples are given, the concepts are
more readily understood and easily recalled and applied. Five studies
were cited who recommended using diagramming systems to help with making
the contingency relations more easily, and accurately, understood. Three
sources were offered as examples of educators who had strongly recommended
that the concept of behavior-environment relationships would be better understood
by students if they were presented via diagrams. Diagrams have been
used in text books before, and have been markedly absent according to sources
given in this article, but how empirically effective they actually are in
the classroom is not satisfactorily proven.
3. What is the hypothesis of the study, and upon what is it based?
This is a qualitative research article and there is no stated hypothesis.
The researchers simply wanted to find out if there would be a strong,
positive correlation between using diagrams and a solid understanding and
use of abstract concepts in students learning. They made no attempt
to predict an outcome.
4. Are the major variables in the study well defined so that they can
be accurately measured?
I think they did a pretty good job of explaining what they wanted to
look into. I think that there could be some variablity in the way things
were administered by way of specific content, but otherwise it was very clear
on how the raters should score the posttests, and the general format
in which answers could be given.
5. How was the sample chosen? Is it representative? Can findings
be generalized to other populations?
Students in an Intro Psych class were required to participate in the study
as a part of their coursework and were randomly assigned to one of four groups.
Their grades were not dependant on how well they did in the study,
just that they participated. Sixty students participated in the study,
and all completed it. Although it is not stated, I would assume that
they were all in the same class and under the same instructor who was probably
the author of this article. I would be concerned that this is a psych
class and I would also like to know what part of the semester they were in.
I should also like to know if
those who were taught how to draw ever chose not to draw when answering their
questions. I would be very hesitant to take the findings from this
relatively small group of specialized students and apply it to the rest of
the world, but I think it's a good starting point. On the plus side,
having their participation be a requirement could be a bonus so as to eleminate
the random data created by motivation for particpation.
6. What is the procedure used to answer the question? How are the
data collected?
7. Are the measurement devices clearly described, and do they make intuitive
sense?
8. What are the main results of the study?
It was satisfactorally concluded that diagraming the concepts did indeed
improve how well the students learned that same concept by way of how
well they performed when tested on this subject.
9. What are the applications of this study to the real/academic world?
Teachers and Educators should try to incorporate more diagrams in the
teaching of concepts. This is a strong visual aid and is ideal for
work with computers and PowerPoint type situations where lengthy verbal descriptions
become tedious. They also help establish a timeline like flow of cause
and effect showing how steps are built to come to the conceptual conclusion.
Having the students physically draw out the diagrams is an added retention
booster.
10. What are the stated limitations of this study? Where should
research be focused in the future?
The nature of the correlational study keeps any strong conclusions impossible.
Research into more controlled variables should be pursued.
