EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH COMPETENCIES
FOR ANALYSIS AND APPLICATIONS
ACTUAL TEST QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW PACKAGE
●● steps of the scientific method
Answer: 1) identify a problem
2) define the problem
3) formulate a hypothesis
4) decide on observable consequences of the hypothesis
5) test the hypothesis
●● hypotheses
Answer: predictions about the outcomes of research
●● research questions
Answer: queries about events, not attempts at predicting what will occur
●● what works clearinghouse
Answer: review research critically the available evidence, produce a list
of interventions that have been repeatedly documented to improve
educational practice
,●● theory
Answer: an explanation of a certain set of observed phenomena about
constructs and and how they relate to one another
●● theoretical construct
Answer: an intangible concept that is created or inferred from observing
events
●● scientific theory and falsifiability
Answer: a theory, developed through data collection and analysis, that is
falsifiable or refutable.
●● psuedoscience
Answer: 1) research described in general/ambiguous terms
2) begins w/ hypothesis and look only for items that appear to support it.
3) relies on "subjective" validation
4) avoids solid criteria or valid evidence
5) attempts to persuade rather than provide results of tested hypothesis
6) literature aimed at general public: no review by scientific peers
7) results cannot be verified or reproduced
●● independent variable
, Answer: method of intervention or instruction in educational research
●● dependent variable
Answer: the data you are collecting in educational research
●● basic research
Answer: helps to develop a new theory or expand an existing one
●● applied research
Answer: attempts to solve real life problems, or study phenomena that
directly impact practitioners or laypeople, using a theory developed
through basic research
●● action research
Answer: involves the application of the scientific method to everyday
problems in the classroom. Conducted in real-life settings with less
control
●● replications
Answer: repeating procedures used in a previous study. used for
determining reliability and generalizability of a study or theory
●● reliability
FOR ANALYSIS AND APPLICATIONS
ACTUAL TEST QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW PACKAGE
●● steps of the scientific method
Answer: 1) identify a problem
2) define the problem
3) formulate a hypothesis
4) decide on observable consequences of the hypothesis
5) test the hypothesis
●● hypotheses
Answer: predictions about the outcomes of research
●● research questions
Answer: queries about events, not attempts at predicting what will occur
●● what works clearinghouse
Answer: review research critically the available evidence, produce a list
of interventions that have been repeatedly documented to improve
educational practice
,●● theory
Answer: an explanation of a certain set of observed phenomena about
constructs and and how they relate to one another
●● theoretical construct
Answer: an intangible concept that is created or inferred from observing
events
●● scientific theory and falsifiability
Answer: a theory, developed through data collection and analysis, that is
falsifiable or refutable.
●● psuedoscience
Answer: 1) research described in general/ambiguous terms
2) begins w/ hypothesis and look only for items that appear to support it.
3) relies on "subjective" validation
4) avoids solid criteria or valid evidence
5) attempts to persuade rather than provide results of tested hypothesis
6) literature aimed at general public: no review by scientific peers
7) results cannot be verified or reproduced
●● independent variable
, Answer: method of intervention or instruction in educational research
●● dependent variable
Answer: the data you are collecting in educational research
●● basic research
Answer: helps to develop a new theory or expand an existing one
●● applied research
Answer: attempts to solve real life problems, or study phenomena that
directly impact practitioners or laypeople, using a theory developed
through basic research
●● action research
Answer: involves the application of the scientific method to everyday
problems in the classroom. Conducted in real-life settings with less
control
●● replications
Answer: repeating procedures used in a previous study. used for
determining reliability and generalizability of a study or theory
●● reliability
