WGU C224 Research Foundations Exam 2025

Action - -A group of elementary school teachers plan to study the effects of team teaching science to their 2nd grade students. What type of research will they engage in? Inductive Reasoning - -A person makes the following statement: A friend has parked in the same parking space for over a year now. Most likely, this friend will park there again tomorrow. What type of reasoning is this person using? To influence - -An educational researcher is evaluating the effectiveness of a math tutoring program for middle school students which aims to increase student test scores. What is the primary objective of this educational researcher? The rule of Parsimony - -Simplicity. When researching ask: Which makes sense? Which is most simple? Quantitative - -Which research approach aims to analyze and interpret numerical data exclusively? Human behavior is regular. Predictable behavior allows for hypothesis development. - Which two videos are consistent with the assumptions of quantitative research? Inferential - -What type of statistics allows quantitative researchers to draw conclusions about population? A measurable characteristic - -What is a variable in educational research? Independent Variable - -As one variable is manipulated it directly brings about change in a second variable. What is the variable called that is being manipulated? The experimental environment is uncontrolled. There is no manipulation of independent variable. - -What are 2 key characteristics of nonexperimental quantitative research? Strong Negative Correlation - - Strong Positive Correlation - - Weak Negative Correlation - - WGU C224 WGU C224 Weak Positive Correlation - - Negative Correlation - -The results of a study showed that as a daily cholesterol consumption increased, life expectancy tends to decrease. Qualitative research - -Which major approach seeks to understand peoples subjective and shared experiences through systematic observation? Exploration. Discovery. Understanding. - -What are 3 primary purposes of qualitative research? It is fluid? Is it personal? Is it highly situational? - -Which 3 views of human thought and behavior are characteristic of qualitative research? Case study. Grounded theory. Ethnography. - -Which of the following are theoretical frameworks of qualitative research? The scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures. - Ethnography Unique case orientation - -Which type of qualitative data analysis places a high priority on being true to, respecting and capturing the details of individual situations? -Researchers biases can easily influence results for this approach. - Is it more time consuming to collect data with this approach than with other approaches. - -What are 2 limitations of qualitative research? Expansion - -What is the purpose of a mixed study that is conducted to extend the breadth and range of inquiry by using different inquiry components? Pragmatism - -On which principle do mixed methods researchers base their design and research? An approach that assesses the truth of meaning of theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application - -Pragmatism + Research-approach emphasis +Time order - -When designing a mixed methods study, which two factors must a researcher consider when combining qualitative and quantitative approaches? +The number of forms of analysis +The types of data analyzed - -What are two primary differences between mono and multi-analysis techniques in mixed research? + It uses strengths of one method to overcome the limitations in another method +It provides stronger evidence for corroboration of findings through triangulation +It WGU C224 WGU C224 provides stronger evidence for a conclusion through convergence. - -What are 3 strengths of mixed methods research? Action research - -Which of the 4 major research approaches seeks to solve specific problems and generate knowledge at the local level? Action research - -Which research approach views research with the attitude of bein both a practitioner and a researcher? Gather and keep track of evidence of successful and effective interventions - -To obtain results that are defensible and trustworthy, what should action researchers do? Action Research - -Which major research approach is committed to directly improving educational practices? It is impossible to find universal truths through research - -What belief did John Dewey hold that influenced action researchers? Participatory action research (PAR) - -What type of action research is characterized by the engagement of many stakeholders in all aspects of the project? Observe - -In what phase of the cycle of action research would you collect and interpret data? Quantitative vs Qualitative: Experimental - -Quantitative Quantitative vs Qualitative: Nonexperimental - -Quantitative Quantitative vs Qualitative: Ethnography - -Qualitative Quantitative vs Qualitative: Case Study - -Qualitative Quantitative vs Qualitative: Grounded Theory - -Qualitative Measurement - -Which research activity is occurring when a researcher assigns numerical scores to achievement tests by adding up the total number of correct answers? Ratio - -Which scale of measurement has a true zero point? WGU C224 WGU C224 Validity - -Which term refers to the accuracy of the inferences, interpretations or actions that are based on test scores? The degree to which researchers' explanations fit the data - -What is theoretical validity? External validity - -What term refers to the extend to which a study's results can be generalized across populations of persons, settings, times, outcomes and treatment variations? The degree to which mixed researchers combine qualitative and quantitative approaches that have nonoverlapping limitations - -What does weakness minimization validity in mixed research refer to? Use mixed methods to align both the strengths and limitations of each approach - -An action researcher designs a study that has weak internal validity. What might the researcher do to help strengthen the research? Wanting to determine cause-and-effect relationships under controlled conditions - -An investigator decided that a quantitative research study would be appropriate. Which of these factors would have led to this decision? Ethnography - -Extensive description of physical and social settings aimed at holistic understanding Narrative inquiry - -Account that includes patterns, connections and in-sights uncovered Phenomenology - -Rich narrative that lets readers experience phenomenon through eyes of participants. Case Study - -Holistic narrative that triangulates data and places study into a meaningful context. Grounded theory - -Methodological description followed by proposed idea build during the study Whether one paradigm will be given priority over the other - -Once a mixed approach has been selected , what must researchers consider in constructing their research design. To summarize and explain a set of data - -What is one purpose of descriptive statistics? 83 (Mode appears most often) - -Given the following set of test scores: 60, 83, 74, 64, 52, 83, 94, 79, 81, 90 What is the mode? WGU C224 WGU C224 Inferential statistics - -What type of statistics do researchers use to draw conclusions about characteristics of a population based upon a sample? +State the null and alternative hypotheses + Obtain the probability valve - -What are two steps of hypothesis testing? +Revising a research problem +Stating a research question - -Which two takes would conducting a literature review help accomplish? +Research report +Peer-reviewed journal article +Research proposal - -Which 3 documents would include an APA style literature review? The purpose statement outlines the data collection and analysis techniques for the study while the research question asks about a process or questions asks about a process or phenomenon to be explored - -How is a qualitative purpose statement distinct from a research question? They help to pinpoint exactly what is being investigated - -Why are research que