Literacy Research Methodologies
Formative and Design
Correlational and Longitudinal
Formative and design research experiments are more flexible than research conducted outside of the classroom. A design is created based on educational theory and implemented in real working classrooms. Then an analysis is done and modifications to the design are made. This research process takes time and usually spans years. In this process, the researcher does most of the work and the classroom teacher is a collaborator. It is often difficult to assess the objectivity of formative design research due to the researcher's extensive involvement in the project. However, it is expected that quantitative and qualitative results are found at the end of the experiment.
Correlational design is a form of research where the relationship between two variables is observed. Researchers use their observations to find patterns. Causation is different in that it explains how one factor is causing another factor. Correlational research cannot do this. However, when third variables are controlled the quality of the correlational study increases.
For example, I will say we are studying the correlation between the number of a student's absences and the education level of the parents. We often assume that educated parents see the value in education and ensure their children attend school regularly. This study could end up showing uneducated parents push their children to attend school so their children will have more opportunities than they did. A correlational study could not say a parent's education level predicts a student's attendance. It could only study the relationship between the two variables and look for patterns. The difficulty of the example I have provided is that many variables are also in play here. Each variable would have to be identified and controlled in order for the study to be valid.
Ouellette & Beers's study only looked at students reading in their first language. To replicate this study with English Language Learners different variables need to be considered. I would ask the following questions: Do the ELLs have access to high quality ESL instruction? How long have they been learning their second language? What supports do they receive? What strategies have they been taught or developed as they grapple with reading in a second language? How similar are their first and second languages? If both languages are latin based and phonetic, have they received cognate instruction? Do they have siblings or cousins at home that they speak the second language with? Or is their second language exposure solely limited to the school setting? What language do they choose to watch TV, videos, etc. in? Have they been taught how to decode or do they rely on memorization to read? What level of literacy do they have in their first language?The study, Reading and spelling development across languages varying in orthographic consistency: do their paths cross? conducted by Georgiou, G. K., Torppa, M., Landerl, K., Desrochers, A., Manolitsis, G., de Jong, P. F., & Parrila, R. (2020) found that early reading skills predicted spelling in multiple languages. Similarly, Cognate instruction and bilingual students’ improved literacy performance conducted by García, G. E., Sacco, L. J., & Guerrero-Arias, B. E. (2020) determined that cognate instruction facilitated students’ reading and spelling in their second language. English Language Learners use visuals, translanguaging, and cognates to transfer their knowledge from their first language to their second. This is why I would look at the level of literacy they have in their first language, how long they have been learning their second language, and what strategies they use to make meaning. I believe it is also worth looking into the vocabulary students have in their first language. I think this would directly correlate with the level of vocabulary they are working at in the second language. In short, replicating this study with ELLs would mean considering many more variables.
I feel like I already use the formative experiment method in my instructional practice. I design instruction, implement it, reflect on how it worked, and make modifications as necessary. A specific example is how I have begun using the Words Their Way spelling intervention in my small group instruction. My goal is to learn how word study and word building instruction will impact my students' spelling proficiency. I have four groups of 6-7 students. I administered the spelling inventory in the Word Their Way program. My highest group tested in the derivational spelling section. My middle ability group is working on syllables and affixes while my lowest two groups are working on within word vowel patterns. For 30 minutes a week, I work with each group of students on word sort and word building activities designed by the program. After a month, I evaluated my students' progress and modified the work. I am no longer having students cut out the words and glue them for the sorts. This takes too much time and students end up distracted as they work and talk. Instead, I give students a blank sheet of paper and we divide it into the number of categories we need. Today, I worked with my high group on the prefixes pre-, post-, fore-, and after-. We divided our paper into four quadrants and I called out the words for the sort. Students would then determine which category the word belonged in and spell it correctly in the corresponding box. I have also modified the length of the sorts. We do about four or five in each category and then students use books and dictionaries in our classroom to find more words that follow the pattern we are working on. This modification has proven much more engaging. My students are enthusiastically reading words and definitions in the dictionary which, for third graders, is no small task. I haven't seen major growth in their overall spelling proficiency as it has only been about 4 to 5 weeks. However, I have seen a positive change in student engagement and interest in spelling activities. I plan to continue to analyze and modify my instruction to find what best meets my students' needs
I believe the study from the article and second presentation is a quality study for the time in which it was conducted. From what I understand, it was published in the year 2000. Now, 22 years later, technology is much more advanced and computers are more readily available to students. If I were to replicate this study, I would start by updating the computer program used. I also think teachers and students would be able to learn how to use the program much quicker due to the higher use of technology in our daily lives. I envision students implementing more videos, graphics, audio recordings, pictures, and color into their book reviews.
Single Subject Experimental Design
Case Study
Used in special education and counseling because it seeks to change the behavior of an individual or a small group of individuals.
This design is valuable because it can determine differences in individuals. Researchers are using this method with other research methods to provide a more detailed analysis of results. In Single subject design the researcher is able to manipulate the independent variables.
They generate causal statements and have no internal validity as each participant serves as their own control. The participant experiences a pattern of non-treatment and treatment phases.
This design method is difficult to generalize but is said to be transferable.
ABA withdrawal designs, Multiple baseline designs, Alternating treatments designs.
Page 355, Paragraph 3 of the book chapter says, "Dependent variables need to be functionally independent of one another and yet similar enough for each to respond to the same intervention."
Quality single subject design research comes from explicit descriptions of the participants, the independent and dependent variables, the baseline, the control, the external validity, and the social validity.
Only variable can be manipulated at a time.
Verbal Protocols for Reading
Case studies focus on people's experiences. Data collection involves observations, interviews, field notes, documents, and artifacts. They focus on cultural practices and meaning construction. This form of research is qualitative and the researcher is often a subjective participant. They are conducted in classrooms and schools and focus on issues, experiences, and perspectives of individuals.
Case studies are not generalizable. They are design to give insight by describing phenomena. The focus is on what happens over time in a natural setting. Variables are not manipulated.
Quality case studies: clear description of focus, detailed descriptions of setting participants and methods, transparency, attention to the humanity of people.
Survey Research
a method of gathering information from a sample of individuals, purpose is to describe characteristics of a group, questionnaire or interview, quantitative or qualitative, or both, easily gerneralized to larger populations
Methods: Face-to-face, telephone, mail, technology-enhanced, online, and mixed mode. Face-to-face surveys provide the most valuable information and the most flexibility. Telephone surveys depend on people answering and agreeing to participate. Mail surveys minimized social desirability bias. Online surveys could be client-sided or server-sided. Mixed modal surveys lower costs, shorten timelines, increase response rates, and reduce coverage error.
- Begin with a research question. 2. choose a measurement strategy. 3. determine sampling frame and data collection method. 4. choose sampling methodology and size. 5. collect and evaluate data. 6. report findings.
Research Synthesis
Research synthesis, integrative review, research integration, and literature review all refer to methods used to make generalizations from a collective body of existing research. Quantitative reviews are replicable but qualitative are not.
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A system of principles, procedures, and techniques for collecting and interrogating research participants' verbal reports. A.k.a. "Think-Alouds"
It is used to make inferences about thoughts, processes, and responses during a task. Involves verbal reports and protocols, task demands, inference making, and thoughts in the mind.
Verbal reports are all of the spoken language participants' use to make their thinking visible to others. Verbal protocols are the specific sections of the verbal reports that provides evidence related to the study.
It is difficult to see clearly into the mind. Verbalized thoughts include the information stored in the brain and the manipulation of the information. Information manipulation represents how the brain processes and uses the information. "The nature of reading tasks in verbal protocol research should be determined with well-defined research questions, substantiated by details theories of reading that support the inquiry." (Cho page 395).
Inferences: The researcher draws a conclusion from good reason and legitimate evidence about the participants' thinking processes. The difficulty lies in what we want to understand, what data we can actually acquire, and what we can do with the data. Epistemic orientations influence perceptions and judgements of texts. Affective response: Feelings, emotions, and interests triggered by the content of the text.
Limitations: Verbal reports are unable to capture every single bit of thinking in action. Construct underrepresentation occurs when a participant cannot fully describe what they are thinking and doing at every moment. Verbalization of thinking inevitably changes the course of thinking. (Reactivity) Data will also reflect task-irrelevant behaviors.
Quality: Established standard procedures for what participants' are supposed to do. Determine the modes of verbalization required (concurrent, retrospective). Triangulation, or the "intersection of multiple, complementary data analyses" (Cho page 408), can validate verbal reports. Researchers need contextual knowledge of the reader's verbal processes to avoid making inferences skewed by their own perspectives. Evidence must be based on theoretical constructs.
Content Analysis
Content Analysis looks for meaning and patterns in a text. It consists of an analysis of texts. It focuses primarily on the presence of certain words of concepts in a text.
To conduct a content analysis first determine the theory or rationale. Then select your coding scheme and sampling process. Coders must then be trained for reliability. Then the coding process begins and the reports of the analysis are given.
I would like to use content analysis to identify books in my classroom library that teach or model social-emotional learning. This information would help me in planning read-aloud times and complementary mini-lessons on appropriate social and emotional skills. I would code the texts based on the character's appropriate use of social skills and dealing with their emotions. I would look for events in the text where a character made a mistake and learned from it, had a problem and found a solution, where a character felt big emotions and found a healthy way to deal with it, and where a character put their ego aside and considered the thoughts and feelings of others. Many children do not learn social-emotional skills at home anymore and I find myself teaching students these skills as we create a respectful classroom environment together. All children need to feel safe, loved, and accepted in order to grow into respectful and successful adults.
Mixed Research
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An advantage of using mixed method research are that research questions are more fully answered with this method. In mixing qualitative and quantitative data the credibility of the study increases. However, it takes more time and resources to conduct mixed method research rather than a single research method. It is a complex process that is not easy to understand.
I have the idea to use mixed method research to measure the effectiveness of my daily ten minute social-emotional lessons. The quantitative and qualitative data would give me a well-rounded answer. I would base the quantitative data on the number of major and minor behavior incidents recorded for my students in our Milepost program. I would track the frequency and location of these incidents, as well as, which students are involved. I hypothesize that the social-emotional lessons would give the students the tools to deal with their problems respectfully and lower the number of major and minor behavior incidents. If the numbers decrease, I will know it is working. However, if one student seems to not respond to the lesson and continue the incorrect behavior, I will know they may need more intensive intervention. The qualitative data would show what students are really trying to learn and what students are passive participants. I would also include incidents where students are transferring the social-emotional skills to situations outside of the ten minute lessons.