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Glossary of Terms
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Professional Research Glossary action-research-immediate application with an emphasis on a problem in the here and now in a local setting alliteration-the occurrence of a phrase or line of speech of two or more words having the same beginning sound alliteration oddity detection-tasks which contain sets of words, some of the words beginning with the same sound, one does not (i.e. toad, toaster, girl) alphabetic layer of instruction-the first layer of word study instruction focusing on letters and sound correspondences alphabetic principle-the assumption underlying the alphabetic writing systems that each speech sound or phoneme of a language should have its own distinctive graphic representation; the concept that letters and letter combinations are used to represent phonemes in orthography analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)-of form of analysis of variance for partialing out the effect of correlated variables so that the dependent variables can be considered one at a time, a procedure that may be used, for example, to equate experimental groups by adjusting post-test scores for initial group differences analysis of variance (ANOVA)-a statistical procedure for testing the significance of the difference between the means of two or more groups analytic-word study that divides words into their elemental parts through phonemic and orthographic analysis anecdotal record-a methodology for recording and describing observed behavior applied research-testing theoretical concepts in actual problems · quantitative-involves comparing and contrasting to discover relationships to determine "what is" by using statistics · qualitative-a systematic procedure to describe "what is" automaticity-the speed and accuracy of word recognition and spelling. Automaticity is the goal of word study instruction. Achieving automaticity in the mechanics of reading and writing frees cognitive resources for comprehension base word-a word to which an affix may be added basic research-research which leads to a knowledge state and development of theory beginning period of literacy development-a period of literacy development that begins when students have a concept of word and can make sound-symbol correspondences blending-combining individual phonemes to form words. Blending occurs when you combine onsets and rimes to make syllables and combining syllables to make words. case study-following one person or group over time 1. the purpose is to view social reality; it examines the social unit as a whole unit (a person, a family, or a social group); the purpose is to understand the life cycle or an important part of the life cycle 2. it probes deeply to analyze interactions between the factors that explain present status or that influence change or growth 3. a case study is a longitudinal approach showing changes (development) over time 4. a case study is not about a person but rather a kind of person 5. a case study is a prototype for a category of individuals 6. a selection of the student in a case study is "typical" of those in general 7. data gathering · you observe physical characteristics-social quality or behavior · interviews with subjects, relatives, and others such as teachers · questionnaire or psychological tests · recorded data from school or clinic 8. a single case study is an analysis in depth 9. case studies are often used in medical research concept of word-the ability to match spoken words to printed words as demonstrated b the ability to point to the words of a memorized text while reading confounding variables-the things which can "muck" up the experiment · intervening variable-influences the dependent variables internally; feelings, boredom, tiredness, excitement · extraneous variables-extraneous variables can be controlled and need to be built into the study Ø you can remove certain extraneous variables such as the time of day Ø you can also randomize to eliminate confounding variable Ø you can select matching cases (i.e. identical twins) where matching characteristics are assigned to both the experimental group and the control group context sensitivity-findings or descriptions are placed in a social/historical context. Data are not generalized to other situations or contexts control group-the control group is NOT exposed to the factor or intervention correlation-a statistical procedure for analyzing the extent to which two or more variables tend to vary together which yields a coefficient expressing the degree of the relationship data analysis- 1. makes sense out of masses of information 2. you want to reduce the volume of information and organize it 3. you find ways to identify significant parts/pieces of information by looking for patterns 4. you construct a framework based on the pattern-what does the data reveal? 5. internal validity-the accuracy of the data and how it matches reality=triangulation · data are verified by agreement with other data from other sources or a different data collector or a different procedure(s) · see Chapter 6 in HRR for additional information data collection 1. observations-observations are detailed notes of behavior, events, and contacts 2. interviews-try to find out what is someone else's mind; interviews may often be open-ended 3. review of documents-minutes of meetings, student handbook, grade book, plan book, student work… dependent variables-these are the conditions that the experimenter can change; the things we measure design flexibility-qualitative studies are open to change as understanding deepens or situations change. The researcher pursues new paths of discovery as they emerge. developmental level of spelling-one of five stages of spelling development: emergent, letter name-alphabetic, within word patterns, syllable and affixes, or derivational patterns ecological psychology-(ecology/psychology term) how do individuals attempt to accomplish their goals through specific behaviors in specific environments effect size-the standardized mean difference between experimental group and control groups, divided by within-group standard deviation or ES= (Xe –Xc)/s. Effect size is only useful for making sense of quantitative results and it is not applicable to most case studies, ethnographies, or single-subject designs. elision-tasks in which you are required to say a word minus a specific sound (say "batman", now say "batman" without the "bat"-response would be "man") emergent-a period of literacy development ranging from birth to beginning reading. This period preceded the letter name-alphabetic stage of spelling development empirical studies-observed facts and experiences relating to quantitative studies ethnographic studies-a naturalistic inquiry 1. a theoretical perspective 2. comes from anthropology 3. it had central questions: · what is the culture of this group of people · what is the structure in essence for this phenomena for these people 4. you have to determine the physical and social environment in which the people under study live, go to school, work · 1928 Margaret Mead and her work titled "Coming of Age in Samoa" is a good example of ethnographic study where 53 adolescent girls in a permissive Samoan society were compared to American girls. Mead concluded that there were no physiological differences between Samoans and Americans but the differences were in responses; American girls were a hassle while Samoans were no trouble due to homogeneous culture and a single set of religious/moral beliefs and wider kinship network experimental design-experimental design is the blueprint of procedures that enable the researcher to test hypotheses by reaching valid conclusions about the relationship between independent and dependent variables (i.e. you have to have a plan and all the factors before you begin) experimental group-the experimental group is exposed to the factor or intervention experimental research-experimental research provides a systematic and logical method for answering the following question: If this is done under carefully controlled conditions, what will happen? experimental validity-to be valid it must be ale to be replicated and be assured that the results are true. Does it measure what it was intended to measure? You must define the terms within the study external validity-the limitations; the extent to which the variables can be generalized to other settings and populations Ø Within qualitative studies the external validity can be a problem · we must discuss limited generalizability of the findings in qualitative research · we must ask the question of whether we can replicate this grapheme-a grapheme is the smallest part of written language that represents a phoneme in the spelling of a word. A grapheme may be just one letter such as b, d, f, p, s; or several letters such as ch, sh, th, -ck, ea, -igh Hawthorne Effect-originally a study conducted in 1933 which relates to the Hawthorne electric plant where they experimenter looked at worker condition and productivity. As the experimenters increased the illumination level of the plant the productivity of the workers increased. To test this, the experimenters decreased the lighting but the output remained the same. They concluded that the attention given to an individual or individuals resulted in increased output or performance; people are motivated by attention. Also may be referred to as the "Halo effect" historical research-describes what was; it helps to understand the how and why of educational movements and how they appear and disappear · examples include Wheeler (1994), John Dewey (1896), and Dubois (1909, NAACP) holistic perspective-the whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that is more than the sum of its parts; the researcher focuses on complex interdependencies not reduced to a few discrete variables and linear cause-effect relationships (i.e. "a study of qualities that make successful school" or "student characteristics relevant to learning") hypothesis-(1) a formal affirmative statement predicting a single research outcome; a tentative explanation of the relationship between two or more variables (2) for a hypothesis to be testable, the variables must be operationally defined independent variables-things such as age, sex, race, intelligence level, and income level that you cannot change. On a questionnaire these are best put at the end of the survey. inductive analysis-immersion in details and specifics of data to discover important categories, dimensions, and interrelationships, exploring open questions rather than testing theoretically derived deductive hypotheses internal validity-factors manipulated (independent variable) actually have the genuine effect on the observed consequences (dependent variable) and it is genuine inter-relater reliability-makes the study more valid letter name-alphabetic stage of spelling-the second stage of spelling development where students represent beginning, middle, and ending sounds of words with phonetically accurate letter choices Matthew effects-where those with high phonological skill continue to develop much faster than those who begin with lower levels-"the rich get richer" meta-analysis-any of several methods, usually statistical, for combining results from a collection of program evaluations to reach an overall conclusion about program effects, usually expressed as effect size or the average magnitude of the programs in standard deviation units method of observation- 1. the researcher listens to and converses with the subject in a free and natural atmosphere 2. the behavior of the individual in groups is a dynamic complex process (this can be considered a strength because the observation of natural behavior is in real-life settings) 3. human behavior is influenced by the setting in which it occurs-the researcher views the setting as the subject views the setting; in other words you get into the mind of the subject 4. the relationship of the researcher to the subject is based on trust and confidence monograph-study of a focused subject issued as a unit rather than a serial morpheme-a linguistic unit that is meaningful and cannot be broken down into smaller meaningful elements null hypothesis-restates the hypothesis in negative or null form (i.e. there is no significant difference) (1) in the null hypothesis the null relates to a statistical method of interpreting conclusions about population characteristics observed in samples (2) the null hypothesis asserts that observed differences or relationships result merely from chance errors in the sampling process (3) researching the null hypothesis · if the researcher rejects the null hypothesis, she accepts the research hypothesis, concluding that the magnitude of the observed variable relationship is too great to attribute to sampling error onset-that part of a syllable preceding the syllable peak or nucleus; normally, the consonants preceding the vowel of a syllable, as str in strip operational definition of a variable-an operation by which the variable can be observed or measured using descriptors orthography-(1) the study of the nature and use of symbols in a writing system (2) correct or standardized spelling according to established usage in a given language (3) a conventional writing system in a given language paradigm-model phenomenological inquiry-a philosophy based term which asks the question-What is the structure in essence (the heart of the matter) of experience (phenomenon) for these people? phoneme-a minimal sound unit of speech, that, when contrasted with another phoneme, affects the meaning of words in a language, as /b/ in book contrasts with /t/ in took, /k/ in cook, /h/ in hook phoneme blending-listening to a sequence of separately spoken phonemes and then combining the phonemes to form a word. phoneme categorization-recognizing the word in a set of three or four words that has the "odd" sound out ("Which word doesn't belong? bus, bun, rug. Rug doesn't begin with /b/."). phoneme deletion-refers to determining what remains if a phoneme is deleted (say 'dog' without the /d/; 'og'). phoneme identity-recognizing the same sounds in different words ("What sound is the same in fix, fall, and fun? The first sound, /f/, is the same."). phoneme isolation-recognizing the individual sounds in a word ("What is the first sound in van? The first sound in van is /v/."). phoneme manipulation-when children work with phonemes in words they are manipulating the phonemes. Types of phoneme manipulation include blending phonemes to make words, segmenting words into phonemes, deleting phonemes from words, adding phonemes to words, or substituting one phoneme for another to make a new word. phoneme segmentation-breaking a word into its respective phonemes phoneme substitution-the ability to substitute phonemes, one phoneme for another (change the /d/ in 'dog' to /l/ and the new word is 'log'). phonemic awareness-the awareness of the sounds (phonemes) that make up spoken words; often assessed by the ability to tap, count, or push an object forward for every sound heard in a word. Phonemic awareness is a subcategory of phonological awareness. phonics-the systematic relationship between letters and sounds · graphophonemic relationships · letter-sound associations · letter-sound correspondences · sound-symbol correspondences · sound-spellings phonograms-often called word families, phonograms end in high frequency rimes that require only a beginning consonant to make a word phonological awareness-awareness of the constituent sounds of words in learning to read and spell. The constituents of words can be distinguished in three ways: a. by syllables b. by onsets and rimes c. by phoneme. It also encompasses awareness of other aspects of sound, such as alliteration, rhyming, and intonation. phonological processing-refers to the use of phonological information (i.e. the sounds of ones language) in processing oral and written language phonological sensitivity-the more global set of processing abilities that require sensitivity to speech sounds placebo control group-no one within the study knows if they are getting the real "pill" or intervention population-(1) a population is a group of individuals who has one or more characteristics that are of interest to the researcher (2) parameter is a population value inferred from a statistic pre-experimental design-least adequate of design models due to lack of control group and/or failure to provide equivalence of a control group · one shot case study (no control group) X=exposure to treatment (intervention) O=observation
X Þ O · one group pre-test (no control group) X=exposure to treatment (intervention) O1 =pre-test O2 =post-test
O1 Þ X Þ O2 · static group comparison (no pre-test, not random, different interventions) X=exposure to treatment (intervention) O=questionnaire C=control
X Þ O C Þ O qualitative data-a detailed description, an inquiry in depth, and direct quotations capturing people's personal perspectives and experiences qualitative research-there is 6 basic assumptions about qualitative research 1. it is descriptive 2. it involves field work 3. it is concerned with process rather than outcomes or product 4. it is inductive (researchers build abstractions, concepts, theory, or hypothesis from the details) 5. the researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis 6. the researcher is primarily interested in meaning—how people make sense out of their lives experiences and the structure of their world
quasi-experimental design-you do not use random assignment to experimental group and control groups O 1, O 3 =pre-test O 2, O 4 =post-test X=intervention C=control group
O 1 X O 2
O 3 C O 4
randomness-(1) selecting a group of individuals for observation who are representative of the population about which a researcher wants to generalize (2) equating experimental or control groups in an experiment [sampling error-chance variations that occur in sampling] (3) in a random sample, individuals are chosen in such a way that each has an equal and independent chance of being selected recode-to change information from one code into another, as in writing to speech; to identify, relate, and then combine or chunk two or more symbols such as recode 3 and 9 into 39, presumably into long-term memory research questions-involves a problem, a population, and is site specific 1. questions that focus on a problem: How does play affect reading readiness? 2. questions that focus on a particular population: How do school superintendents' mange relations with school board members? 3. questions that are site specific: Why is the reading program working well in Tisbury but not in Mashpee? research synthesis-as well as its synonyms integrative review, research integration, and literature review, refer to those methods of inquiry used to derive generalizations from the collective findings of a body of existing studies; methods used to derive generalizations from findings from studies rhyme oddity detection-tasks which contain sets of words where some of the words rhyme, but one does not (i.e. fish, dish, book) rime-a vowel and any following consonants of a syllable, as /a/ in play root-the basic part of a word that usually carries the main component of meaning and that cannot be further analyzed without loss of identity sample-a small proportion of the population selected for observation and analysis sample size-(1) the larger the sample size, the smaller the magnitude of sampling error and the greater that sample is representative of the population in general (2) the survey study should have larger samples then are needed then in the experimental studies because the returns are from those who are volunteers sampling-(1) the process of sampling makes it possible to draw valid inferences or generalizations on the basis of careful observation of variables within a relatively small proportion of the population (2) a measured value based on sample data is a statistic segmenting-when words are broken into their individual phonemes, they are being segmented. They are also being segmented when words are broken into syllables and syllables into onsets and rimes. single-subject design-single case or N = 1. The effect is on an individual. The aim of single-subject research is to clearly establish the effects of an intervention (that is, an independent variable) on a single individual. The intent is to ensure that changes in responses (that is, in the dependent variable) are indeed the result of that intervention and are not the result of chance or other factors. Three things to remember: · We are testing a hypothesis (quantitative research). · We often study behavior modification with single subject design. · Contributions of Skinner-he developed this idea with his work on applied behavior analysis. He founded the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. An important feature of single-subject research is the personalization of data analysis. The goal is demarcate each individual's current level of response at the beginning of an experiment and then determine the degree to which the intervention in the investigation changes the individual's responses. Baseline is the same as a pretest. “How did they do without help?” · The baseline is used to determine how an individual behaves prior to intervention (the instruction). · Baseline information comprises more than a single pretest · You want to test three times or control it for three weeks to see what that behavior is. · Use a graph to understand the data. Repeated measurements are used to determine if changes in the experimental conditions affect changes in the subject. · The measurement used must be clearly defined. · You must be able to observe the changes that occur; ex: through a test, assignment, something that the child does. · Measures used have to be under standard conditions. Ex: same time of day testing; same teacher tests same student. Conditions are uniform. specific word instruction-teaching of individual words to deepen a student's knowledge of word meanings. In-depth knowledge of word meanings can help in the understanding of what one is hearing or reading. It may also assist in helping to use words accurately in speaking and writing. statistical regression-if you give the same test over and over again it will tend to reflect the mean (average); may be a threat to the external validity syllable-a word part that contains a vowel or, in spoken language, a vowel sound (e-vent, news-pa-per, ver-y). symbolic interaction-(social psychology term) what common sets of symbols and understandings have emerged to give meaning to peoples interactions theory-establishes cause and effect relationships between variables with the purpose of explaining and predicting phenomenon transitional stage of literacy development-a period of literacy development when learners are becoming fluent in reading easy material. Silent reading becomes the preferred mode of reading. There is some expression in oral reading. The transitional stage corresponds with the within word pattern of spelling development. true experimental design-takes into consideration the equivalence of experimental and control groups and is provided by random assignment of subjects to experimental and control treatments · randomized control R=randomly assigned groups X=intervention C=control group O=post-test
R X O1 R C O2 · pre-test/post-test equivalent R=randomly assigned groups X=intervention C=control group O1, O3 =pre-test O2, O4 =post-test
R O1 X O2 R O3 C O4 · Soloman Four Group Design R=randomly assigned groups X=intervention C=control group O1, O3 =pre-test O2, O4, O5, O6 =post-test R O1 X O2 R O3 C O4 R X O5 R C O6 The Cadillac of design: all have randomly assigned groups, there are 2 intervention groups, one group with intervention gets pre-test the other does not, there are control groups with no intervention, all groups get the post-test variables-something that changes; conditions or characteristics that the experimenter manipulates, controls, or observes vocabulary-refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively; may be oral (words that we use in speaking or recognize in listening) or reading vocabulary (words we recognize or use in print). within word pattern spelling stage-the third stage of spelling development that coincides with the transitional period of literacy development. This type of speller has mastered the basic letter-sound correspondences. word-a unit of meaning word box- a visual and hands-on tool designed to help students attend to the phonological and orthographic features of a word word identification-the process of determining the pronunciation and some degree the meaning of an unknown word word learning-four different kinds of word learning have been identified: · Learning a new meaning for a known word · Learning the meaning for a new word representing a known concept · Learning the meaning of a new word representing an unknown concept · Clarifying and enriching the meaning of a known word word recognition-the quick and easy identification of the form, pronunciation, and appropriate meaning of a word previously met in print or writing word sort-a vocabulary-development and word-study activity in which words on cards are grouped according to designated categories, as by spelling patterns, vowel sounds, shared meanings, etc. word study-(1) vocabulary-building exercises; (2) practice in word identification, as in phonics, structural analysis, etc; (3) spelling practice
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