ACI Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An AVID coordinator wants to determine whether the Cornell Notes strategy causes improvements in student retention. To establish causality, the most critical requirement is:
- A large sample size
- Random assignment of students to treatment and control groups (Correct answer)
- Multiple years of data collection
- Use of standardized tests
Correct answer: Random assignment of students to treatment and control groups
Random assignment is essential to establish causal relationships by controlling for confounding variables.
Question 2: Which term describes the extent to which research findings from an AVID study conducted in one district can be applied to other districts?
- Internal validity
- Construct validity
- External validity (Correct answer)
- Ecological validity
Correct answer: External validity
External validity refers to the generalizability of research findings to other settings, populations, or time periods.
Question 3: A teacher reviews three studies on collaborative learning, all showing positive effects. What is the most rigorous next step for drawing conclusions about effectiveness?
- Accept the findings as conclusive
- Conduct a meta-analysis to synthesize effect sizes across studies (Correct answer)
- Replicate the best-designed study locally
- Survey students about their preferences
Correct answer: Conduct a meta-analysis to synthesize effect sizes across studies
A meta-analysis quantitatively combines results from multiple studies to produce a more robust overall estimate of effect size.
Question 4: In action research, what is the primary purpose of the 'reflect' phase?
- To collect baseline data before intervention
- To analyze whether the instructional change achieved its intended goal (Correct answer)
- To identify the research question
- To disseminate findings to other educators
Correct answer: To analyze whether the instructional change achieved its intended goal
The reflect phase involves evaluating outcomes and determining whether the action taken produced the desired change.
Question 5: When an AVID study reports a Cohen's d of 0.8, this is interpreted as:
- A small effect size
- A medium effect size
- A large effect size (Correct answer)
- An inconclusive effect size
Correct answer: A large effect size
By convention, Cohen's d of 0.8 or above is considered a large effect size.
Question 6: A researcher studying AVID tutorial effectiveness uses a sample of 12 students from one school. Which limitation does this introduce?
- Construct invalidity
- Low statistical power and limited generalizability (Correct answer)
- Confirmation bias in data collection
- High measurement error in instruments
Correct answer: Low statistical power and limited generalizability
Small samples reduce statistical power and make it difficult to generalize findings to broader populations.
Question 7: Which ethical principle requires that research participants understand the study's purpose and voluntarily agree to participate?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Informed consent (Correct answer)
- Confidentiality
Correct answer: Informed consent
Informed consent ensures participants are fully aware of the research and freely choose to participate without coercion.
ACI Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 3
An AVID coordinator wants to determine whether the Cornell Notes strategy causes improvements in student retention.
To establish causality, the most critical requirement is: