MEC Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Moodle educator wants to determine if a new discussion forum activity increases student engagement. Which research design best controls for pre-existing group differences?
- Pre-test/post-test control group design (Correct answer)
- One-group post-test only design
- Cross-sectional survey
- Case study
Correct answer: Pre-test/post-test control group design
A pre-test/post-test control group design measures both groups before and after the intervention, controlling for pre-existing differences.
Question 2: When analyzing Moodle activity logs to study student behavior, which threat to validity is most associated with using pre-existing institutional data?
- Selection bias (Correct answer)
- Instrumentation bias
- Diffusion of treatment
- Testing effect
Correct answer: Selection bias
Selection bias occurs because students in a course were not randomly assigned, so pre-existing differences may confound findings.
Question 3: An educator conducts a study where students know they are being observed using Moodle's new gamification features. Which phenomenon might inflate their engagement metrics?
- Hawthorne effect (Correct answer)
- Regression to the mean
- Attrition bias
- Ceiling effect
Correct answer: Hawthorne effect
The Hawthorne effect occurs when participants alter their behavior simply because they know they are being observed.
Question 4: Which level of Bloom's Taxonomy do quiz questions primarily target when they ask students to recall definitions from Moodle course materials?
- Remember (Correct answer)
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyze
Correct answer: Remember
Recall tasks correspond to the 'Remember' level, the foundational tier of Bloom's revised taxonomy.
Question 5: A researcher uses Moodle's built-in gradebook data to compare final exam scores across three course sections. Which statistical test is most appropriate?
- One-way ANOVA (Correct answer)
- Chi-square test of independence
- Paired t-test
- Pearson correlation
Correct answer: One-way ANOVA
A one-way ANOVA compares means across three or more independent groups simultaneously.
Question 6: In evidence-based e-learning, what does the term 'effect size' primarily communicate?
- The practical magnitude of a treatment's impact (Correct answer)
- Whether a result is statistically significant
- The number of participants in a study
- The probability of a Type I error
Correct answer: The practical magnitude of a treatment's impact
Effect size quantifies the practical significance or magnitude of a difference, independent of sample size.
Question 7: Which Moodle report would an educator use to identify students who have not accessed course materials within the past two weeks?
- Course participation report (Correct answer)
- Competency breakdown report
- Outcomes report
- Quiz statistics report
Correct answer: Course participation report
The course participation report shows last access timestamps and activity counts per student.
MEC Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 2
A Moodle educator wants to determine if a new discussion forum activity increases student engagement.
Which research design best controls for pre-existing group differences?