Creative Exercises

CE #10

Simulating Field Research – Playtime, Snacks, and Learning in Kindergarten

The purpose of this creative exercise is to simulate a field research project with a relative immersion in the naturalistic setting. A simulation of the field experience involves observing the video recorded interactions among children during their playtime, snacks, and learning in kindergarten at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIJh3zCK6Pg [watching the clip before the class is strongly recommended].

1. Formulate a research question that interests you with respect to this setting. It can be very broad. It may pertain to gender differences, learning, and other behavioral interventions, but it doesn’t have to.

2. Based on the chosen research question, watch the video clip again [i.e., conduct observations] and write personal field notes. At first, conduct the observations individually. Consult your notes and the book for the major elements that you need to record [i.e., the setting, the people, individual actions and activities, group behavior, and meanings and perspectives].

3. What observer role did you play? Also, what observer role was the observer/video recorder? Please explain the advantages and disadvantages/ethical issues associated with each role.

4. Someone believes that in order to answer your research question the children should be observed at random intervals throughout the week. Another person argues that the children should be observed for one full morning. What do you think would be the advantages and disadvantages of each approach? Can you think of a better method of time sampling for this situation?

CE #9: Quantitative Data Analysis

1. Please indicate whether the following variables are continuous or discrete. (8 points)

Variable Name Discrete or Continuous?

a. Annual income ____________________

b. Time ____________________

c. Number of shoes you own ____________________

d. Human weight ____________________

e. Population of the United States ____________________

f. Distance ____________________

g. Course credit hours you are taking this semester ____________________

h. Car value ____________________

2. Following are data from a camper satisfaction survey conducted by a nationwide campground chain. Use this data to provide answers to posed questions about the relative comparisons. (16 points)

Responses to question	Frequencies (N = 572)
Overall experience was excellent	135
Would definitely return	151
Good value for the price	369
Appealing recreational activities	421

a. What is the rate of people selecting “Overall experience was excellent?” Also, provide an interpretation of your answer.

b. What is the ratio of people selecting “Would definitely return” to “Appealing recreational activities?” Please provide an interpretation of your answer.

c. What percentage of respondents considers the campground to be “Good value for the price?” Please provide an interpretation of your answer.

3. Please look at the table below, which includes a distribution of player’s ages at a midnight basketball program, and answer to proposed questions about the measures of central tendency and variability. (16 points)

Player’s age	Number of players
17	1
18	5
19	1
20	4
21	1
22	1

a. What is the mean age of players who participated in a midnight basketball program?

b. What is the median age of players who participated in a midnight basketball program?

c. What is the modal age of players who participated in a midnight basketball program?

d. Among the three choices (mean, median and mode), which “average” would be the most appropriate to cite in a report? Please provide explanations to support your answer.

e. What is the range of player’s age from highest to lowest?

4. Please look at the two graphs below and interpret how graph A and graph B are different. (hint” which one has larger standard deviation and what does that mean?) (8 points)

5. You are reading the findings from a study on the relationship between the total number of hours a college basketball team practiced and their winning/losing percentage. The result showed that the correlation coefficient (r) value was -0.69 between the number of hours a college basketball team practiced before a game and team losing a game. Please make an interpretation (hint: use the table provided in lecture to determine the strength of the relationship and also use coefficient of determination). (12 points)