| A | B |
|---|
| Silver Standard Or Promising Research | Examines the relationship between the program or practice on student achievement but cannot determine the cause, or controls everything except the assignment of the groups (random assignment) or other aspects of the study. |
| Untreated Group | This group serves as a control group for comparison with the treatment or intervention group. This group receives no treatment at all during the study. |
| Skewed Distribution | Any distribution which is not normal, that is not symmetrical along the x-axis |
| Stability Reliability | The agreement of measuring instruments over time. |
| Standard Deviation | A measure of variation that indicates the typical distance between the scores of a distribution and the mean; it is determined by taking the square root of the average of the squared deviations in a given distribution. It can be used to indicate the proportion of data within certain ranges of scale values when the distribution conforms closely to the normal curve. |
| Standard Error (S.E.) Of The Mean | A computed value based on the size of the sample and the standard deviation of the distribution, indicating the range within which the mean of the population is likely to be from the mean of the sample at a given level of probability. |
| Statistical Significant | Used to indicate whether the results from a study are very probably not due to chance. Take, for example, a study that reports it found that student test scores improved after a reading intervention program was initiated at a school, and that these findings are "statistically significant." That means that the researcher is reasonably certain that student test scores did actually improve over time. If research findings are not statistically significant, any increase reported may be due to chance, rather than a result of the intervention. |
| Survey | A research tool that includes at least one question which is either open-ended or close-ended and employs an oral or written method for asking these questions. |
| Synchronic Reliability | The similarity of observations within the same time frame; it is not about the similarity of things observed. |
| Systematic Methods | Data collection methods that are consistent and scientific-i.e.. that follow the scientific method, used for collecting observations. |
| Theory | A set of propositions that are interrelated in an ordered fashion such that some may be deductible from others, thus permitting an explanation to be developed for the phenomenon under consideration. |
| Thick Description | A rich and extensive set of details concerning methodology and context provided in a research report. |
| Transferability | The ability to apply the results of research in one context to another similar context. Also, the extent to which a study invites readers to make connections between elements of the study and their own experiences. |
| Translation Rules | If one decides to generalize concepts during coding, then one must develop a set of rules by which less general concepts will be translated into more general ones. The concept "dang it," which is generally thought to imply "damn it." |
| Treatment | The stimulus given to a dependent variable. |
| Triangulation | The use of a combination of research methods in a study. An example of triangulation would be a study that incorporated surveys, interviews, and observations. See also multi-modal methods |
| T-Test | Is used to determine if the scores of two groups differ on a single variable. For instance, to determine whether writing ability differs among students in two classrooms, a t-test could be used. |
| Uncontrolled Group Study | A study that does not have another group to compare results objectively against. In this case, only the group that receives the intervention is examined, so you cannot be certain that any changes seen were caused by the intervention itself, as other factors may have been acting. |
| Unique Case Orientation | Researchers adopting this orientation remember every study is special and deserves in-depth attention. This is especially necessary for doing cultural comparisons. |
| Single Subject Studies | These prospective observation designs focus on a single subject and typically involve reporting data individually over time. |
