M10 Vocabulary Experiment Results S24

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University of South Florida *

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3701

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Statistics

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Treatment Group Control Group 3 1 4 3 2 3 6 1 2 3 3 2 4 1 1 4 3 3 4 3 3 2 4 2 1 1 9 dropped 4 5 5 Average of Treatment Group Average of Control Group 3.2 2.5 PRETEST VOCAB QUIZ VOCABULARY EXPERIMENT RESULTS. After the data is collected, the researcher will examine the data. Data Analysis and Results. Examining the Data My first step was to determine whether all participants took both the pretest and the posttest. All 30 participants (that’s you all) took both tests. There were 15 students in the control group and 15 students in the experimental group. Next, I examined the individual pretest scores to identify the minimum and maximum scores. Notice they range from 0 to 9, with the score of 9 being an outlier. I need to evaluate whether there's a basis to suspect that some data points could be unreliable. In this case, my concern is that the student may have researched the definitions. How would I decide? Over the past five years, I've conducted pre-tests in a controlled classroom setting where looking up words was not an option, and out of nearly 120 students, only four have ever scored above a 6. Based on this historical data, I chose to exclude the data of that particular subject, as I was concerned it may have been compromised. Results The first thing we do is calculate the average scores on the pretest for the treatment and the control group. The average pretest score for the experiment group (3.2) versus the average pretest score for the control group (2.5) is very close: less than a one-word difference. This indicates that the random assignment we did effectively distributed all conceivable factors that could influence performance on a vocabulary test (including reading speed, test anxiety, and existing vocabulary knowledge) between the two groups. 1
Next, we turn to the post-tests and calculate the averages . If studying did, in fact, impact vocabulary, we would expect the average post-test scores for the experimental group to be higher than the average post-test scores for the control group. In fact, this is what the data shows, with averages of 9.0 for the experimental group compared to 3.2 for the control group. Thus, we could conclude that even a brief period of studying can improve a person’s vocabulary. Or can we?? Is there a design flaw? Design Flaw: The first time I did this exercise in class, a student who had been in the experimental group raised her hand and asked, “Isn’t this really a memory test?” I asked her to explain, and she said that when she was given the definitions to study, the words were in the same order that they appeared on the pre- and post-test (see below and next page). She said, “I did not really have to remember the definitions of each word, but just remember the definitions in order.” BOOM!! She is correct! I have a measurement validity (not internal validity) issue. I designed the study with the intent of measuring improvement in vocabulary , but am I doing that? 2 If you compare the pre- and post-test scores for the control group, you will notice a small increase even though the control group did not study (2.5 to 3.2)? That can happen. Why? Maybe while those in the control group were waiting for 3 minutes, they realized they did know the definition of one of the words. This is why having a pretest makes the experimental design stronger . We now know that part of the observed increase on the posttest (3.2-2.5=0.7) is NOT due to studying.
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