Data

Data

Activity 1:

What is the meaning of the following terms?

Ø Problem      : Data may be observed or measured in different ways.

Ø Theory        : A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something,   especially one                             based  on general principles independent of the thing to be   explained.

Ø Hypothesis : A hypothesis is suggested answer to the problem and also can be defined   as an                             expecatation about events based on generalizations of the assuned   relationship between                   variables

Ø Inquiry        : An act of asking for information.

Ø Prove          : Demonstrate the truth or existence of (something) by evidence or   argument.

Ø Information  : Facts provided or learned about something or someone

Ø Data            : Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.

Ø Evidence     : The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or   proposition is                     true or valid.

Ø Analyses     : Detailed examination of the elements or structure of something, typically   as a basis for                     discussion or interpretation.

Ø Interpretation : The action of explaining the meaning of something.

Ø Solution         : A means of solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation.

Activity 2:

Review questions:

1. What is a scale?

Answer: Scale, then, are names from the different ways of observing, organizing, and assigning numbers to data, which makes them important for understanding the entire data collection process.

2. How are nominal, ordinal, and interval scales similar and different?

Answer:  the differences are that nominal scale are used for naming and categorizing data in a variable usually in the form of identifying groups into which people fall. Ordinal scale is used to order to rank data. Whereas, interval scales represent the ordering of things. In addition, they reflect the interval, or distance, between points in the ranking. Then, the similarity of those is they are used to order and organize data based on the category.

3. Why is the ratio scale not used in language studies?

Answer: there are two reasons, the first is a ratio scale has a zero value, and the second is it can be said that points on the scale are precise multiples of other points on the scale.

4. How would you change the scores on a final examination in a course from the existing interval scale to an ordinal scale or to a nominal scale?

Answer: for example, when you look at the final examination scores in one of your courses, you are dealing with an interval scale. For instance, if Jim scored 90 out of 100, Jack scored 80, and Jill scored 78, you could rank these three students first, second, and third; that would be an ordinal scale.

5. What kind of scale would most likely be used for each of the following variables: sex, class rank, IQ, language placement, high/low achievement, native language background, and years of studying Urdu? Can you change some of your answer to another type of scale?

Answer:

Ø Sex                 : Nominal scale

Ø Class rank       : Ordinal scale

Ø IQ                   : Ordinal scale

Ø Language placement              : Ratio scale

Ø High/low achievement            : Ordinal scale

Ø Native language background  : Nominal scale

Ø Years of studying     : Interval scale

Yes, we can change some answer to another type of scale

6.  Is the fact that scale can be manipulated from one type to another by a researcher a detrimental or beneficial quality? Why or why not?

Answer: The scale can be manipulated form one type to another by researcher a detrimental or beneficial quality depending on how researcher is viewing them. Changing them is not a matter of trickery but, rather, a useful property or scales that make it possible to look at the same variable in different ways.

7. What kind of scale is represented by the question, on a scale of 1 to 10, how are you doing today?

Answer: The scale that is represented by the question, on scale of 1 to 10, how are you doing today is nominal scale.

References:

1. Brown, J.D. 1988. Understanding Research in Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP.

2. Nunan, D. 1989. Research Methods in  Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP.

3. Saleh, M. 2001. Pengantar Praktik Penelitian Pengajaran Bahasa. Semarang: IKIP Semarang  Press.

4. Tuckman, B.W. 1978. Conducting Educational Research. London: Harcourt Brace  Jacobovitz.

Baca Juga:

Introduction (What is & why do research?)   Research problems & hypotheses  Variables Research Instruments  Statistical Analyses