Analyze Research Results and Relate to Practice Assignment -

Assignment Introduction - In this unit, you learned that there is known but uncontrollable variation in virtually everything we measure in the world. Therefore, there is some degree of uncertainty in the questions asked in any quantitative study. This variation presents itself as sampling and measurement error. In this Assignment, you will be presented with research results and will be asked to analyze those results and relate them to practice.

Assignment Directions

In all professions, it is necessary to continually learn and to grow. Often one way to stay up with the latest developments in your field is by reading/reviewing research articles related to your field. You will be presented with the results of a research article and you will be required to relate those results to practice. Here is a basic summary of a research article and the reported results.

"A quantitative study was conducted to determine if there is a difference in third-grade student reading achievement between students taught using a phonics program and those taught using a small-group tutoring program, which does not include phonics. At the end of one year the study showed that, the third-grade students in the phonics program had statistically significantly higher scores on a standardized reading test than the third-grade students who were taught using small-group tutoring. The standardized reading test has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The level of statistical significance between the two groups was reported to be α = .04. The effect size for the difference was reported to be d = .10."

You are responsible for deciding which program your school should adopt in the upcoming year. Based on the results reported above, which program would you select? Be sure to relate how the statistical significance and the effect size influenced your decision.