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Teaching Research Methods: How to Make it Meaningful to Students
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Please take a moment to
answer two quick questions
from our presenters.
Before we get started…
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Teaching Research Methods:
How to Make It Meaningful to Students
Content and Presentation by
Dahlia Remler and Gregg Van Ryzin
3. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Gregg G. Van Ryzin
Rutgers University, Newark
Dahlia K. Remler
Baruch College, CUNY
Nicole Elliott
Executive Marketing Manager, SAGE
4. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Research
Methods
Matter
Engaging
Real-
World
Examples
Focus on
Causal
Research
Encourage
Visual
Thinking
Q&A With
Dahlia &
Gregg
Our Agenda
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RESEARCH METHODS MATTER
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Judging factual
claims
(political polls)
Being a good
leader or
decision-maker
(student
evaluations of
teaching)
Engaging in
policy debates
(gun control)
Research Methods Matter
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Research Methods Matter
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
● Give assignments that let students apply
methods to their own area of interest:
Design a survey of a population of
interest
Evaluate published studies in their
field of interest to them
Research Methods Matter
Tip: Ask Students to Practice
Encourage students to practice
discussing and presenting research.
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ENGAGING REAL-WORLD
EXAMPLES
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
● Engaging examples are
Timely: About important, current issues
Interesting: Surprising findings, clever methods
● Teaching with real-world examples helps
illustrate
The importance of research
The range of methods (and why they are used)
The creativity, and limitations, of research
Engaging, Real-World Examples
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Qualitative study of barriers to the delivery of a new
malaria treatment in Kenya
Engaging, Real-World Examples
13. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
National comparison of private and public schools
(NAEP), illustrates the use of control variables
Engaging, Real-World Examples
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Tip: Have students read real studies
● Hand out several abstracts in class to discuss:
For the week on sampling Is it probability or non-
probability sample?
For the week on natural and quasi experiments
What kind of natural or quasi experiment is it?
Engaging, Real-World Examples
Use research reports from journals, government agencies,
foundations, international organizations, advocacy groups, etc.
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FOCUS ON CAUSAL RESEARCH
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Focus on Causal Research
Tip: Use examples to practice finding
alternative explanations of correlation
Examples like family dinners and drug use show correlation
is not always causation
• Show examples where correlation is not due
to causation
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Do family dinners reduce
teen substance abuse?
Or do teens who drink & do
drugs avoid family dinners?
Focus on Causal Research
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Focus on Causal Research
Illustrate the range of strategies for proving
causation:
Control
variables
Randomized
experiments
Natural and
quasi
experiments
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Ray and Janay Rice | Photo courtesy of AP Images
Focus on Causal Research
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PATH DIAGRAMS | VISUAL
THINKING
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
● Visual thinking
More intuitive than a verbal (terms) or mathematical
(equations) approach
● Path models: a useful tool for
Theory
Correlation vs. causation
o Common causes, reverse causation
Control variables strategy
o Picking good control variables
Encourage Visual Thinking
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
● Use Path Diagrams to visualize research:
Using ovals (variables) and arrows (relationships)
Encourage Visual Thinking
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Path Diagrams
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Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Path Diagrams
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Visual Thinking | Path Diagrams
Tip: Get students to create a logic model
For example, ask them to create a path model (logic model) of
a program or intervention of interest to them
• Encourage students to use path models to
think about research
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Encourage Visual Thinking
Help students use path models to think about complex issues
Focus on Causal Research
Establish the importance and challenges of causal evidence
Engaging Real-World Examples
Help them understand and apply difficult concepts
Research Methods Matter
Show students how valuable methods can be to their careers
28. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
We want to get
some feedback
from you
Before we start our Q&A session…
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Singapore | Washington DC
Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
While we do our best to answer as many questions as we can, time constraints
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Dahlia Remler & Gregg Van Ryzin
October 29, 2014 #SAGEtalks
Webinar recording available on at www.sagepub.com/sagetalks.
Teaching Research Methods:
How to Make it Meaningful to Students
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Dahlia Remler
vanryzin@rutgers.edu dahlia.remler@baruch.cuny.edu
Be sure to join us for our next SAGE Talks webinar “Empowerment Evaluation”
with Dr. David Fetterman on Thursday November 20th!