Research Methods (Experimental Design)
Research Summary Template
1) Provide the full bibliographical form for the article that you summarized. Use the correct form, including double spacing, according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.
2) Provide a one paragraph abstract in your own words. The abstract should not exceed 200 words and it is double-spaced. Include the word count from your computer. The word count for my abstract of the article is ______ words. Any portion of your summary that involves direct quotes should be in quotation marks with the page citation per APA. Use past tense throughout this section and all other relevant sections.
3) Fully define the behaviors that were studied and changed as a result of the experimental intervention. Use operational and scientific terms. Give the behaviors not construct terms like “on-task.”
4) How were the data collected and reported? Do not use the following as a checklist; rather, describe in sentence form using these terms. Do use the appropriate terminology including but not limited to: a) Event recordings: Reported in Percentages, Rate, Number, or Other; b) Interval recording, Whole, Partial, Interval in seconds, Continuous, or Rotated/discontinuous observe/record, or Other; c) Trials: Reported in Number, Rate, Percentages, or Other; d) Learn Units or teacher behavior and responses to learn units: Reported in Number, Rate, Percentages, this includes learn units even if not identified as such, because the paper preceded identification of learn units or the writers were naïve to the usage of the term; e) Time Sampling (after intervals of time, Intervals of time between observations; f) Other procedures such as probe trials.
Check the following. The target was learning________ performance _____ both ______
5a) Interobserver agreement (Often referred to, erroneously, as reliability). a) Percentage or number of sessions with interobserver agreements____, b) Mean % of agreement across all sessions____, c) Range of % of agreement from the lowest_____ to highest ____, d) (If given) Mean agreed intervals percentage____ Non Agreed Intervals____% (Describe in sentence form do not use as check list.)
5b) Design was a _________ Describe design________. Was it or was not a true experimental design? ________
6) List the tactic or tactics (the experimental intervention) and summarize how it was done such that you could use the procedure.
7) How many participants were studied? _______. How were the participants labeled or described (e.g., developmentally delayed, second graders, students, teachers)?
8) Briefly summarize the results (use trend, range, mean, variability, overlap, slope and level when you have mastered the terms). Was a functional relation shown? Yes__ No___. Do not use tables or copies of figures. Be brief but be thorough about the specific findings.
9) Comments, commendations, critique: you must include this. The term critique does not mean that you necessarily need to be critical. What did you think was important, or not, about the study? How can / could this relate to your practice?
