8100 - Blog Post #4 - Galvan Chapter 5

2/28/2017

For chapter 5 I chose an article on gamification and student motivation by Patrick Buckley and Elaine Doyle (2014). Although at first thought many would think that examining intrinsic and extrinsic motivation would be qualitative research, this is actually a quantitative study.

As I went through the exercises of finding the characteristics of quantitative vs qualitative , I looked for key words as I read. There were times when it was super easy to identify the characteristics when things like hypotheses were stated and the t-sample group etc. When looking at experimental vs non-experimental, I had to look deeper into the sample that was selected and whether or not there were more than one group that would get different treatments. This group study was non-experimental.

As I continued to examine the article and the different questions I found that I had to read some parts of the study multiple times to really understand what happened in the study, especially when it came to the types of instruments that were used. My lack of knowledge in the instruments probably plays into that difficulty. The sample was for students that were already participating in a particular game, but there were pre and post surveys that then were correlated. If both weren't completed then the data wasn't used.

Overall, I found the article was a well done quantitative research study that allowed me to see the major parts of a quantitative study vs a qualitative study. The researcher used quality instruments and then reflected on their work by examining their process and even concluding that another study in a qualitative format would provide beneficial information about the topic.

Buckley, P. & Doyle, E. (2016) Gamification and student motivation, Interactive Learning Environments, 24(6), 1162-1175, DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2014.964263

6 Comments

Cybele link

2/28/2017 07:37:51 pm

Keri:

Nice job! I have to admit that I am unfamiliar with many of the instruments used as well, particularly with quantitative studies. I find the quantitative studies more confusing. Perhaps it is because I don't see myself as a "numbers" person. I understand words and dialogue. So, I could see myself having to read and re-read articles that are quantitative more than qualitative studies.

Cybele

Keri

3/20/2017 06:31:55 pm

Yes Cybele, I do a lot of re-reading when it comes to instruments and am pretty sure that will continue no matter how far I get into this. The goal is to get a better understanding so no matter how many times I have to read it, comprehension is the goal!

Niki Lennon

3/1/2017 04:21:05 pm

Hi Keri,

This assignment helped me to get a clearer understanding of what is required when conducting either a quantitative or qualitative study (or both). I realized many pros and cons as it will relate to my choice of study regarding my dissertation. I think it is important, as Cybele mentioned, to understand which method we are most comfortable with so as to really be able to provide quality material and adequately interpret the findings.

Thank you for sharing,

Niki

Shari Howington-Carlin

3/3/2017 06:14:48 am

Hi Keri,
It seems like we are all having to read these articles several times especially if they are not the position that we are naturally given to. I think I gravitate to qualitative design but find myself still trying to wrap my brain around the details of it. I am almost scared to think about "mixed methods" for fear of confusing myself even more. I think that the more we do these exercises, the clearer these details will become. I appreciate your honesty and I too, know nothing about gaming instruments. The idea of the article sounds intriguing though! I too, expected my last article to be set up in a different way but by using the information we are learning I was able to more quickly discern what type of research it was. Learning to look for some of these important factors such as limitations, I think significantly intensifies the validity or reliability of the research. Thanks for sharing!
:-)

3/20/2017 06:35:55 pm

Thanks for the comments Shari. I think we are all in the big learning curve and as long as we keep doing these exercises, hopefully we will get more comfortable with each aspect of the research. I am kind of looking forward to the mixed methods. I plan to implement a mixed methods study for my dissertation. I want to see the hard core numbers, but really like the side of understanding why and how as well.

Ryan Johnson link

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8100 - Blog Post #4 - Galvan Chapter 5

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Author: Keri Duncan

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