Activities
Activity 1
Fill in the gaps with the words below.
There is a relationship between the ______ in which a research study is located and the ______ approach. ______ is the name given to the paradigm which sees the world as being governed by universal laws and that everything can be explained by revealing these universal laws. Positivism gives rise to ______ methodology which involves the collection of ______ data using ______ methods.
numerical | positivism | scientific | paradigm | methodological | quantitative
Activity 2
Positivism is just one of several paradigms used in early childhood research. In Chapter 5, you will read about other paradigms which can underpin early childhood research. The article by Noella Mackenzie and Sally Snipe looks at a variety of different paradigms and how they relate to the methodology chosen. This article describes how using mixed methodologies can be a valid contribution to research.
- Read an overview of paradigms used in social research.
- Read an article about the relationship between the paradigm in which research is located and the questions that are asked.
Activity 3
Maeve is a student on an early childhood degree programme. She is in the initial planning stages of a piece of research for her dissertation. She is interested in impulse control in children and has heard that there is a test involving marshmallows. Four-year-old children are tested in a room on their own, On the table is a plate containing one marshmallow. The children are told that if they can delay eating the marshmallow for 15 minutes, then they can have marshmallow marshmallows. If they give in to temptation and eat the marshmallow then they do not get to have any more. It has been reported that children who are able to delay eating the marshmallow at aged four are likely to achieve more in later life than children who cannot control the impulse to eat the marshmallow (Mischel et al 1972).
Maeve thinks that gender is a variable that may affect the results and her hypothesis is that boys will do less well on the test than girls. She proposes to conduct a matched pairs experiment of ten four-year-old girls and ten four-year-old boys, using the marshmallow test.
- Identify the paradigm in which the research is located and explain your reasoning.
- What methodological approach is being taken? Explain your reasoning.
- Why has Maeve decided to use a matched pairs design?
- What relevant variables should Maeve consider when choosing the children for the matched pairs?
- What are your views on this as a piece of worthwhile research?
References
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Kidd, C., Palmeri, H. and Aslin, R. (2013) ‘Rational snacking: Young children’s decision-making on the marshmallow task is moderated by beliefs about environmental reliability’, Cognition, 126(1): 109–14.
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Mischel, W., Ebbesen, E.B. and Raskoff Zeiss, A. (1972) ‘Cognitive and attentional mechanisms in delay of gratification’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21(2): 204–18.
Activity 4
Fill in the gaps in this research cycle using the words supplied below.
Test hypothesis
Look for a pattern
Observe
Results support theory or theory needs adjustment
Generate hypothesis