Kelly 2006

Mixed Methodology in Data Collection and Analysis: A Case from Disability Services

Asil Ali Özdoğru

Mixed methods are utilized to increase reliability and validity of any research and evaluation project. In this study, a case from developmental disabilities field is exemplified in order to present the practical efficacy of mixed methods in addressing special needs of participants and different qualities of survey data. The purpose of survey and the characteristics of population were influential factors in calling for a pragmatic research orientation. Use of mixed methods and model allowed researchers to obtain more useful information from people with special needs and more valid inferences from the collected data.

Keywords: Mixed methods, disability research, triangulation, case analysis

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A. (2006). Mixed methodology in data collection and analysis: A case from disability services. In E. Reinhard, T. Bidjerano, & A. Passa (Eds.), Proceedings of the twentieth annual Edward F. Kelly evaluation conference (pp. 51–57). Albany, NY: Evaluation Consortium.

AERA 2006 - 2

Faculty Adoption of the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching

Asil Ali Özdoğru, Stacey McCall, and Peter Shea

One of the largest and most widely known projects seeking to facilitate the integration of technology in higher education teaching and learning is the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. The project, begun by the California State System in 1995, has sought to make high quality, discipline specific online learning materials freely and easily available to faculty and their students. Through the participation of a large number of institutions – 18 system partners representing more than 8 million students, the MERLOT project utilizes a peer-review system that allows educators to locate, evaluate and use high-quality online teaching and learning materials across a fourteen discipline areas. The broad scale approach taken by the project leaders seeks to transform the use of technology in higher education and thereby transform higher education itself. Until recently, however, there have been relatively few larger scale assessments of the project from the perspective of faculty adopters. This paper will present background information, context, and evidence that begin to address this gap with survey results from more than 700 faculty located at more than twenty different colleges.

Keywords: Online learning, online teaching, learning environments, media

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A., McCall, S., & Shea, P. (2006, April). Faculty adoption of the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, USA.

AERA 2006 - 1

Children’s After-School Activities as Developmental Contexts: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Joan Newman, Temi Bidjerano, Asil Ali Özdoğru, Çağrı Özköse-Bıyık, and Ching-Chen Kao

International comparisons in educational studies mainly look at academic outcomes such as achievement. It is also important to learn about children's activities after school as they play a major role in children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development. The study examines the types of after-school activities children from three different countries are involved in during the after school hours. Ten and 11 years old fourth graders from Bulgaria (n = 312), Taiwan (n = 292), and USA (n = 196) were surveyed about their typical after-school activities on three given days of the week. A series of ANOVAs indicated that there were significant differences among countries in all of the activities except TV viewing and outing. Within country gender differences were also observed.

Keywords: After-school activity, development, cross-cultural comparison

Citation: Newman, J., Bidjerano, T., Özdoğru, A. A., Özköse-Bıyık, Ç., & Kao, C.-C. (2006, April). Children’s after-school activities as developmental contexts: A cross-cultural comparison. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.