Question

Read through each scenario and identify at least one problematic feature and explain its effect(s). Note: each scenario has a number of possible problems with validity.

Howard is doing a correlational study on the impact of ICT on learning. He is looking for a relationship between two variables: the amount of time students spend logged onto the college network; and the result they obtain in their course. Both measurements are to be obtained from college IT systems.

Answer 1

The problem with study is mainly with internal validity as the study is not measuring what it is supposed to measure. The amount of time logged in the college network is not an accurate measure to use for measuring the impact of Information and communication technology (ICT). This is because the student may be logged in for a long time but mat not be using it for academic purposes, or other students who spend less time on it may spend more for time for academic purposes.

Second, the students my be using ICT from other networks than the college network, which may account for their learning.

Third, the dependent variable is learning, but here the result of the students is to be taken to measure learning. So, the dependent variable then is not measuring learning of the students, but it is measuring the result.