ENG518 Midterm Past Papers Spring 2025

ENG518

Mid-Term

ABSTRACT This comprehensive collection of notes is accurately crafted to empower students to excel academically, ensuring they achieve a minimum of 80% marks in their examinations. The content is organized with clarity and precision, focusing on key concepts, critical analyses, and practical applications tailored to the syllabus. These notes serve as a reliable resource for both thorough preparation and last-minute revision. Designed to inspire confidence and mastery, this guide is an essential tool for students striving for academic excellence.

Maha Malik

Spring 2025

1. Types of Research:

o Basic, Applied, Exploratory, Confirmatory, Quantitative, Qualitative.

2. Three Continua:

o (a) Basic–Applied, (b) Qualitative–Quantitative, (c) Exploratory– Confirmatory.

3. Research Design – 3 Components:

o Research questions, population/sample, and research design plan.

4. Criteria for Evaluating a Research Proposal:

o Problem statement, literature review, hypothesis, method, significance, and time plan.

5. Characteristics of True Research:

o Based on data, controlled, empirical, systematic, logical.

6. Systematic Inquiry:

o Logical, planned investigation with defined methods to answer research questions.

7. Good Sampling Characteristics:

o Free from bias, representative, economical, practical, accurate, and large enough.

8. Sample Size – How to Know:

o Typically 10–20% of population or minimum 30 in each group; depends on design & precision.

9. Sampling Reliability & Measurement:

o Measured using reliability coefficients (e.g., correlation). Consistency across samples/raters is key.

10. External Validity:

•  Generalizability of results to other populations, settings, and times.

11. Internal Validity:

•  Whether the changes in dependent variable are solely due to independent variables (i.e., causal accuracy).

12. Limitations in Sampling:

•  Small size, selection bias, lack of representativeness, resource constraints.

13. 3 Limitations in Sampling:

•  Random error, systematic error, measurement error.

14. Types of Variables:

•  Independent, Dependent, Control, Moderator, Intervening.

15. Five Examples of Variables:

•  Age, gender, motivation, test scores, language exposure.

16. Characteristics of Hypothesis:

•  Testable, clear, consistent with facts, specific, allows deductions.

17. Importance of Hypothesis (3 Lines):

•  Provides direction, links concepts, and offers testable solutions.

18. Null Hypothesis:

•  Asserts no relationship exists between variables.

19. Control Group Hypothesis / Rivalry:

•  Group tries to outperform due to awareness of being in control group (John Henry Effect).

20. History & Maturation as Extraneous Factors:

•  External variables affecting validity due to time and participant development.

21. Types of Data Gathering:

•  Observational, Instrumental, Interviews, Questionnaires.

22. Observational Data Collection:

•  Includes participant/non-participant observation, judges, introspection.

23. Instrumental Data Collection Tools:

•  Tests, questionnaires (open/closed), Likert scales, surveys.