146
their reading scores
.
Therefore, there is no correlation between the subjects’ CD
lookup frequencies and their reading scores, r = - 0
.
338
.
The zero correlations between the subjects’ lookup frequencies and their
reading scores in PD and CD conditions are better illustrated and confirmed in the
scatterplots in Figures 23 and 24 below
.
Figure 23
.
Scatterplot of PD lookup frequencies versus reading scores
147
Figure 24
.
Scatterplot of CD lookup frequencies versus reading scores
According to the preceding figures (23 & 24), we notice that there is no linear
relationship between the subjects’ look-up frequencies and their reading scores as the
data values in the graphs are scattered and do not seem to group together to form any
kind of line
.
This means that no correlation exists between the subjects’ lookup
frequencies and their reading scores in PD and CD conditions and that the increase in
the subjects’ look-ups does not necessarily suggest an increase in their reading scores
.
The research hypothesis which suggested that there would be a positive
correlation between the subjects’ look-up frequencies and their reading scores and
that any increase or decrease in the subjects’ lookups would affect their understanding
of the reading passages is refuted
.
148
Though not fulfilling the hypothesis made in this study, the obtained results
are in line with what previous research has found on the effects of dictionary lookup
frequency on reading comprehension scores
.
5
.
5
.
Vocabulary Retention
Question Five examined whether there was any correlation between the type
of the dictionary used and the degree of vocabulary retention
.
To examine if any
dictionary type had an advantage over the other in endorsing the subjects’ retention of
consulted vocabulary during the pretest, the subjects’ posttest retention scores in each
type have been examined and compared against one another
.
Table 12 reports on the scores of the subjects in the vocabulary retention
posttests in PD and CD lookup conditions
.
Parallel box plots for the subjects’
distribution of retention scores are illustrated in Figure 25
.
Descriptive statistics for
the subjects’ scores in vocabulary retention tests are set in Table 13
.
149
Table 12 Subjects’ Vocabulary Retention Posttest Scores
PD lookup group
CD lookup group
Subjects
Retention scores
Subjects
Retention score
1
6
23
2
2
7
24
2
3
3
25
2
4
6
26
2
5
4
27
3
6
6
28
6
7
4
29
2
8
4
30
4
9
5
31
5
10
4
32
3
11
5
33
2
12
5
34
4
13
6
35
4
14
4
36
3
15
6
37
9
16
5
38
3
17
4
39
5
18
5
40
4
19
4
41
6
20
3
42
5
21
6
43
3
22
6
44
5
150
Figure 25
.
Parallel box plots for subjects’ vocabulary retention scores
As shown in the parallel box plots in Figure 25, the subjects’ vocabulary
retention scores range from 2 all the way up to 9 points in the CD lookup condition
.
However, 75 % of these scores seem to fall in the lower part of the graph below 5
points, which means that there is a negative skew in the distribution of CD retention
scores, as most of the scores seem to fall in the negative direction of scoring scale
.
In addition, the whiskers in the CD box plot indicate that the subjects’
retentions scores are highly dispersed amongst the high-performing quartile group of
subjects who scored 5 to 9 points (long upper whisker), and are the same for the low-
performing 25 % group of subjects who had the same retention score of 2 points each
(hidden lower whisker)
.
151
Considering the information in the box plots, it may appear that the PD
encouraged better retention than did the PD
.
However, the results are not exactly
clear-cut as a portion of the two box plots overlap with each other
.
Therefore, we may
not declare the PD the clear winner as we need a hypothesis test first to make that
final determination
.
Table 13 Descriptive Statistics for Subjects’ Retention Scores
Descriptive statistics
Variable
Total
observations
Mean
Std
.
deviation
Minimum
Median
Maximum
PD
CD
22
22
4
.
91
3
.
82
1
.
109
1
.
763
03
02
05
03
.
5
07
09
As shown in Table 13, the subjects remembered 4
.
91 words on average in the
PD condition and 3
.
82 words in the CD condition
.
Since each half of the subjects did
only one test type, an independent-samples t-test was conducted to find out whether
the difference in recall of words between the two test groups, CD and PD, is
significant (See Table 14)
.
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