Participants (Sample)
10 participants were chosen for this study from a purposive sample of 5th through 11th grade students with ADHD whose parents had responded to an ad in the local newspaper. They reviewed the students ADHD diagnoses and selected only those with ADHD, predominantly inattentive type or combined type. A table was included to establish the demographics of the participants.
Table 1 shows that within this research several types of data were gathered. For instance, the population of this study is teenagers from 10 to 16 years old from which the sample included those with a type of ADHD. Among this table, we can clearly see that most of the sample includes boys and only one girl. The variable is strictly linked to the level of engagement that the population of this study has. Although this research is not intended to denote that ADHD occurs more frequently among boys than
girls, it could possibly be linked to the idea that video games are more appealing to boys than girls; henceforth, the possible reason why most of the subjects of study are boys.
Data Collection
During each lab session, participants completed two sets of tasks while connected to the EEG. For one set of tasks, participants watched a video while the EEG was collecting data. Then the EEG and video were paused, and were given five questions to answer about the video. The EEG and video were resumed, and a researcher provided extraneous stimuli in the form of a pen clicking or other common classroom sounds. The purpose of adding the distraction for the second half of the activity was to evaluate
the participants ability to tune out distractions and see if there was any EEG evidence of the distraction. We again paused the EEG and video and gave the participants five questions to answer about the second half of the video.
The second set of activities was completed in the same manner as the VQ, except that instead of watching a video, the participants read short stories.
At the end of the first session, they assigned participants a Nintendo DS unit and a copy of the Brain Age software. They were asked to play a minimum of 20 minutes each morning before school but told them they could play longer if they noted it in their daily journal.
During the post-treatment lab session, they collected data in the form of researcher observations and from administration of the FAB, SARAC, EEG, participant post-treatment interview, parent post-treatment questionnaire, and VQ/RQ. They also collected pretreatment and post-treatment TSARAC forms from participants.
At the close of the session, participants returned their Nintendo DS unit and Brain Age software. They were asked not to play any kind of brain game during the next three weeks, which included spring break and two weeks of school.
During the follow-up lab session, they collected data in the form of researcher observations and from administration of the SARAC, EEG, participant follow-up interview, parent follow-up questionnaire, and VQ/RQ. They also collected follow-up TSARAC forms. They collected supplementary data during the treatment and post-treatment periods in the form of participant journals, which the participants submitted to at the follow-up lab session. Before leaving, they gave each participant his or her Nintendo
DS unit and Brain Age software to keep.
Type of data
Table 1 includes different type of data that can be categorized into the following chart.
NOMINAL DATA DISCRETE DATA
Gender Age
Race
ADHD type
Medication
The following table presented in the research gives a different type of data.
Table 3 uses a mix of data. For instance, SARAC (Student’s Achievement-Relevant Actions in the Classroom), T-SARAC (Teacher on Student’s Achievement-Relevant Actions in the Classroom) is data related to the self-report of engagement versus disaffection. Both of them are abstract concepts and in order to transform them into data, statements related to both concepts were given points as to get discrete data from them. On the other hand, FAB (Frontal Assessment Battery), used to record frontal lobe
activity in the brain, VQ/RQ (Video and Reading Question), and the Theta/Betha is strictly discrete data and therefore could be handled appropriately to give a visualization of the results.
