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EFFECTS OF THE MNEMONIC-KEYWORD METHOD ON RECALLING VERBAL INFORMATION: A META-ANALYSIS

The effect of the mnemonic-keyword method on recalling verbal information has been an area of research interest for the past decade and a half. One narrative (qualitative) review attempted to generalize the effects of the keyword method. The reviewers claimed conflicting results, however, and the narrative review did not provide a clear, quantitative means of reliably accounting for these conflicting results. The present study used a meta-analytic procedure to provide a common metric (effect size) to estimate the overall experimental effect from an aggregate of 32 keyword-method studies (51 experiments). / This meta-analysis showed that the keyword method has a moderately high, positive effect on the recall of verbal information, in general. In a typical experiment, the mnemonic-keyword method increased the recall of verbal information an average of .64 of a standard deviation. / The 51 effect sizes were not homogeneous, and the .64 mean represents the best estimate of the overall population effect size. Study characteristics were correlated with effect sizes to identify systematic relationships. The resulting point biserial correlations led to two conclusions: first, researchers conducting meta-analyses in the future should aggregate data from all publication sources, including unpublished reports and dissertations. Otherwise, a representative portion of the population-data base might be excluded. And second, learners tend to benefit more from the keyword method when both the keyword and image are provided than when only the keyword is provided or when neither the keyword nor image are provided. / The .64 effect-size estimate from this meta-analysis can be used by researchers for planning sample sizes for future keyword-method research. The education and training community can use the .64 effect-size estimate in deciding whether to include the mnemonic-keyword method as a learning strategy in the curriculum. And if the decision is to use the mnemonic-keyword method, the keyword method will be of most benefit, in general, if both the keyword and image are provided to students using the keyword method to learn and recall verbal information. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0347. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76035
ContributorsRUNYAN, GREGORY BRADFORD., Florida State University
Source SetsFlorida State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText
Format89 p.
RightsOn campus use only.
RelationDissertation Abstracts International

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