Understanding And Interpreting Educational Research

This user-friendly text takes a learn-by-doing approach to exploring research design issues in education and psychology, offering evenhanded coverage of quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and single-case designs. Readers learn the basics of different methods and steps for critically examining any study's design, data, and conclusions, using sample peer-reviewed journal articles as practice opportunities. The text is unique in featuring full chapters on survey methods, evaluation, reliability and validity, action research, and research syntheses. Pedagogical Features *An exemplar journal article at the end of each methods chapter, together with questions and activities for critiquing it (including, where applicable, checklist forms to identify threats to internal and external validity), plus lists of additional research examples. *Research example boxes showing how studies are designed to address particular research questions. *In every chapter: numbered chapter objectives, bulleted summaries, subheadings written as questions, a running glossary, and end-of-chapter discussion questions. * Electronic Instructor's Resource Manual with Test Bank, provided separately--includes chapter outlines; answers to exercises, discussion questions, and illustrative example questions; and PowerPoints.

This user-friendly text takes a learn-by-doing approach to exploring research design issues in education and psychology, offering evenhanded coverage of quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and single-case designs. Readers learn the basics of different methods and steps for critically examining any study's design, data, and conclusions, using sample peer-reviewed journal articles as practice opportunities. The text is unique in featuring full chapters on survey methods, evaluation, reliability and validity, action research, and research syntheses. Pedagogical Features Include: *An exemplar journal article at the end of each methods chapter, together with questions and activities for critiquing it (including, where applicable, checklist forms to identify threats to internal and external validity), plus lists of additional research examples. *Research example boxes showing how studies are designed to address particular research questions. *In every chapter: numbered chapter objectives, bulleted summaries, subheadings written as questions, a running glossary, and end-of-chapter discussion questions. * Electronic Instructor's Resource Manual with Test Bank, provided separately--includes chapter outlines; answers to exercises, discussion questions, and illustrative example questions; and PowerPoints.

This handbook focuses on the often neglected dimension of interpretation in educational research. It argues that all educational research is in some sense ‘interpretive’, and that understanding this issue belies some usual dualisms of thought and practice, such as the sharp dichotomy between ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’ research. Interpretation extends from the very framing of the research task, through the sources which constitute the data, the process of their recording, representation and analysis, to the way in which the research is finally or provisionally presented. The thesis of the handbook is that interpretation cuts across the fields (both philosophically, organizationally and methodologically). By covering a comprehensive range of research approaches and methodologies, the handbook gives (early career) researchers what they need to know in order to decide what particular methods can offer for various educational research contexts/fields. An extensive overview includes concrete examples of different kinds of research (not limited for example to ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’ examples as present in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, but including as well what in the German Continental tradition is labelled ‘pädagogisch’, examples from child rearing and other contexts of non-formal education) with full description and explanation of why these were chosen in particular circumstances and reflection on the wisdom or otherwise of the choice – combined in each case with consideration of the role of interpretation in the process. The handbook includes examples of a large number of methods traditionally classified as qualitative, interpretive and quantitative used across the area of the study of education. Examples are drawn from across the globe, thus exemplifying the different ‘opportunities and constraints’ that educational research has to confront in different societies.

"Introduction to Educational Research: A Critical Thinking Approach 2e is an engaging and informative core text that enables students to think clearly and critically about the scientific process of research. In acheiving its goal to make research accessible to all educators and equip them with the skills to understand and evaluate published research, the text examines how educational research is conducted across the major traditions of quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and action research. The text is oriented toward consumers of educational research and uses a thinking-skills approach to its coverage of major ideas"--

The new edition of this unique book focuses on helping readers to acquire knowledge and skills needed to read, interpret, evaluate, and write about educational research; and to make decisions based on that research. Using a non-mathematical, non-technical introduction focusing on the users, rather than the producers of research, the book provides an introduction to research that is appropriate for educators and others involved in making educational decisions. Actual research reports in an appendix provide practice in tackling research presentations. Updated examples present current qualitative and quantitative research, both general and content specific, as it is used in elementary, middle, secondary, and special education. New information and strategies in Chapter 11 address electronic database searches for research reports. A valuable book for anyone who has a need to understand and use educational research.

For courses in Research Methods in Education. Understanding and Evaluating Research, fourth edition, is a market leading textbook appropriate for all courses in educational research. A reader, this text contains quantitative and qualitative educational research articles from a variety of professional journals. With each article is a sample article analysis and exercises that help students become better consumers of research. The fourth edition is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of new articles, advance organizers, annotations to explain different sections, revised discussion of research typology, and an appendix with answer to evaluation criteria questions. Those features together with the two mixed-method studies, revised and expanded discussion of qualitative methods, more emphasis given to randomized designs, revision of research typology, and updated articles make this a must have book for understanding and evaluating research. NEW! Revision of research typology discussed in the first chapter Readers gain useful insight on how to classify research studies, and present criteria by which all educational research should be judged. NEW! Addition of a chapter on Mixed-Method Designs (Chapter 5), and two mixed-method studies. NEW! Revised and expanded discussion of qualitative methods and designs. Includes characteristics of mixed-method designs and the criteria for how this type of research should be evaluated. NEW! Eight new articles on descriptive quantitative non-experimental designs. NEW! The most current, relevant articles included from a wide variety of journals and of varied reading levels. Selected articles have been published within the past five years, representing a diverse range of topics found in education (e.g., educational administration, counseling, special education, curriculum, adult education, early childhood education).