Ch. 1 - Educational Research Flashcards
Areas of Educational Research
Table 1.1
Major Divisions in AERA (American Educational Research Association): A. Administration, Organization, and Leadership B. Curriculum Studies C. Learning and Instruction D. Measurement and Research Methodology E. Counseling and Human Development F. History and Historiography G. Social Context of Education H. Research, Evaluation and Assessment in Sch. I. Education in the Professions J. Postsecondary Education K. Teaching and Teacher Education L. Educational Policy and Politics
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in AERA: Action Research Holistic Education International Studies Literature Mentorship and Mentoring Practices Music Education Postcolonial Studies and Education Sociology of Education Etc.
General Kinds of Research
- Basic
- Applied
- Evaluation
- Action
- Orientational
Research Continuum
There is a research continuum from Basic to Applied, with Mixed in the middle.
Basic……Mixed……Applied
Why study educational research?
- To become “research literate”
- We live in a society driven by research
- To improve our critical thinking skills
- To learn how to critically read and evaluate published research
- To learn how to design and conduct research for the future
Basic Research
Purpose - To generate fundamental knowledge about natural processes
Evaluation Research
Purpose - To determine the worth, merit or quality of an intervention program
Evaluation Research -
Traditional Classifications
- Formative - focused on program improvement
2. Summative - making summary judgements to continue or discontinue a program
Evaluation Research -
Recent Classifications
- Needs Assessment - need for program?
- Theory Assessment - program well conceptualized?
- Implementation Assessment - program implemented properly?
- Impact Assessment - program have impact?
- Efficiency Assessment - program cost effective?
Action Research
Purpose - To solve the practitioners local problems
Conducted by practitioners to solve their local problems, in which the practitioner takes on a research attitude or state-of-mind, and U.S. Constantly testing new ideas.
Orientational Research
Purpose - To advance an ideological position, reduce inequality and give a voice to the disadvantaged
Focuses on:
- Inequality and discrimination
- Class stratification
- Gender stratification
- Ethnic and racial stratification
- International inequalities
Sources of Knowledge
How people learn about the world around them and gain knowledge:
- Experience - Empiricism
- Reasoning - Rationalism
Types of Reasoning
- Deductive Reasoning
2. Inductive Reasoning
Applied Research
Purpose - To focus on real-world / practical questions to provide relatively immediate applications / solutions
Deductive Reasoning
The process of drawing a conclusion that is necessarily true if the premises are true.
Inductive Reasoning
The process of drawing a conclusion that is probably true.
The “problem if induction” is that the future may not resemble the past.
The Scientific Approach of Knowledge Generation Relies on both:
Experience - Empiricism - Data Collection
And
Reasoning - Rationalism - Theory Construction and Testing
Dynamics of Science
Science is: Broadly Progressive Rational Dynamic Open "Critical" Never-Ending
Common Assumptions Made By Educational Researchers
Table 1.3
- There is a world that can be studied.
- Some of the world is unique, some is regular or patterned, and much of it is dynamic and complex. These categories can sometimes overlap.
- The unique, regular and complex can be examined by researchers.
- Researchers should try to follow agreed-upon norms and practices.
- It is possible to distinguish between more and less plausible claims, and between good and poor research.
- Science cannot provide the answers to all questions.
Confirmatory or Deductive Method
Commonly used by quantitative researchers.
A “top down” method for testing theories and hypotheses.
Steps:
- State hypothesis based on a theory or research literature, and deduce what must be observed if hypothesis is true.
- Collect data to test hypothesis.
- Make a decision to tentatively accept or reject the hypothesis.
Exploratory or Inductive Method
Commonly used by qualitative researchers.
A “Bottom Up” method for generating theory or hypotheses.
Steps:
- Observe the world in all of its particulars.
- Search for patterns.
- Make a descriptive conclusion or generalization.
The Research Wheel
Figure 1.1
Confirmatory
Theory
Patterns/ Hypotheses/
Descriptions Predictions
Observations/
Data Exploratory
Theory
- “Explanation”
- Explains how and why something operates as it does
- Some theories are formal and “grand”
- some theories are less formal and “smaller”
Key Criteria to Use in Evaluating a Theory
Table 1.4
- Is the theory or explanation logical or coherent?
- Is it clear and parsimonious?
- Does it fit the available data?
- Does it provide testable claims?
- Have theory-based predictions been tested and supported?
- Has it survived numerous attempts by researchers to identify problems with it or falsify it?
- Does it work better than competing or rival theories or explanations?
- Is it general enough to apply to more than one place, situation, or person?
- Can practitioners use it to control or influence things in the world (eg, a good theory of teaching helps teachers to influence student learning positively; a good theory of counseling helps counsellors to influence their clients mental health positively)?
Principle of Evidence
- Empirical research provides evidence and not proof
- Research conclusions are tentative and probabilistic
- Evidence increases when a finding is replicated
- Do not draw a firm conclusion from a single study
Objectives of Educational Research
- Exploration
- Description
- Explanation
- Prediction
- Influence / Control
