Research Methods Chapter 1 Flashcards
A summary of what is in an article; a brief description of the essential characteristics of the study
Abstract
applied research focused on solving practitioners’ local problems
Action research
research focused on answering practical questions to provide relatively immediate solutions
Applied research
research aimed at generating fundamental knowledge and theoretical understanding about basic human and other natural processes
Basic research
a top-down or theory-testing approach to research
Confirmatory method
the property that statements and theories should be testable and refutable
Criterion of falsifiability
the process of drawing a conclusion that is necessarily true if the premises are true
Deductive reasoning
attempting to describe the characteristics of a phenomenon
Description
a statement based on observation, experiment, or experience
Empirical statement
the idea that knowledge comes from experience
Empiricism
the theory of knowledge and its justification; the branch of philosophy dealing with knowledge and its justification
Epistemology
determining the worth, merit, or quality of an evaluation object
Evaluation
attempting to show how and why a phenomenon operates as it does
Explanation
attempting to generate ideas about phenomena
Exploration
a bottom-up or theory-generation approach to research
Exploratory method
evaluation focused on improving the evaluation object
Formative evaluation
a prediction or educated guess; the formal statement of the researcher’s prediction of the relationship that exists among the variables under investigation
Hypothesis
the process of drawing a conclusion that is “probably” true
Inductive reasoning
Five Areas of Research
Basic research, applied research, action research, evaluation research, and orientation research
Why is it important that both basic and applied research be done?
Basic research helps provide a solid foundation of reliable knowledge on which future research can be built, and applied research helps answer “real world” or practical questions. Basic and applied research inform each other. Obviously, both of these are important.
The collection and analysis of information on the world of education so as to understand it and explain it better.
Educational research
First coined the phrase action research
Kurt Lewin
AERA
American Educational Research Association
What is the difference between formative and summative evaluation?
Formative evaluation is used for the purpose of improving an evaluation object. Summative evaluation is used for the purpose of making judgments about the overall effectiveness of an evaluation object and determining whether a program should be continued.
Evaluation: Is there a need for this type of program?
Needs Assessment
Evaluation: Is this program conceptualized in a way that it should work?
Theory Assessment
Evaluation: Was this program implemented properly and according to the program plan?
Implementation assessment
Evaluation: Did this program have an impact on its intended targets?
Impact assessment
Evaluation: Is this program cost effective?
Efficiency assessment
What are the different sources of knowledge? Which ones are especially important for educational researchers?
(a) Experience (i.e., empiricism)
(b) Expert opinion
(c) Reasoning (i.e., rationalism)
Educational researchers use a mixture of both empiricism and rationalism. Empiricism involves collecting data and learning from the data, and rationalism involves reasoning and thinking about the concepts and the results and developing theories to organize one’s explanations.
What is the key difference between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning?
Inductive reasoning is results in conclusions that are “probably” true. Deductive reasoning provides conclusions that are necessarily true IF the premises are true
attempting to apply research to make certain outcomes occur
Influence
research explicitly done for the purpose of advancing an ideological position or orientation
Orientational research
attempting to predict or forecast a phenomenon
Prediction
the philosophical idea that empirical research provides evidence, not proof
Principle of evidence
stating what is likely to occur, not what will necessarily occur
Probabilistic
the future might not resemble the past
Problem of induction
individual-level factors or variables
Psychological factors
Orientational research is typically called ______
Critical theory research
a researcher who focuses on exploration, description, and understanding of subjective meanings and sometimes the generation and construction of theories using qualitative data
Qualitative researcher
a researcher who focuses on testing theories and hypotheses using quantitative data to see if they are confirmed or not
Quantitative researcher
the philosophical idea that reason is the primary source of knowledge
Rationalism
research examining the same variables with different people
Replication
a set of published research studies on a particular topic
Research literature
preferring the most simple theory that works
Rule of parsimony
an approach for the generation of knowledge
Science
factors relating individuals to other individuals and to social groups
Social psychological factors
group- and society-level factors
Sociological factors
Five Major Objectives of Educational Research
Exploration. Description. Explanation. Prediction. Influence.
evaluation focused on determining the overall effectiveness and usefulness of the evaluation object
Summative evaluation
an explanation or explanatory system that discusses how a phenomenon operates and why it operates as it does
Theory
