Understanding research in education : becoming a discerning consumer / Fred L. Perry Jr. and Joe D. Nichols.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Perry, Fred L. (Fred Lehman), 1943- author.

Nichols, Joe D., 1957- author.

Contributor:

James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education--Research.

Education.

Physical Description:

xv, 243 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2015.

Summary:

"This text provides a solid introduction to the foundations of research methods, with the goal of enabling students and professionals in the various fields of education to not simply become casual consumers of research who passively read bits and pieces of research articles, but discerning consumers able to effectively use published research for practical purposes in educational settings. All issues important for understanding and using published research for these purposes are covered. Key principles are illustrated with research studies published in refereed journals across a wide spectrum of education. Exercises distributed throughout the text encourage readers to engage interactively with what they are reading at the point when the information is fresh in their minds. This text is designed for higher level undergraduate and graduate programs. Course instructors will find that it provides a solid framework in which to promote student interaction and discussion on important issues in research methodology"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I Fundamentals for Discerning Consumers 1

1 Understanding the Nature of Research 3

Introduction 3

What Is All This Research About? 3

Who Is All This Research for? 3

Is All of This Research Really That Important? 4

If Educational Research is so Important, How Can We Understand it Better? 4

Overview 4

Who Is a Discerning Consumer of Research? 5

Why Be a Consumer of Research? 5

The Motivation behind Research 6

Demythologizing Research 6

The Meaning of True Research 7

Identifying Important Questions 8

Where Are the Answers? 11

Key Terms and Concepts 17

Note 18

References 18

2 How to Locate Research 20

Chapter Overview 20

Where to look ad What to look far? 20

Preliminary Sources 21

Secondary Sources 25

Table of References/Bibliography 28

Is All Primary Research of Equal Weight? 28

Differentiating Primary from Secondary 31

How to Obtain Research Articles 33

What Journals are related to the Field Education? 34

Key Term and Concepts 35

Additional Recommended Reading 35

References 38

Part II The Major Components of Published Research 37

3 Understanding the Framework of a Primary Research Article 39

Chapter Overview 39

The Framework of a Research Article 39

The Title 39

The Abstract 41

The Introduction of a Study 43

Method 46

Results 52

Discussion/Conclusion 52

Key Terms and Concepts 53

Notes 53

References 53

4 Understanding Where Data Come From: The Sample 55

Chapter Overview 55

Sampling Terminology 55

Sampling Paradigms 56

The Representative Sampling Paradigm 58

The Purposelful Sampling Paradigm: Sample Strategies for Maximizing Information 64

Ethics in Sampling Human Participants 69

Key Terms and Concepts 70

Additional Recommended Reading 71

Notes 71

Reference 72

5 Understanding Research Designs 74

Chapter Overview 74

Classifying Research Designs 75

The Basic-Applied Continuum 75

The Qualitative-Quantitative Continuum 77

The Exploratory-Confirmatory Continuum 82

Questions and Designs 84

The WHAT Questions 85

The WHY Questions 88

Internal Validity 92

Key Terms and Concepts 107

Additional Recommended Reading ]08

Notes 108

References 108

6 Understanding Data Gathering 112

Chapter Overview 112

Collecting and Evaluating Verbal Data 113

Observational Procedures 113

Evaluating the Dependability of Verbal Data Procedures 21

Collecting and Evaluating Numerical Data 126

Procedures for Gathering Numerical Data 127

Evaluating the Qualities of Numerical Data Gathering Procedures 135

Key Terms and Concepts 149

Additional Recommended Reading 149

Notes 150

References 150

7 Understanding Research Results 152

Chapter Overview 152

Introduction to Data Analysis 152

Numerical Versus Verbal Data 152

Common Procedure 153

Analysis of Verbal Data 153

Evaluating Patterns and Themes 155

Evaluating Explanations and Conclusions 158

Analysis of Numerical Data 163

Overview of Statistics 164

Understanding Descriptive Statistics 165

Understanding Inferential Statistics 166

Inferential Statistical Procedures 170

Key Terms and Concepts 188

Additional Recommended Reading 189

Notes 189

References 189

8 Discerning Discussions and Conclusions: Completing the Picture 192

Chapter Overview 192

The Needed Ingredients 193

Questions Every Consumer Should Ask 193

References 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

ISBN:

1138776424

9781138776418

1138776416

9781138776425

OCLC:

870663289

Publisher Number:

99959877105