Educational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer, 5th Edition

<>This book educates students to become intelligent consumers of educational research and introduces basic research principles to those who may eventually use research in their work.

 

Principles for conducting research and criteria for evaluating its overall credibility are presented in a concise manner, with numerous excerpts from published studies, to enable students to  learn to read, understand, and evaluate research, and judge the usefulness of the findings for educational practice. There is extensive use of aides to facilitate student learning, including chapter roadmaps and concept maps, study questions, a book website, consumer tips, over 90 examples from published articles (including eight full length articles), and author reflections. The Fifth Edition includes a more extensive presentation of experimental and quasi-experimental design, consistent with the current emphasis on conducting “scientific research,” qualitative data analysis, effect size, and a new chapter devoted to mixed-method studies and action research.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Research in Education

Why Research?

Sources of Knowledge

Characteristics of Scientific Inquiry

Applying Systematic Inquiry to Education

Type of Educational Research

Educational Research Report Formats

Anatomy of a Research Article

 

Chapter 2: Research Problems, Variables and Hypotheses

Research Problems

Sources for Research Problems

Quantitative Research Problem Statements and Questions

Hypotheses

Qualitative Research Problem Statements and Questions

 

Chapter 3: Locating and Reviewing Related Literature

The Purpose of Reviewing Related Literature

Steps to Review Related Literature

 

Chapter 4: Using the Internet for Educational Research

Introduction to the Internet

Organization of Information on the World Wide Web

Internet Search Strategies

Beyond Web Pages: Scholarly Communication Strategies

Review of Education Web Sites

Statistics

Association and university web pages

Institute of Education Sciences (IES)

Using Educational Research: Internet Search Samples

 

Chapter 5: Subjects, Participants, and Sampling

What is a Participant, a Subject, and a Sample?

Types of Sampling Procedures for Quantitative Studies

Types of Sampling Procedures for Qualitative Studies

How Participants and Sampling Affect Research

 

Chapter 6: Foundations of Educational Measurement

Introduction to Measurement

Principles of Descriptive Statistics for Understanding Measurement

Validity of Measurement

Reliability of Measurement

 

Chapter 7: Types of Educational Measures

Classifying Educational Measures

Tests

Questionnaires

Observations

Interviews

Locating and Evaluating Educational Measures

 

Chapter 8: Nonexperimental Quantitative Research Designs

The Purpose of Nonexperimental Research

Descriptive Studies

Relationships in Nonexperimental Designs

Comparitive Studies

Correlational Studies

Casual-Comparitive Studies

Using Surveys in Nonexperimental Research

Anatomy of a Nonexperimental Quantitative Research Study

 

Chapter 9: Experimental and Single-Subject Research Designs

Characteristics of Experimental Research

Types of Experimental Designs

Single-Subject Designs

 

Chapter 10: Understanding Statistical Inferences

The Purpose and Nature of Inferential Statistics

Interpreting Results of Inferential Tests

 

Chapter 11: Qualitative Research Designs and Analysis

Introduction to Qualitative Research

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Ethnographic Studies

Case Studies

Phenomenological Studies

Grounded Theory Studies

Credibility of Qualitative Studies

 

Chapter 12: Mixed Method and Action Research

Mixed Method Research

Action Research

 

Chapter 13: Analyzing Discussion and Conclusions

Purpose and Nature of the Discussion

Interpretations of the Results

Conclusions

 

Chapter 14: The Intelligent Consumer: Putting it all Together

Questions for Quantitative Studies

Questions for Qualitative Studies

Examples of Research Articles