Chapter 1: What Is Educational Research?

• Research, in general, is important to how we function as a successful and productive society.
• The primary goal of virtually any research study is to find answers to our questions.
  
  • Typical sources for answering our questions (i.e., tradition, authority, and common sense) usually fall short in helping us find those answers.
• The scientific method is a systematic, step-by-step strategy used to answer questions and resolve problems.
• The main steps in the scientific method are as follows:
  
  • Clarify the main question inherent in the problem.
  • State a hypothesis.
  • Collect, analyze, and interpret information (i.e., data) related to the question.
  • Form conclusions derived from the interpretations of the analyses.
  • Use the conclusions to verify or reject your hypothesis.
• Educational research is a process that involves applying the scientific method to educational problems and phenomena.
• As a process, all educational research studies share the following characteristics:
  
  • Scientific
  • Begin with a question or problem that serves as the purpose or goal of the study
  • Require the formulation of a specific plan for conducting the actual research
  • Require the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data to answer the question under investigation
  • Tend to be cyclical, or helical, as opposed to linear
  • Inquisitive, objective, and original
  • Should be beneficial, meaningful, and significant
  • Do not have predetermined outcomes
  • Do not involve simply the gathering of information
  • Not conclusive
  • Not trivial
• Educational research relies on either deductive or inductive reasoning.
  
  • Deductive reasoning works from more general, broad ideas and observations to the more specific, in a top-down manner; it is commonly used in quantitative research studies.
  • Inductive reasoning works from specific observations toward the development of much broader conclusions or generalizations; it is commonly used with qualitative research studies.
• Data are collected on variables, and those data are analyzed to test hypotheses or answer research questions.
• Research designs describe the plan to be used by the researcher to carry out the actual study.
  
  • Quantitative research designs can be either experimental or nonexperimental.
    • Nonexperimental designs include studies that are descriptive, comparative, correlational, or causal-comparative.
    • Experimental designs allow the researcher to have some degree of control over some variables; they involve the identification of independent and dependent variables, as well as experimental and control groups of participants.
  • Qualitative research designs involve a broader, more holistic approach to collecting and analyzing data.
    • Triangulation, or polyangulation, is a process of relating multiple sources of data to verify their trustworthiness, accuracy, and consistency.
    • Qualitative designs include phenomenological, ethnographic, grounded theory, and case study research.
  • Mixed-methods research designs, along with action research, typically involve the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data.
• The main steps in the process of conducting educational research are as follows:
  
  • Identification of an existing problem
  • Clarification of the specific problem
  • Formulation of research question(s)
  • Development of data collection procedures
  • Specification of data analysis procedures
  • Statement of the findings resulting from data analysis
  • Development of conclusions and recommendations related to the question(s)
•     Becoming familiar with your field of study by reading research articles is one of the best ways to begin your future as an educational researcher or consumer of research.
• Some of the most meaningful and beneficial research in education results from studies conducted by practicing educators.