PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART I. INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1. Introduction to Educational Research
WHY STUDY EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH?
AREAS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
EXAMPLES OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
GENERAL KINDS OF RESEARCH
THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO KNOWLEDGE GENERATION
OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
DISPOSITIONS OF A GOOD RESEARCHER
CHAPTER 2. Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Research
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THREE RESEARCH PARADIGMS
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS: EXPERIMENTAL AND NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
MIXED RESEARCH (OR MIXED METHODS RESEARCH)
CHAPTER 3. Action Research for Lifelong Learning
ORIGINS OF ACTION RESEARCH
BASIC SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH VERSUS ACTION RESEARCH
THE CYCLE OF ACTION RESEARCH
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF ACTION RESEARCH
ACTION RESEARCH JOURNALING
ACTION RESEARCH IN THE REMAINING CHAPTERS OF THIS BOOK
PART II. PLANNING THE RESEARCH STUDY
CHAPTER 4. How to Critically Review the Literature and Develop Good Research Questions
SOURCES OF RESEARCH IDEAS
IDEAS THAT CAN’T BE RESOLVED THROUGH EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
STATEMENT OF THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
STATEMENT OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS
CONSUMER USE OF THE LITERATURE
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 5. How to Write a Research Proposal
FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
STRATEGIES FOR WRITING EACH SECTION OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
STRATEGIES FOR EVALUATING YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 6. Research Ethics
WHAT ARE RESEARCH ETHICS?
ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH WITH HUMANS
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
ETHICAL ISSUES IN ELECTRONIC RESEARCH
ETHICAL ISSUES IN PREPARING THE RESEARCH REPORT
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
PART III. FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH
CHAPTER 7. Standardized Measurement and Assessment
ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
IDENTIFYING A GOOD TEST OR ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE
USING RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY INFORMATION IN YOUR RESEARCH
EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT TESTS
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 8. Methods of Data Collection in Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Research
MIXING METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
CONSTRUCTED, SECONDARY, AND EXISTING DATA
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 9. How to Construct a Questionnaire
PRINCIPLES OF QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 10. Sampling in Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Research
TERMINOLOGY USED IN SAMPLING
RANDOM SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
NONRANDOM SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
RANDOM SELECTION AND RANDOM ASSIGNMENT
DETERMINING THE SAMPLE SIZE WHEN RANDOM SAMPLING IS USED
SAMPLING IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
SAMPLING IN MIXED RESEARCH
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 11. Validity of Research Results in Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Research
VALIDITY ISSUES IN THE DESIGN OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
INTERNAL VALIDITY (I.E., CAUSATION VALIDITY)
EXTERNAL VALIDITY (I.E., GENERALIZING VALIDITY)
STATISTICAL CONCLUSION VALIDITY
RESEARCH VALIDITY (OR “TRUSTWORTHINESS”) IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
RESEARCH VALIDITY (OR “LEGITIMATION”) IN MIXED (METHODS) RESEARCH
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
PART IV. SELECTING A RESEARCH METHOD
Section A. Quantitative Research Methods: Five Major Approaches
CHAPTER 12. Experimental Research: Weak and Strong Designs
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH SETTINGS
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE MANIPULATION
CONTROL OF CONFOUNDING VARIABLES
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 13. Experimental Research: Quasi and Single-Case Designs
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS
SINGLE-CASE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 14. Nonexperimental Quantitative Research
STEPS IN NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES IN NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
SIMPLE CASES OF NONEXPERIMENTAL QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
THREE REQUIRED CONDITIONS FOR CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS
APPLYING THE THREE REQUIRED CONDITIONS FOR CAUSATION IN NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
TECHNIQUES OF CONTROL IN NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH (I.E., HOW TO DESIGN STRONG NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH)
INTERLUDE (THE STUDY OF CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS IN EPIDEMIOLOGY)
CLASSIFYING NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH BY TIME AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
THE TIME DIMENSION IN NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN
THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE DIMENSION IN NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
Section B. Qualitative Research Methods: Five Major Approaches
CHAPTER 15. Narrative Inquiry and Case Study Research
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
NARRATIVE INQUIRY EXAMPLES
CHAPTER 16. Phenomenology, Ethnography, and Grounded Theory
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
Section C. Mixed Methods Research: Many Approaches
CHAPTER 17. Mixed Research
TYPES OF MIXED RESEARCH DESIGNS
STAGES OF THE MIXED RESEARCH PROCESS
LIMITATIONS OF MIXED RESEARCH
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
PART V. ANALYZING THE DATA
CHAPTER 18. Descriptive Statistics
GRAPHIC REPRESENTATIONS OF DATA
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
MEASURES OF RELATIVE STANDING
EXAMINING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG VARIABLES
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 19. Inferential Statistics
HYPOTHESIS TESTING IN PRACTICE
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 19 APPENDIX: TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS RECOMMENDED FOR DIFFERENT STATISTICAL TESTS
CHAPTER 20. Data Analysis in Qualitative and Mixed Research
SEGMENTING, CODING, AND DEVELOPING CATEGORY SYSTEMS
FIRST-STAGE AND SECOND-STAGE CODING
THEMATIC ANALYSIS AND CREATING HIERARCHICAL CATEGORY SYSTEMS
IDENTIFYING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CATEGORIES
CORROBORATING AND VALIDATING RESULTS
COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
DATA ANALYSIS IN MIXED RESEARCH
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
CHAPTER 20 APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL TYPES OF CODES FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PART VI. WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT
CHAPTER 21. How to Prepare a Research Report and Use APA Style Guidelines
GENERAL PRINCIPLES RELATED TO WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT (I)
WRITING AN APA-STYLE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT (II)
EXAMPLE OF AN APA-STYLE MANUSCRIPT
WRITING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORTS
WRITING MIXED RESEARCH REPORTS
ACTION RESEARCH REFLECTION
APPENDIX: CITATIONS FOR JOURNAL ARTICLES NOTED IN THE MARGINS
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
AUTHOR INDEX
SUBJECT INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHORS