Research Methodology

Educational research emphasizes

• Collection of empirical data

• Control for personal biases in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting empirical data.

• Sample selection such that findings can be generalized to other individuals and situations

• all of these

The role of theory in educational research is primarily to

• Develop precise descriptions of educational phenomena

• Evaluate the effectiveness of specific instructional interventions

• Explain phenomena in terms of constructs and principles

• Provide a language that facilitates collaboration between researchers and educators.

Qualitative researchers typically

• Focus on making subject judgements about the quality of educational programs and procedures

• Include quantitative measures to represent the qualities of each case they study

• Argue that the methods of social science inquiry are not superior to other forms of investigation

• Emphasize the study of individual cases of a phenomenon.

Mixed-methods research

• Is designed to produce a descriptive and predictive findings within a single study

• Was developed to speed up the transfer of research findings into educational practice

• Uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods

• Uses theories from multiple disciplines to study problems of practice.

A study that seeks to replicate findings of previous research

• adds nothing of value to the research literature.

• is a worthwhile contribution to the research literature.

• should be conducted only by the researchers who reported the original findings.

• is important for theory building but not for an applied discipline like education.

Hypotheses are

• predictions about what you expect to find when you analyze your research data.

• statements of the constructs that will best describe your research data.

• primarily useful when conducting a replication study.

• most useful in applied research.

The main function of an IRB (institutional review board) is to determine whether the research proposal

• conforms in all respects to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

• follows all the specifications of the proposal guide published by the researcher’s university or other source.

• includes procedures that will avoid or minimize harm to the research participants.

• includes procedures to ensure that students complete every item on each test that is administered.

A report of a research study written by the individuals who conducted the study is

• a primary source.

• a secondary source.

• both a primary and a secondary source.

• exempt from peer review when submitted to a journal for publication.

Most published reports of educational research follow the style specifications established by

• Google

• the American Educational Research Association.

• the American Psychological Association.

• the most widely used bibliographic indexes and search engines.

Search engines for literature reviews typically

• include procedures for converting citations to the style format of the APA Publication Manual.

• include a collection of bibliographic citations and procedures for searching through them.

• include an option for direct purchase of a publication in hard-copy format.

• typically have a time lag of two years between the publication of a journal article and its appearance in the search engine.