Educational Research - An Introduction

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EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH I

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WelcomeFirst Bimester

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GENERAL OBJECTIVES

Define basic concepts of Educational

Research.

Identify the multiple research designs and

their characteristics.

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CHAPTER 1

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH

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What is Science?

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

knowledge attained through study or

practice,"

Wikipedia: Science refers to anysystematic knowledge or practice. In itsmore usual restricted sense, sciencerefers to a system of acquiringknowledge based on scientific method,as well as to the organized body ofknowledge gained through such

research. 5

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What is research?

Creswell (2008) Research is a processof steps used to collect and analyze

information to increase ourunderstanding of a topic or issue.

Anderson (1998) Research ineducation is a disciplined attempt to

address questions or to solve problemsthrough the collection and analysis ofprimary data

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Why is Educational Researchimportant? Education needs improvement.

Educators face a lot of problems. Research: Problem-solving activity

Develops results that help to

answer questions.

Answers help to do things better.

Educators become more efficient.

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How to Research Identify a research problem (a problem or

issue in education that needs to be solved)

Review the literature (locate valuableinformation related to the topic)

Specify a purpose for research (theobjective or intent of your research)

Collect data(means to gather information from thesample)

Analyze and interpret the data (analyze theinformation gathered )

Write the Report 8

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Sources of Knowledge Authority (experience of monarchs, despots and clerics)

Tradition(The passing down of customs of a culturefrom generation to generation.)

Expert opinion (Broad awareness and familiaritywith the subject matter)

Personal experience (Peoples experience)

Reason common sense (Involves reasoning byobserving specific cases)

Documentation(Usually government documents orknowledge that society keeps stored)

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Other sources

Libraries(specialized library and become withlibrary)

Books(provide summaries and general backgrounds)

Periodicals (journals)(major inf. of priorresearches)

Theses and dissertations (new areas of

research in the same field)

Conferences(are indicator of what research is invogue.

On-line data bases(technological tool a vastamount of research inf.) 10

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Scientificknowledge

Reasoning

Deductive Inductive

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Ways of reasoning

Deductive reasoning

A thinking process in which one proceeds fromgeneral to specific statements using

prescribed rules of logic.

Deductive reasoning arrives at a specific conclusion

based on generalizations.

The major premise,

The minor premise,

The conclusion

PREMISE

a proposition that forms

the basis of an

argument.

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Example

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All men are mortal

Socrates is a man

(Therefore,)Socrates is mortal

conclusion

minor premise

major premise

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Inductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning takes events andmakes generalizations.

In inductive reasoning a conclusion is

reached by observing examples andgeneralizing from the examples to thewhole.

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Examples

1. I always hang pictures on nails.

Therefore: All pictures hang from nails.

2. Many speeding tickets are given to

teenagers.

Therefore: All teenagers drive fast.

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Summary

In a good deductive argument, the premises

entail the conclusion. That is, if the

premises are all true, then the conclusionhas to be true.

In a good inductive argument, the premises

make the conclusion probable. That is,

despite that the premises are true, theconclusion is probably true.

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Forms of Research Basic Research

Basic research is concerned withsearching for knowledge, that is

fundamental and contributes to theoryformation.

Gay and Airasian (2003) Basic researchinvolves the process of collecting andanalyzing information to develop orenhance a theory.

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Applied Research

This research is concerned withknowledge which has immediate

applications.Gay and Airasian (2003) Is conducted to

evaluate its usefulness in solving

practical educational problems.

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Forms of Research

Basic Research

Data

TheoryDevelopment

Applied Research

Data

Solve EducationalProblems

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Forms and Types of Research

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How can the researcherinfluence the research?

By having expectations for certain

outcomes.

By making influenced interpretations

of observations.

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The influence of the Researcher

Selection of the topic

Design of the experiment

Interaction between the researcher

and experimental conditions

Interpretation of the data

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CHAPTER 2

Types of research and the

Scientific Method

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Scientific Method

Wikipedia. Scientific method refers to bodies of

techniques for investigating phenomena,

acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and

integrating previous knowledge. To be termedscientific, a method of inquiry must be based on

gathering observable, empirical and measurable

evidence subject to specific principles of

reasoning.

A scientific method consists of the collection of

data through observation and experimentation,

and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.24

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ScientificMethod

(GeneralMethod)

Historical

Method Descriptive

Method

Experimental/

quasi-experimental

Method

Correlational

Method

Qualitative

Method

ProgramEvaluation

Method

Case Study

Method

PolicyResearch

Method

OrganizationalEvaluation

Method

Anderson (2000)

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In summary

What is a research Method?

Is an approach to addressing a

research question or problem Research methods all need data,

though its precise nature varies from

one approach to another as does themethod by which it is processed

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Anderson (2000)

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Steps of the Scientific MethodComparison between

Mason and Bramble (1997) Wikipedia

1.Identification of a problemarea

2.Clarification and definitionof the problem 1.Define the question orproblem2.Gather informationand resources (observe)

3.Proposal of a plausiblesolution and observationaccording to an approachdesigned to test the solution.

3. Form hypothesis

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Steps of the Scientific MethodComparison between

Mason and Bramble (1997) Wikipedia4.Decisions of the proposedsolution based upon the datagathered and observationsmade.

4.Perform experiment andcollect data5.Analyze data

5.Comparison of the proposedsolution with previous findingsand other observation todetermine how the solution may

be integrated with what isalready known.

6.Interpret data anddraw conclusions thatserve as a starting pointfor new hypotheses

7.Publish results8.Retest (frequently

done by other scientists)

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Types of Research

Forms ofResearch

Basic

Applied Problem

Historical

Descriptive

Experimental

Classic categorization

by Tamayo y Tamayo (2005)

Types of Research

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Research Type Methods/ Approaches

Descriptive Case study

Content analysis

EthnographyHistoriography

Observation

Experimental ComparativeCorrelational

Ex-post facto

Quasi-experimental

Observation

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General Steps for research

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The planning

process

The research process

Clarify or define

the problem/need

Think about the research

Specify the project timeframe

Identify the topic

Define the research questions

Gather

information

Conduct a literature search

Write a literature review

Anderson (2000)

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The planning

process

The research process

Identify strategies,

tools, and methods

and then consideralternatives and

SWOT (strengths ,

weaknesses,

opportunities,threats)

Select a research design

Define a study population

Develop data collectioninstruments

Discuss the limitations

Forecast the ethical issues

Project how the data will beanalyzed

Create the budget

Anderson (2000)

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The planning

process

The research process

Implement Collect dataAnalyze and interpret data

Evaluate Write and disseminate

research findings

Identify lessons learned

Anderson (2000)

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Characteristics of educational research

1. Educational Research attempts to solve a

problem.

2. Research involves gathering new data from

primary or first-hand sources or using existingdata for a new purpose.

3. Research is based upon observable experience or

empirical evidence.4. Research demands accurate observation and

description.

5. Research generally employs carefully designed

procedures and rigorous analysis. 35

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6. Research emphasizes the development of

generalizations, principles or theories thatwill help in understanding, prediction

and/or control.

7. Research requires expertise-familiarity with

the field; competence in methodology;

technical skill in collecting and analyzing

the data.

8. Research attempts to find an objective,unbiased solution to the problem and takes

great pains to validate the procedures

employed.36

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9. Research is a deliberate and unhurried

activity which is directional but often

refines the problem or questions as the

research progresses.

10.Research is carefully recorded and reportedto other person interested in the problem.

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Anderson (2000)

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The steps of the Historical Research

Firststage

The problem is formulated. Availability ofthe necessary data.

Second

stage

Collection of historical data.

Third

stage

Determine the authenticity and accuracy of

the material.

Fourth

stage

Knowledge gained is integrated and

synthesized into explanations.

Fifth

stage

The data and interpretation of previous

steps are integrated to form a more general

concept.

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Descriptive Research

Mason and Bramble (1997) Represents a broadspectrum of research activities having the

common purpose of describing situations,

events, or phenomena In other words, descriptive research

involves a variety of activities which

describe present situations in real contextsand the description might be quantitative or

qualitative.

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Quantitative: description of data is based on

counts or measurements which aregenerally reduced to statistical indicators

such as frequencies, means and ranges.

(quantification of the phenomena)Qualitative: data can be presented in prose,

or through audio tape, photographs of

films.(observations, impressions and

interpretations of researchers.

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Ex Post Facto Research

After the fact referred to as causal

comparative.

Investigations are conducted to search

for causes of things that have already

happened by comparing previously

established conditions.

It is useful when the variables being

investigated cannot be controlled by the

experimenter. (could be a problem)42

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Experimental/Quasi-Experimental

Involves systematic manipulation of

experimental conditions in which

extraneous influences are controlled oreliminated.

Experimental studies involve

comparing conditions under varioussetting of the treatment

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Experimental and Quasi-Experimental

Subjects might be divided into two groups (randomassignment of subjects)

One group undergo a treatment condition

(experimental or treatment group)

The other group receives a neutral treatment

(control group)

Group comparison after the treatment is applied

The only difference between the two groups

should be the treatment.

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Assignment First Bimestre

OBJECTIVE PART

Activity 1

True and false statements.

ESSAY PART

Activity 2

Write two examples of deductive and two

examples inductive arguments and write the

concept of each one.

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Activity 3

Find an article in a professional journal

that reports a research study, thenidentify the steps of the scientific

method and write the correct

information under the name of the

corresponding step.

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Activity 4

Describe in your own words each type of

research. And give the title of a research

done according to each type and the source

from which you retrieved each one.Historical Research

Descriptive Research

Experimental Research

Quasi-Experimental Research

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Final Suggestions

Work with a dictionary all the time.

When you retrieve information from

the internet copy the name of thesource, so you can cite and avoid

plagiarism.

Search any source in English or Spanishthat can contribute to understand the

topics of this subject.

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QUESTIONS ???

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