I.

Introduction to Educational Research

A. The Scientific Method: an orderly process entailing a number of steps: problem,
hypothesis, collection of data, analysis of data, statement of conclusions
regarding confirmation
1. Inductive reasoning: developing generalizations based on observation of
a limited number of related events or experiences (examining five
textbooks that each have a sample and generalizing all textbooks have
samples)
2. Deductive reasoning: arriving at specific conclusions based on general
principles, observations, or experiences
3. Limitations to relying on personal experience and authority as sources of
knowledge
B. Limitations of the Scientific Method
1. Cannot answer all questions
2. Can never capture the full richness of the individuals and the
environments under study
3. Measurement instruments always have some degree of error
C. Application of Scientific Method in Education
1. Educational research is the formal application of the scientific method to
the study of educational problems
2. Steps used in the scientific method are the same steps used by
researchers in other controlled settings
D: Empirical Research
1. Data and based on physical paper that you collect in the world
2. Non experimental, quasi-experimental, and experimental
a. RCT - show causal relationships/effect
3. Non empirical research: philosophers, subjective, position papers
II. Different Approaches to Educational Research
A. The Continuum of Research Philosophies
a. Philosophical assumptions underpin an educational researcher’s decision to
conduct research (ontology (issues related to the nature of reality), epistemology
(how researchers know what they know), methodology)
B. Quantitative Research
1. Collection and analysis of numerical data to describe, explain, predict or control
phenomena of interests
2. Little personal interaction with the participants they study
3. The world and the laws that govern it are somewhat predictable and can be understood
by scientific research and examination
4. Research controlled conditions
C. Qualitative Research
 1. The collection, analysis and interpretation of comprehensive narrative and visual
data to gain insights into a particular phenomenon of interest
2. All meaning is situated in a particular perspective or context and because
different people and groups often have different perspectives and contexts, the
world has many different meanings
3. Typically do not test a set hypothesis
4. Context is not controlled or manipulated by the research
5. Interact with the participants
6. Narrative and visual data over an extended period of time in a naturalistic setting
III. Classification of Research by Method
1. Quantitative Approaches
a. Survey Research: assessing the preferences, attitudes, practices, concerns or
interests of a group of people (Questionnaire, interviews and observations)
i. Participants failure to return questionnaires, willingness to be surveyed
over the phone, ability to attend scheduled interviews
ii. Response rate can be low
2. Correlational Research
a. Involves collecting data to determine whether and to what degree a relation
exists between two or more variables
b. Purpose is to establish relations or use existing relations to make predictions
c. Correlation coefficient: the degree to which two variables are related is expressed
as a coefficient
d. Positive correlation: one variable increases the other variable also increases
e. Negative correlation: as one variable increases the other variable decreases
f. Do not suggest cause-effect relations
3. Causal-Comparative Research Quasi Experimental
a. Determine the cause, or reason, for existing differences in the behavior or status
of groups of individuals
b. The causes is a behavior or characteristic believed to influence some other
behavior or characteristic and is known as the grouping variable
c. Attempts to establish cause-effect relations
d. The groups can be pre-existing and the research did not control the conditions
under which the participants
e. Class A is using this reading curriculum and Class B is not using the reading
curriculum so you have data and study which curriculum works better.
4. Experimental Research
a. One independent variable is manipulated, other relevant variables are controlled
and the effect on one or more dependent variables is observed
b. Offers generalizability to different settings and contexts
c. Can control an independent variable
d. Can control the conditions in the research settings, select tests or measurements
to collect data about any changes in the research groups
5. Single Subject Research
 a. Compare a single person’s behavior before treatment to behavior exhibited
during the course of the experiment
b. Study a number of people together as one group rather than as individuals
c. Study the behavior change that an individual or group exhibits as a result of
some intervention or treatment. The sample size is said to be one in single
subject experimental designs
6. Narrative Research
a. Study of how different humans experience the world around them; it involves a
methodology that allows people to tell the stories of their storied lives
b. The narrative is the story of the phenomenon being investigated, and narrative is
also the method of inquiry being sued by the researcher
7. Ethnographic Research
a. Study of the cultural patterns and perspectives of participants in their natural
setting
b. Holistic description and cultural interpretation that represents the participants
every day activities
8. Action Research
a. Systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, principals, school counselors, or other
stakeholders in the teaching learning environment to gather information about the
ways in which their particular schools operate, the teachers teach and the
students learn.
b. School personnel can attempt to improve the educational process within their
environment
Selecting and Defining a Research Topic
1. Research Topic
a. Theories, personal experiences, previous studies that can be replicated, and
library searches
Reviewing the Literature
1.