This rewritten and updated sixth edition of the long-running bestseller Research Methods in Education covers the full range of methods currently used at all stages of educational research. The representativeness of the sample 108 Access to the sample 109 The sampling strategy to be used 110. Some examples of the use of a repertory grid in educational research 443 Grid technique and audio/video lessons.
Acknowledgements
Stanford University Press, for material from Sears, R., Maccoby, E. Taylor & Francis, for Brenner, M. eds.) (1993) Educational Research for Policy and Practice, p. 1983) Ethnography: Principles and Practice, pp. Qualitative Inquiry as a Path to Empowerment (second edition), p 1992) Teachers' attributions of responsibility for work-related stress and satisfaction: an organizational perspective, Educational Studies McNiff, J. 2002) Action Research: Principles and Practice (second edition), p .1986). The Arc of Knowledge: An Introductory Survey of the History of the Philosophy of Science and Scientific Methodology;.
Introduction
In addition, almost every chapter has abundant web references, most of which offer free online materials. A hallmark feature of this edition is the inclusion of several worked examples, particularly in the chapters on data analysis in the new fifth part. To accompany this volume, a companion website provides a full range of materials to cover all aspects of research (including a full course on research methods in PowerPoint slides), exercises and examples, explanatory material and other notes , SPSS and SPSS data files.
Qualitative Solutions and Research (QSR) is a company that has produced software such as N-Vivo for qualitative data analysis. These are indicated in the book. We have refined the references by moving several backup references to the Notes, highlighting the most prominent sources and key issues in the main text.
The context of educational research
1 The nature of inquiry – Setting the field
Starting with the observation of the individual, the scientists decided to generalize their findings to the world at large. The job of a scientist is to discover new facts and add them to the existing body of knowledge. A theory is considered to be concerned with the development of a systematic construction of knowledge about the social world.
1 Definition of science and identification of the phenomena that will be included in it. Depending on the nature of the phenomena under consideration, laws can be formulated and systematized. 6 Using the established body of theory in problem solving or as a source of further hypotheses.
First, people act toward things based on the meaning they have for them. Here, significant importance is given to the political agenda of the curriculum, and the empowerment of individuals and societies is an inescapable consideration in the curriculum. 7 The original theory is revised or supported based on the results of testing the hypotheses.
A clue to some of the differences between evaluation and research can be seen in the definition of evaluation.
Planning educational research
2 The ethics of educational and social research
O the extent and nature of reporting (there may be time to produce only an interim report). O the extent and nature of reporting (for example, number of written reports produced, costs of calling meetings).
5 Sensitive educational research
Lee suggests that there are potentially serious problems in sampling and accessing sensitive research, not least because of the problem of estimating the size of the population from which to sample, as members of certain groups , e.g. O the power/position of the researcher (for example if the researcher is a junior or senior employee or an influential person in education). It can also lead to supervision/'guidance' of the researcher while the research is being conducted on site (Lee 1993: 125).
Whyte comments on how Doc was able to give him advice on how best to behave when meeting people as part of the research:. What is in the public interest - the protection of an individual participant's private life, or the interests of the researcher. The sympathy of the researcher can be questioned here; politics and ethics can be uneasy bedfellows in such circumstances.
Fitz and Halpin (1994) indicate that the government minister they interviewed said what was attributable at the beginning of the interview. McHugh suggests that during the interview it is important for the interviewer not only to be as flexible as possible, to follow the train of thought of the respondent, but also to continue if the interviewer does not address the issue. Mickelson takes this further by identifying an ethical dilemma when 'the powerful sometimes uttered vile remarks during the course of the interview'.
Longer questions may reduce underreporting of the frequency of behaviors addressed in sensitive topics (eg alcohol or drug use by stressed teachers). Interviewer effects also concern the expectations interviewers may have of the interview (Lee 1993: 99). Here is the advice to let the topic 'emerge gradually during the interview' (Lee and establish trust and informed consent.
With this in mind, we resisted the temptation to provide a list of sensitive topics, as this could be simplistic and miss the fundamental issue, which is that it is the social context of the research that makes the research sensitive. What may appear to the researcher to be a dull and neutral study may cause deep sensitivity in the minds of the participants. O What are the obligations of the researcher, to whom and how will they be addressed.
6 Validity and reliability
Fidelity' (Blumenfeld-Jones 1995) requires the researcher to be as honest as possible with the researcher's self-report. About the credibility of the data (the ability of the research to report the situation through the eyes of the participants). O Are the sources of theories on which the research is based appropriate for the target culture?
O Are the research design and instruments ethical and appropriate according to the norms of the target culture. O Are the possible outcomes of the research of potential value and benefit to the target culture. O Are the results made available to members of the target culture for review and comment.
This is a measure of internal consistency between the items (not, for example, the people). If the two measures agree, it can be assumed that the validity of the interview is comparable to the proven validity of the other measure. O structure the interview well, so that each phase of the interview is clear to the participant.
O be alert to those aspects of the interview that may be important to the participant. The issues of reliability are not just about the preparation and conduct of the interview; they extend to the ways in which interviews are analyzed. Sometimes it is possible to summarize a person's answers at the end of the interview.
O Instrument reactivity: the effects that study instruments have on the people in the study (see also Vulliamy et al. 1990). The advantages of a questionnaire over interviews are, for example: it is usually more reliable;. The fear that their close involvement in the group will affect the judgment of observers relates to the internal validity of the method.
Styles of educational research
7 Naturalistic and ethnographic research
O Qualitative methods are more comfortable than quantitative methods with the human-as-instrument notion. LeCompte and Preissle (1993) consider ethnographic research to be a process that includes research methods, an outcome, and the resulting record of inquiry. The aim of the research is to create the most vivid reconstruction of the studied culture or groups (p. 235).
For translatability, the analytical categories used in the research as well as the characteristics of the groups are made explicit so that meaningful comparisons with other groups and disciplines can be made. Rather than trying to eliminate researcher effects (which is impossible, since researchers are part of the world they are investigating), researchers should keep themselves in the light, echoing Cooley's (1902) idea of the 'looking-glass self'. Highly reflexive researchers will be keenly aware of the ways in which their selectivity, perception, background and inductive processes and paradigms shape the research.
3 Determining the fit of the research paradigm with the substantive theory selected to guide the research. One must keep in mind that the researcher's own background interests, knowledge and biography precede the research and that although initial hypotheses may not be foregrounded in qualitative research, the initial design of the research nevertheless presupposes a particular area of interest, i.e. in some qualitative studies. studies, the selection of the research field will be determined by the research objectives, the necessity of the research, the reason for the research, the problem that needs to be addressed and the research questions and sub-questions.
The more participants know about the research, the less naturally they may behave (LeCompte and Preissle) and naturalism is obviously an important criterion of the naturalistic paradigm. As the authors note, participants rarely initiate research, so it is the responsibility of the related factor here is ownership of the data and results, control over data release (and to whom, and when) and what rights respondents have to veto the survey results.
The question here is complex, because the researcher will be both a member of the group and yet study this group, so it is a delicate matter to negotiate a role that enables the researcher to be both participant and observer. O Although it is necessary to agree on data retention rights, this can contribute to increasing the complexity of the agreement to be concluded. The researcher must therefore be aware of the importance of 'impression management' (Hammersley and Atkinson 1983: 78 ff.).