Research Methods in Education EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Why Study Educational Research? To become "research literate."   Because we live in a society that's driven by research To improve your critical thinking skills To learn how to critically evaluate published research.   To learn how to conduct research in case the need arises one day. EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Objectives of Educational Research There are five major objectives of educational research.   Exploration. This is done when you are trying to generate ideas about something. Description. This is done when you want to describe the characteristics of something or some phenomenon. Explanation. This is done when you want to show how and why a phenomenon operates as it does. If you are interested in causality, you are usually interested in explanation. Prediction. This is your objective when your primary interest is in making accurate predictions. Note that the advanced sciences make much more accurate predictions than the newer social and behavioral sciences. Influence. This objective is a little different. It involves the application of research results to impact the world. A demonstration program is an example of this. EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Categories of research Quantitative Qualitative Purpose Study relationship, cause and effect Understand social phenomena Design Developed prior to the study Evolves during study Approach Deductive, test theory Inductive, generate theory Tools Standardized and objective instrument Face-to-face interaction Sample Fairly large Small Analysis Statistical analysis of numeric data Narrative description and interpretation EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Which category of research to choose? Nature of questions or problems being studied not preference for methods (some suitable for quantitative and some suitable for qualitative) Suggestions: may use both to verify he findings of the other; as a groundwork for the other; explore different aspects of the same research questions EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Experimental Non-experimental Descriptive research Pre-experiment Quantitative Experimental Non-experimental Descriptive research Pre-experiment True experiment Quasi-experiment [many designs] Ex post facto Correlation research Survey research EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Experimental research The most rigorous Actually establish different treatment and study the effect Result clear cut interpretation Example: a history teacher may want to know how can he teach important concepts to his students? He may compare two different approaches to teaching history EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Correlation research To establish relationship between two or more variables Concurrent correlation studies Relationship is drawn from the same point in study. Example: relationship between …. Predictive correlation studies Using one characteristics to predict the other. Example: use SPM grade to predict CGPA EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Ex post facto Also known as causal-comparative study To determine the cause of the difference between two group of people when experimental research is not possible Example to determine if family structure (single-two parent family) cause poor performance in education EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Survey research Purpose to explore and describe Do not investigate relationship Large sample Slice of time EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Developmental study Trend study Cohort study Panel study Data are gathered at several points in time EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Case study Involve small sample Purpose similar to survey and trend studies More depth Direct observation or interviews Single subject, a club, a school, a teenage gang Also known as a type of qualitative research EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Qualitative Ethnography: an in-depth study of natural occurring behavior within a culture or social group Case Studies in-depth study of a single unit (an individual, a group, a program, an organization etc.) Document or content analysis Analyzing or interpreting recorded materials within its own contact Naturalistic Observation Unconstructive observation. People being observed are aware of the observation Focused interview Unstructured and open-ended format to draw subject response on a topic of interest Historical Research Analyze documents and artifacts to what has happened in the past. EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Questions that educational researchers ask Theoretical [focus on developing theories or testing theories] Practical [aim at solving specific problem] What is intelligence? How effective is peer tutoring? How does the child learn? What is the relative effectiveness of method a compared with method B? Why does one forget? How does teaching…. Affect….? More commonly done is to test the existing theory EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Basic and Applied Research Aimed at obtaining empirical data to formulate and expand theory. Aim is to expand the frontiers of knowledge without regard to practical application Applied Aimed at solving immediate problems Not aimed at generalization [a study on the effectiveness of a teaching method on…] EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

Focuses on solving practitioner’s local problems. Action Research Focuses on solving practitioner’s local problems. It is generally conducted by the practitioners after they have learned about the methods of research and research concepts that are discussed in your textbook. It is important to understand that action research is also a state of mind; for example, teachers who are action researchers are constantly observing their students for patterns and thinking about ways to improve instruction, classroom management, and so forth. EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

TYPICAL STAGES IN RESEARCH Select a problem Review literature Design the research Collect data Analyze data Interpret the findings Report results EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR

EDU 5900 AB. RAHIM BAKAR