Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition Chapter 1 The Process of Conducting Research

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.2 By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: Define educational research Identify the importance of educational research Name problems with research today Describe the research process Identify ethical considerations in conducting research Reflect on the skills you bring to the research process

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.3 What Is Research? The researcher asks a question. The researcher collects data. The researcher indicates how the data answered the question.

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.4 A Definition of Research Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information in order to increase our understanding of a topic or issue.

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.5 Importance of Research Reason 1: Research adds to our knowledge. –Addresses gaps in knowledge –Expands knowledge –Replicates knowledge –Adds voices of individuals to knowledge

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.6 Importance of Research (cont’d) Reason 2: Research helps improve practice. –Educators gain new ideas for their job. –Educators gain new insights into approaches. –Educators can connect with other educators.

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.7 Importance of Research (cont’d) Reason 3: Research helps inform policy debates. –Research allows people to weigh different perspectives on issues. –Research enables people to make informed decisions regarding policy.

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.8 Problems with Research Today Contradictory or vague findings Questionable data Unclear statements about the intent of the study Lack of full disclosure of the data collection procedure Inarticulate rendering of the research problem

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.9 The Process of Research Identify the Research Problem Review the Literature Report and Evaluate Research Specify a Research Purpose Collect Data Analyze and Interpret Data

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.10 The Process of Research: Identify the Research Problem Specify a problem Justify a problem Suggest a need to study the problem for audiences

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.11 The Process of Research: Review the Literature Locate resources –Books –Journals –Electronic resources Select resources –Determine the relevant resources for the topic –Organize the resources by developing a “Literature Map” Summarize the resources in a literature review

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.12 The Process of Research: Specify a Research Purpose Identify the purpose statement –The major intent of the study –The participants in the study –The site of the study Narrow the purpose statement –Quantitative: Write research questions and/or hypothesis –Qualitative: Identify a central phenomenon and write subquestions

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.13 The Research Process: Collect Data Determine the data collection method Select the individuals to study Design data collection instruments and outline data collection procedures Obtain permissions Gather data

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.14 The Research Process: Analyze and Interpret Data Take the data apart to look at individual responses Represent the data in tables, figures, and pictures Explain conclusions from the data that address the research questions

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.15 The Research Process: Report and Evaluate Research Report research –Determine the audience for the report –Structure the report –Write the report sensitively and accurately Evaluate research –Assess the quality of research using recognized standards in a discipline –Standards can come from the academic community, school districts, or federal or state agencies

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.16 Ethical Considerations in Research Respect the rights of the participants Honor the requests and restrictions of the research site Report the research fully and honestly

Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. John W. Creswell Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, third edition 1.17 Skills Needed for Research Curiosity to solve puzzles Long attention span Library and computer resource skills Writing and editing skills