1. Chapter 9: Reporting and Evaluating Research
Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Edition 5
John W. Creswell

2. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
Define the purpose of a research report and identify the types
Identify how to structure your research report
Identify good sensitive, ethical, and scholarly writing practices
List criteria for evaluating a research report

3. Summary In this learning objective we defined the purpose of a research report and identify the types. Then we identified how to structure your research report and identified the good sensitive, ethical, and scholarly writing practices.

4. What Is a Research Report?
A research report is a completed study that reports an investigation or exploration of a problem, identifies questions to be addressed, and includes data collected, analyzed, and interpreted by the researcher.

5. The Audience for Your Report
Audiences have different standards
Audiences for research
Faculty including advisors or committees
Journal reviewers
Policy makers
Practicing educators
Conference paper reviewers
The researcher

6. The Types of Research Reports
Dissertations and theses
Dissertation and thesis proposals
Journal articles
Conference papers
Conference proposals
Reports for policy makers or school leaders and personnel

7. Identifying the Structure of Research Reports
Examine:
The levels of heading in a study
The six steps in the research process
The research questions or hypotheses and the answers
The structures or different types of reports, qualitative and quantitative

8. Structure of a Quantitative and Qualitative Proposal
Quantitative Format
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Review of the literature
Methods
Timeline, budget, and preliminary
chapter outline
References
Appendices
Qualitative Format
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Procedure
Preliminary findings
Anticipated outcomes and tentative literature review (optional)
Timeline, budget, and preliminary chapter outline
References
Appendices

9. Variations in Structure of a Qualitative Study
Scientific approach
Storytelling approach
Thematic approach
Descriptive approach
Theoretical approach
Experimental, alternative, or performance approach

10. How Do You Write Your Report in a Sensitive and Scholarly Way?
Use language that reduces bias
Describe individuals at an appropriate level of specificity
Be sensitive to labels for individuals or groups
Acknowledge participation of people in a study

11. Writing in a Scholarly Way
Encode scholarly terms
Use standard quantitative and qualitative terms appropriately
Balance research and content
Interconnect sections and be consistent for the reader
Advance a concise title

12. Ethical Report and Writing Research
Report honestly
Share reports with others
Refrain from duplicate and piecemeal publication of data
Give credit for using someone else’s work
Do not engage in research that represents a conflict of interest
Give credit for authorship-negotiate early

13. Evaluating the Quality of a Research Report
Does it meet publication standards?
Will it be useful in our school?
Will it advance policy discussions?
Will it add scholarly knowledge about a topic or research problem?
Will it help address some pressing educational problem?

14. Signs of a Poor Quantitative Research Study
Validity and reliability of data-gathering procedures
Inappropriate research design or problems in research design
Limitations of study not stated
Inappropriate sampling

15. Signs of a Poor Quantitative Research Study (cont’d)
Results of analysis not clearly reported
Inappropriate methods to analyze data
Unclear writing
Assumptions not clearly stated
Data-gathering methods not clearly described

16. Three Perspectives on Standards for Qualitative Research
The philosophical ideas behind the research
The procedures of data collection and analysis
The participatory/advocacy writers’ focus on collaboration and persuasion

17. Qualitative Standards: Lincoln’s (1995) Philosophical Criteria
Standards set in inquiry community (guidelines for publication)
Positionality (“text” honest and authentic)
Community (serves community purposes)
Voice (participants heard)

18. Qualitative Standards: Lincoln’s (1995) Philosophical Criteria (cont’d)
Critical subjectivity (researcher heightened self-awareness/creates social transformation)
Reciprocity (between researcher and participants)
Sacredness of relationships (respect for participants)
Sharing privileges (sharing of rewards with participants)

19. Qualitative Standards: Creswell’s (2013) Procedural Criteria
Rigorous data collection (multiple forms, extensive data)
Consistent with philosophical assumptions of qualitative research (evolving design, multiple perspectives)
Employs tradition of inquiry (e.g., case study, grounded theory, narrative)
Starts with focus on central phenomenon
Written persuasively
Multiple levels of analysis
Narrative engages the reader
Includes strategies to confirm accuracy

20. Qualitative Standards: Richardson’s (2000) Participatory Advocacy Criteria
Substantive contribution (significant understanding of social life)
Aesthetic merit (practices open up text, artistically shaped, not boring)
Reflexivity (adequate self-awareness, self-exposure to reader)
Impact (affects the reader emotionally, intellectually, moved to action)
Expression of reality (seems “true”)

21. Process Criteria to Use for All Research
Title for the study
Research problem
The literature review
The purpose statement and questions/hypotheses
The data collection
The data analysis
The report writing