1. What is research and what is the relationship between research and your dissertation? 1)Begin with a problem 2)Identify research questions 3)Develop an empirical road map for answering questions

2. Tools of Good Research Deciding upon an appropriate designDeciding upon an appropriate design Types of designTypes of design CrosssectionalCrosssectional Case StudiesCase Studies LongitudinalLongitudinal ExperimentalExperimental Quasi ExperimentalQuasi Experimental Pre-Post designPre-Post design Repeated MeasureRepeated Measure Evaluation StudiesEvaluation Studies

3. Tools of Good Research Identifying a populationIdentifying a population Who/What are we interested in studying: students, parents, teachers, curriculum guides; and in what setting? The population is more narrowly defined than the universe and is influenced by our problem statementWho/What are we interested in studying: students, parents, teachers, curriculum guides; and in what setting? The population is more narrowly defined than the universe and is influenced by our problem statement

4. Tools of Good Research Obtaining a good sampleObtaining a good sample Representative sampleRepresentative sample How to select a representative sampleHow to select a representative sample Determining an appropriate sample sizeDetermining an appropriate sample size

5. Tools of Good Research Deciding upon what questions and information to gather and from whomDeciding upon what questions and information to gather and from whom Empirical questions are used to arrive at answers to our research questionsEmpirical questions are used to arrive at answers to our research questions Questions can appear in the form of scales such as attitudinal scales, or they can be open-ended questions that are used in interviews or focus groupsQuestions can appear in the form of scales such as attitudinal scales, or they can be open-ended questions that are used in interviews or focus groups Questions must be reliable and validQuestions must be reliable and valid Consulting with the literature or a jury of experts are two ways of ensuring the reliability and validity of questions.Consulting with the literature or a jury of experts are two ways of ensuring the reliability and validity of questions.

6. Tools of Good Research Concerns about reliability and validityConcerns about reliability and validity Reliability concerns the extent to which a study, test, questionnaire, or any other measuring procedure yields the same results on repeated trials.Reliability concerns the extent to which a study, test, questionnaire, or any other measuring procedure yields the same results on repeated trials. Validity – the extent to which an indicator of an abstract concept measures what it purports to measure- types of validity- criterion, content, constructValidity – the extent to which an indicator of an abstract concept measures what it purports to measure- types of validity- criterion, content, construct Criterion validity is synonymous with predictive validityCriterion validity is synonymous with predictive validity Content validity implies that the measurement takes into account all the relevant domain of the constructContent validity implies that the measurement takes into account all the relevant domain of the construct Construct validity- does the measure accurately reflects the theoretical concept- if the answer is yes, the measure should relate to other measures that are connected to the theoretical concept.Construct validity- does the measure accurately reflects the theoretical concept- if the answer is yes, the measure should relate to other measures that are connected to the theoretical concept.

7. Tools of Good Research Decisions about how to gather the data/informationDecisions about how to gather the data/information Survey research, telephone interviews, in-person interviews, archival data, document reviews, focus groupsSurvey research, telephone interviews, in-person interviews, archival data, document reviews, focus groups

8. Tools of Good Research Decisions about how best to analyze the data/informationDecisions about how best to analyze the data/information Statistical analysis- statistical techniques must match dataStatistical analysis- statistical techniques must match data Qualitative analysis- grounded theoryQualitative analysis- grounded theory

9. Topic: Factors Influencing dropout rates among high school students What is a possible problem statement?What is a possible problem statement? What are some research questions that could be posed ?What are some research questions that could be posed ? Which research design could we use?Which research design could we use? Who would be our population?Who would be our population? How could we obtain a good sample?How could we obtain a good sample? What information, questions and data could we gather; and from whom?What information, questions and data could we gather; and from whom? How could we address issues of reliability and validity?How could we address issues of reliability and validity?

10. Topic: Factors Influencing dropout rates among high school students How could we gather the data?How could we gather the data? How could we analyze the data?How could we analyze the data?