The Process of Conducting Research Chapter 1 The Process of Conducting Research This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: Define and describe the importance of educational research Describe the six steps in the process of research Identify the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative research in the six steps Identify the type of research designs associated with quantitative and qualitative research Discuss important ethical issues in conducting research Recognize skills needed to design and conduct research

What Is Research? The researcher poses a question. The researcher collects data to answer the question. The researcher presents an answer to the question.

Importance of Research Reason 1: Research adds to our knowledge. Addresses gaps in knowledge Expands knowledge Replicates knowledge Adds voices of individuals to knowledge

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.

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.

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

The Process of Research Identify the Research Problem Review the Literature Report and Evaluate Research Analyze and Interpret Data Specify a Research Purpose Collect Data

The Process of Research: Identify the Research Problem Specify a problem Justify a problem Suggest a need to study the problem for audiences

The Process of Research: Review the Literature Locate resources Books Journals Electronic resources Choose resources to include in the review Summarize the literature in a written report

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 to research questions

The Research Process: Collect Data Determine the data collection method Select the individuals to study Obtain permissions Design data collection instruments and outline data collection procedures Gather data

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

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

RESEARCH PROCESS Research Problem Literature Review Research Questions Questions Quantitative Research Qualitative Research Research Designs Quantitative Designs -Experimental -Correlational -Survey Qualitative Designs -Grounded theory -Ethnography -Narrative Combined Designs -Mixed methods -Action research Instruments/Protocols Sampling N Data Analysis Interpretation Discussion, Conclusions, Limitations, Future Research

The Major Characteristics of Quantitative Research Describe a research problem through trends and relationships Provide a major role for the literature to suggest questions and justify the research problem Create purpose statements, research questions, and hypotheses that are specific, narrow, measureable, and observable Collect numeric data from a large number of people using instruments Analyze data for trends, group comparisons, and relationships among variables Write the research report using standard, fixed structures and an objective, unbiased approach

The Major Characteristics of Qualitative Research Explore a problem through obtaining a detailed understanding of a central phenomenon - Phenomenology Have the literature justify the problem State the purpose and research questions in a general, open-ended way Collect data from a small number of participants Analyze the data using text analysis to obtain detailed descriptions and themes Write the research report using flexible and emerging structures and incorporating the researchers’ subjective reflexivity and bias

Similarities and Differences Between Quantitative and Qualitative Research Both forms of research follow the six steps in the process of research Both forms of research have introductions that establish the importance of the research problem Both forms of research use interviews and observations Differences Quantitative data collection is more closed-ended; qualitative data collection is more open-ended Quantitative data analysis is based on statistics; qualitative data analysis is based on text or image analysis Quantitative reporting has a set structure; qualitative data reporting is more flexible

Factors in Deciding to Use Quantitative or Qualitative Research Match type of research to your research problem Fit type of research to your audiences Relate type of research to your experiences and training

Quantitative Designs and Uses Nonintervention Research Intervention Research Explaining whether an intervention influences an outcome for one group as opposed to another group Associating or relating variables in a predictable pattern for one group of individuals Describing trends for the population of people Experimental Research Correlational Research Survey Research

Qualitative Designs and Uses (cont’d) Exploring common experiences of individuals to develop a theory Exploring the shared culture of a group Exploring individual stories to describe the lives of people Ethnographic Research Grounded Theory Research Narrative Research

Combined Designs and Uses Combining quantitative and qualitative data to understand and explain a research problem better Using quantitative and qualitative data for individuals to study problems that they face in their setting Mixed Methods Research Action Research

Qualitative Research Designs Phenomenology – the meaning of the lived experiences of individuals about a concept or phenomenon Grounded Theory – a study to discover or generate a theory from collected data Ethnography - description & interpretation of a cultural or social group or system

Qualitative Research Designs Case Study – exploration of a “bounded system” (the case) over time through detailed in-depth data collection Biography – study of an individual & their experiences as told to the researcher or found in documents Source Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions, John Creswell

Important Ethical Issues in Conducting Research Learn about the procedures involved in applying for approval from your campus institutional review board Recognize guidelines from professional associations Use ethical practices throughout research Use respectful data collection procedures Show respect to audiences who read and use research study information

Skills Needed for Research Curiosity to solve puzzles Long attention spans Library and computer resource skills Writing and editing skills