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Emphasizing the comparative aspects of research, this introduction to educational research traces the process through five stages-choosing what to study, including specifying the research problem; collecting information; organizing and summarizing information; interpreting results; and reporting the outcomes. Each of the stages offers diverse options available to researchers for solving the problems of that stage, and a research project checklist at the end of each chapter guides readers in applying the chapter's contents to their own research studies.
In much educational discourse, comparative education has referred solely to the study of educational similarities and differences between regions of the world or between two or more nations. This book uses the broader definition of the term to encompass a large body of research including studies focusing on comparisons between local educational systems, schools, classrooms, language groups, religious denominations, genders, social classes, and individual students. Students who are planning research projects as well as staff members of such organizations as ministries of education, school systems, bureaus of educational research, and educational aid agencies will find this volume indispensable.
List of contents
Preface
Components of Educational Research
Choosing What to StudySources and Aims of Research Topics
Specifying the Research Problem
Collecting Information--Methods and InstrumentsSurveying the Professional Literature
Approaches to Gathering Data
Data Collection Techniques I: Content Analysis, Interviews, and Observations
Data Collection Techniques II: Tests and Questionnaires
Organizing and Summarizing InformationClassifying Data
Statistical Analyses and Sampling
Tables and Graphs
Interpreting the ResultsInterpreting Content Analyses
Interpreting Observations
Interpreting Tests, Questionnaires, and Interviews
Reporting the OutcomesWhere to Publish
How to Publish
Opportunities Ahead
Appendix: Locations of ERIC Specializations
Index
About the author
R. Murray Thomas is professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
