Taken from: Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches, 2010. R. B. Johnson & L. B.
Christensen. Los Angeles: Sage
Publication
Research literature
Set of published research studies on a particular topic
General kinds of research
Basic research
Research aimed at generating fundamental knowledge and
theoretical understanding about basic human and other natural processes
Applied research
Research focused on answering practical questions to provide
relatively immediate solutions
Evaluation
Determining the worth, merit, or quality of an evaluation
objective (Needs, theory, implementation, impact or efficiency assessment)
Formative evaluation
Evaluation focused on improving the evaluation object
Summative evaluation
Evaluation focused on determining the overall effectiveness
and usefulness of the evaluation object
Action research
Applied research focused on solving practitioners’ local
problems
Orientational Research
Research done for the purpose of advancing an ideological
position
Sources of knowledge
Epistemology
The study of how knowledge is generated
Experience
Empiricism
The idea that knowledge comes from experience
Empirical Statement
A statement based on observation, experience, or experiment
Reasoning
Rationalism
The philosophical idea that reason is the primary source of
knowledge
Deductive Reasoning
The process of drawing a specific conclusion from a set of
premises
Major premise: All teachers are clever
Minor premise: Mr Herd is a teacher
Conclusion: Mr Herd is clever
Inductive reasoning
Reasoning from the particular to the general
Probabilistic
Stating what is likely to occur not necessarily what will
occur
Problem of induction
Things that happened in the past might not happen in the
future
The scientific approach to knowledge generation
Science
An approach for the generation of knowledge
Common assumptions made by educational researchers
1) There is a world out there that can be studied. This can
include studying the inner world of individuals.
2) Some of the world is unique; some of it is regular or
patterned or predictable; and much of it dynamic and complex.
3) The unique, the regular, and the complex in the world all
can be studied and examined by the researcher
4) Researchers should try to follow agreed-on norms and
practices
5) It is possible to distinguish between more and less
plausible claims and between good and poor research
6) Science cannot provide answers to all questions
Scientific Methods
Hypothesis
A prediction or educated guess
Theory
An explanation or an exploratory system
Deductive Method
A top-down or confirmatory approach to research
Inductive Method
A bottom-up or generative approach to research
Theory
Criterion of falsifiability
The property that that statements and theories should be
refutable (de bonne foi / open to criticism / furthermore researcher should
play the devil’s advocate and try and find evidence that could refute his own
research)
Rule of parsimony
Preferring the most simple theory that works
Evaluating the quality of a theory
1) Logical / coherent
2) Parsimonious
3) Fits the data
4) Testable claims
5) Theory-based predictions have been tested and supported
6) Has it survived numerous attempts by researchers to
identify problems or falsify it?
7) Does it work better than rival theories or explanations?
8) Generalization to other places, situations and persons
9) Can you use it to contrl or influence things in the
world?
The Principle of evidence
Replication
Research examining the same variables with different people
and different ways
Principle of Evidence
The philosophical idea that research provides evidence and
not proof
Objectives of educational research
Exploration
Attempting to generate ideas about phenomena
Description
Attempting to describe the characteristics of a phenomenon
Explanation
Attempting to show how and why a phenomenon operates as it
does
Prediction
Attempting to predict or forecast a phenomenon
Influence
Attempting to apply research to make certain outcomes occur
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