Framing research, elements of a research proposal, and the introduction section

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Framing research, elements of a research
proposal, and the introduction section

• Research Process and Design
• Spring 2006
• Class 2

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Todays agenda

• Introduction to educational research
• Elements of a research proposal
• Writing the introduction
• Create groups

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Why do we do educational research?

• Helps educators understand educational processes
  make professional decisions
• Provides information to policy groups to assist
  them with mandated changes in education
• Serves the information needs of concerned public,
  professional, and private organizations
• Reviews and interprets accumulated empirical
  evidence
• Is readily available
• Includes educators in the field in research
  projects

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• Perhaps more important, why is it important for
  you to learn how to read, evaluate, and design
  research?

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Principles of Scientific Evidence-Based Inquiry
(Table 1.1, M S)

• Adapted from National Research Council
• Definitionevidenced-based inquiry is the search
  for knowledge using systematically gathered
  empirical data
• Principle 1 pose significant questions that can
  be investigated empirically

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Principles of Scientific Evidence-Based Inquiry

• Principle 2 link research to relevant theory or
  conceptual framework
• Principle 3 use methods that allow direct
  investigation of the research question
• Principle 4 provide a coherent and explicit
  chain of reasoning

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Principles of Scientific Evidence-Based Inquiry

• Principle 5 replicate/generalize or extend
  across studies
• Principle 6 disclose research to encourage
  professional scrutiny and critique

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The Research ProcessSeven Phases

• Select a general problem
• Review the literature on the problem
• Decide the specific research problem, question,
  or hypothesis
• Determine the design and methodology
• Collect data
• Analyze data and present the results
• Interpret the findings and state conclusions or
  summary regarding the problem

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Research Process (M S, p. 11)
Select a general problem
Conduct literature review
State conclusion/ generalization about problem
Preliminary search, later expanded
Exhaustive review
Select specific problem, research question, or
hypothesis
Integrative diagrams
Statistical tables
Decide design and methodology
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Research Design

• Research design describes how the study was
  conducted
• What is general plan
• How research is set up
• What happens to the subjects
• What were methods of data collection

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Research Design

• Match the design to the question(s) being asked
  so as to best answer the question(s)
• Consider limitations and cautions in interpreting
  results from each design
• Analyze data in keeping with research design
• Provide the most valid, accurate answers to
  research questions
• Congruency between the research question and the
  research design selected to answer that question
• Implications related to the type of data analysis
  with specific research designs

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Three Major Categories of Research Design

• Quantitative
• Experimental (true, quasi, single-subject)
• Nonexperimental (descriptive, comparative,
  correlational, ex post facto)
• Qualitative
• Mixed Methods

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Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches

• Assumptions about the world
• Quantitativesingle reality (i.e., cause and
  effect, reduce to specific variables, test of
  theories)
• Qualitativemultiple reality (i.e., multiple
  meanings of individual experiences, meanings are
  socially constructed)
• Research purpose
• Quantitativeestablish relationships or explain
  causes of change
• Qualitativeunderstand social phenomenon, explore
  a process, describe experiences, report stories

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Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches

• Research methods and process
• Quantitativeestablished set of procedures and
  steps
• Qualitativeflexible design, emergent design
• Prototypical studies
• Quantitativeexperimental or correlational
  designs, designed to reduce bias, error, and
  extraneous variables
• Qualitativetakes into account bias and
  subjectivity

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Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches

• Researcher role
• Quantitativedetached from study to avoid bias
• Qualitativeimmersed in phenomenon being studied
  participant observation
• Importance of the context in the study
• Quantitativeaims to establish universal
  context-free generalizations
• Qualitativedevelops context-bound summaries

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Elements of a research proposal (see handout for
details)

• Introduction
• Should capture the readers interest and sell
  them on the idea that the study is worth doing
• Can serve as a standalone document that describes
  your study
• Review of the literature
• Summarizes and analyzes previous research
• Shows relationship of current study to what has
  been done
• Method
• Clearly describes how you plan to take answer
  your research questions or test your hypotheses

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Introduction should answer the following

• What do you plan to study?
• Why is it important to study it?
• How do you plan to study it?
• Who do you plan to study?

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The introduction is likely to include

• The research problem
• Studies that have addressed the problem
• Deficiencies in the studies
• Importance of the proposed research
• Brief introduction to theoretical framework
• Purpose statement
• Research questions and/or hypotheses (sometimes
  included in the literature review section)
• Brief description of method (who? and how?)
• Limitations and delimitations

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One model for introduction (suggested by Creswell)
Research problem
Review of studies addressing problem
Deficiencies of previous work
Importance of study
Purpose of study, research questions, and/or
hypotheses
Brief statement of method
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• What research problem would you like to address
  in your proposal?

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For next week

• Introduction to quantitative research design -
  internal and external validity
• Critiquing research articles (using antonio, et
  al. as an example)
• Narrowing your research topic