| How do we define research? | Research is the process of systematically gathering information in an attempt to answer professional questions. It is an important source of the knowledge needed for expert teaching.
All professions use research to guide their practice (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2010; Van Horn, 2008). |
| Name the 3 forms that quantitative research can exist in. | Quantitative research can exist in descriptive, correlational and experimental forms. |
| Research in education exists in many forms. What are they? | 1. Quantitative research (including descriptive research, correlational research, and experimental research).
2. Qualitative research.
3. Action research.
4. Design-based research |
| What does quantitative research refer to? | Quantitative research refers to the systematic, empirical investigation of phenomena using NUMERICAL data and often involving statistical and mathematical techniques. |
| In relation to quantitative study, what is descriptive research? | Descriptive research uses tools such as tests, surveys and observations to describe the status or characteristics of a situation or phenomena (Gall et al., 2010). |
| How can descriptive research may answer the question "How much are our students learning?" | To answer this question, for example, the Malaysian Ministry of Education could assess our country's students in a variety of areas, including math, science, reading and writing, the arts, economics, geography, history starting from a chosen time period.
This is a form of descriptive research, and educators can use it to measure the effectiveness of different programs and to make comparisons with other schools/institutions. |
| Do surveys and firsthand observations count as descriptive research? | Yes. Both are a form of descriptive research. An example of a survey is the American Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitude Toward the Public Schools (Bushaw & Lopez, 2013).,
An example of first hand observations is when Jean Piaget (1959) used systematic observations of children as his primary research technique in pioneering the study of cognitive development. |
| Name one advantage and one disadvantage of descriptive research in the field of education. | Advantage: descriptive research provides valuable information about a variety of topics in education. Number of schools, rate of student drop outs, number of students in low-income families etc.
Disadvantage: descriptive research doesn't allow us to predict future events, and it doesn't identify relationships. |
| In terms of quantitative study, what is correlational research? | Correlational research is the process of looking for relationships between variables that enables researches to predict changes in one variable on the basis of changes in another.
A correlation is a relationship, either positive or negative between two or more variables. For example we can conduct a correlational research between student absences and their overall final grade.
It is important tor remember that a correlation doesn't imply that one variable causes the other. |
| In terms of quantitative study, what is experimental research? | Whereas correlational research looks for relationship in existing situations, experimental research systematically manipulates variables in attempts to determine cause and effect (Springer, 2010). |
| What is qualitative research? | Qualitative research attempts to describe a complex educational phenomenon in a holistic fashion using NON-NUMERICAL data, such as words and pictures (Johnson & Christensen, 2011). |
| What are the general differences in the outcomes between quantitative research and qualitative research? | The results of qualitative studies are published in narrative reports with detailed descriptions of settings and participants, whereas quantitative studies typically result in reports with correlations and other statistical techniques (Gay, Mills & Airasian, 2012). |
| Provide an example of any qualitative study of teaching. | As seen in 'First Year Teacher' by Bullough, (1989), the researcher's goal was to describe, from the teacher's perspective, what it's like to be a first-year teacher. He spent a year observing a first-year, middle school language arts teacher, interviewing her, and collecting artifacts such as lesson plans and assignments.
A realistic account of the triumphs and difficulties encountered by one teacher emerged from the study.
As in other qualitative studies, the researcher did not claim that this teacher's experience generalised to the experiences of all first-year teachers. Instead, he simply attempted to describe one teacher's experience in as much detail as possible and then allow readers to draw their own conclusions about that teacher's experiences. |
| What is meant by action research? | Action research are applied research designed to answer a specific school- or classroom-related question. It can use either quantitative or qualitative methods (Gay et al., 2012). |
| Provide example research questions for action research. | As we teach, we'll have questions about the effects our actions have on students' learning. These questions might include:
1. How much homework should I give?
2. Should I systematically grade homework, or merely check to see if students have completed it?
3. Have often should I give quizzes?
4. Should I ever give my students free time to socialise with other classmates? |
| What were the criticisms in the field of education that led to the development of design-based research? | The criticisms were that research in education lacks impact on classroom practice. "It is both surprising and depressing that many educators cannot think of a single research output or can think of only trivial outputs that meet this practical and important outcome of research" (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012, p. 18). |
| According to Anderson & Shattuck (2012, p. 17), what are the characteristics of design-based research? | 1. Design-based research is conducted in a real-world context, such as a classroom.
2. It focus on the design and testing of educational interventions, which could be a specific learning activity, type of assessment, administrative innovation (such as starting school later in the morning), or application of some form of technology, among many others.
3. It uses mixed methods, such as combining experimental and qualitative methods.
4. It involves multiple iterations, that is, it repeats the process with the aim of approaching a desired goal. The result of one iteration is used as a starting point for the next one.
5. It involves a partnership between researchers and practitioners.
6. It is intended to contribute to theory. |
| Is design-based research the same as action research? If they are different, what are some of the differences? | No, they are not the same. When action research is conducted, the educator, such as a teacher or administrator is both researcher and teacher, whereas a design-based study involves a partnership between researchers and practitioners.
"The partnership in design-based research recognises that teachers are usually too busy and often ill trained to conduct rigorous research" (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012, p. 17). It is also recognised that teachers working in the real world of classrooms are essential for a study's validity.
Furthermore, design-based research doesn't exclusively on a local need, as would be the case with action research. Design-based research also attempts to contribute to theories that are applicable to a variety of settings. |
| If conducted successfully, what does design-based research aim to provide? | Design-based research aims to provide us with concrete and practical suggestions for improving our teaching. |
