- Questions and Problems lead to:
- -> solutions
- -> understandings
- -> clarifications
- -> can also lead to
- -> other problems
- -> more questions
- A. Educational Research
- Systematic method used to learn more to gain solutions; understandings; clarification to a problem
- B. Scientific Approach is Disciplined Inquiry
- Inductive: [qualitative]
- - limited experiences, observatiuons, cases
- - build a generalization
- Deductive: [quantitative]
- - generalized principle to a specific conclusion
- C. Scientific Approach is Disciplined yet not Flawless
- - personal bias: limitations; time; samples
- - procedural erros - analytical erros
- - complexity of subjects - data collected
-
- Descriptions: process of condensing information, observations
-
- Topic itself
- too broad
- too narrow
- just right
- D. Four Step Process:
- 1. Recognize and identify a topic
- - must be able to be addressed by collecting and analysing data
- 2. Describe and carry out procedures to collect data
- - who; what; when; how
- - inductive; deductive, both
- - also depends upon protocols and permissions necessary for research
- 3. analyse data
- - quantitative: numbers
- - qualitative - narrative/personal
-
- statistical vs interpretive
-
- all analysis has frameworks and accepted protocols
- - there are implications for the researchers
- 4. state/report implication
- - linked to topic
- Defining Research Topics
- 1. Degree of Direct Applicability
- a) Basic Research
- - to enhance or develop a theory
- - MORE
- conceptual
- longer in time
- philosophic
- big picture
- why
- b) Applied
- - addressing practical problems
- - MORE
- - pragmatic
- - practical problems
- - MORE
- - pragmatic
- - situational
- - what works
- what works best
- c) Evaluation
- - decision making
- determine which to use to end and to start
-
- Formative Evaluation:
- during use to improve method
- Summative Evaluation
- at the end to determine value
- 2. Methods
- Quantiative - about numbers - numerical
- - surveys
- - tests
- - checklists
- - Questionnaires
- - inventories
- - pencil/paper collections
-
- a) Basic Characteristics
- - clearly stated hypothesis
- - clearly stated collection process
- - established methods of control over contexual factors, to set paramaters of what is in and what is out of the research
-
- - use of larger sample sizes
- - use of statistical analysis
- - decision to distance researchers from participants (size also precludes high levels of interaction)
- - deductive reasoning
- - narrow - focusing upon outcomes
- Basic Beliefs or Ideology
- - the world is a relatively stable, understandable entity
- - measurement using the scientific methods derived from natural sciences will lead to understanding
- - positivist view accepts that things can be observed or explained through direct methods
- - meaning is derived through the exploration
- - analyze and explanations through generalizations and conclusions
- - control over the contextual variables is believed to reduce the interface of what is not meaningful and highlight or focus upon what is important
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EDER 603.02
Quantitative Research Methods