Introduction to EDER 603. 21 L03 Research Methodology in

Education

Hongxia Shan, PhD

Self-introduction Introduction to the course Introduction to research in education Q and A

Schedule

A few words about yourself, particularly your professional backgrounds;

Any experiences of research before; Your research interests; Your research questions if you have any; The research methodologies that you are

considering if you are at this stage.

Self-introduction

Creswell, J. W. (2011). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, 4th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice-Hall.

Reading schedule is at the end of the course syllabus.

Introduction to the course

Goals Expectations and assignments Library resources

Introduction to the course

To introduce you to a range of research methodologies;

To interrogate the personal pre-judgements and methodological positionings that frame your questions, selection of methods, data collection, and data analysis.

To introduce you to the issues and challenges of conducting ethical research.

Goals of the course

Formulate preliminary research questions in your interest areas; Develop critical understandings of different research

methodologies, and evaluate the strengths, weaknesses and relevance of each methodology in education;

Evaluate the relevance of educational research methodologies with special consideration given to stated research questions and the knowledge being sought;

Develop a critical understanding of criteria of “good” research: Reliability vs. Reasonableness, Validity vs. Viability, Predictability vs. Practicality, Rigor vs. Relevance

Develop a critical understanding of ethical considerations in educational research, particularly with regard to the study related to human subjects;

Learning outcomes

Class expectations and assignments

Learning media - discussion board; A minimum of three posts; demonstrate your

understanding of the readings and the topic of the week;

Evaluated not only by quantity but also by quality.

Three days before a session ends, a collective learning thread will be created where each group can bring their questions and key issues for collective discussion.

Class participation

All presentation materials should be posted by 9:00 pm Sunday night before your weeks start;

Small group discussion are expected; Three days before the session ends (or by

Friday), I will have a collective learning thread created where each discussion group, or the facilitators of the sessions will bring key questions and issues that emerged in your groups for our collective learning as a class.

Class Presentations

Due date: Jan. 28 - A one page handout to the class submitted on Blackboard

Feb. 01 – A 3-to-5 page written journal submitted to the course instructor

With your partner (randomly assigned to you), select, analyze, and report on an educational research journal. The principal intention here is to engage critically with the manner in which journals contribute to the ways ‘acceptable claims’ must be formatted within a field.

Peer work – review an educational journal

Examine a minimum of 8 articles around one common research methodology to draw conclusion around the research methodology around the following questions: Does it appear to be an accepted orientation towards research? Has this changed over time?

Choose one article in which the research methodology chosen is particularly compelling and examine it in detail. Consider the relevance of the research method employed to the research questions posed, and start evaluating the method of data collection, sample selection and size (if applicable), data analysis and presentation of findings.

Create a one-page handout for the class. Respond to the inquiries of your peer students re the methodology and journal

article you selected on blackboard. Write a 3 to 5 page summary re the methodology and submit it to the course

instructor. How can you perhaps get published.

Peer work – review an educational journal

What to include in the summary? What is the methodology that you reviewed? What is the philosophical foundation underpinning this

methodology if this is discussed in the articles you chose; What methods are commonly used for this methodology; Is this methodology an accepted orientation towards research?

(The strengths or limitations of the methodology); Refer to the article of your choice, evaluate the relevance of the

methodology and research methods to answer the research questions, the methods of data collection, sample selection and size (if applicable), data analysis and presentation of the findings;

Discuss any ethical issues involved when using this methodology; Provide the reference of the 8 articles in APA style.

Peer work – review an educational journal

In small groups, research, summarize, select exemplars for, present on, and lead a discussion of a prominent methodology in contemporary educational research.

Presentation of a research methodology

Prepare a presentation as a PowerPoint document. In this document Define the research design/methodology you are dealing with; Define the key terms; Review the historical development of the research design and

methodology; Review the current types of research in this particular tradition; Discuss the kind of knowledge claims the research tradition makes; Discuss the kind of techniques commonly used in the research tradition; Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the research tradition. Present some key references

Post a typical example of studies using your choice of research design and facilitate the class to explore research design issues, ethics and power issues.

Class presentation

Post all presentation materials by 9:00 pm Sunday night before your weeks start;

Small group discussion are expected; Three days before the session ends (or by

Friday), I will have a collective learning thread created where the facilitators of discussion will bring key questions and issues that emerged in your groups for our collective learning as a class.

Class Presentation

In this 10–15-page document, you will begin to situate your interests, experiences, and expertise within one of more of the research methodologies and methods studied. This assignment will allow you the opportunity to present the research questions you have formulated and discuss the protocols relevant to your study.

Narrative situating and emerging research commitments

You are required to (1) examine the sorts of research interests that you

currently have; (2) examine the methodological considerations that

accompany that interest; (3) develop preliminary research questions and

examine not only how these questions might be answered, but of the complexities of finding answers;

(4) the theoretical and ethical considerations that might arise in pursuit of greater understanding of that interest.

Narrative situating and emerging research commitments

See library information on blackboard For more information, please see https://elluminate.ucalgary.ca/play_recording.html?recordingId=1276147943134_1321555226793(you can choose to start from 33 mins after the session starts)

Library resources

Journal of educational research; The journal of experimental education; The journal of applied measurement; The journal of learning disabilities; International education journal; Journal of teacher education; International journal of lifelong learning; Educational leadership Adult Education Quarterly …..

Education journals

Any questions about the course or course assignment?

Research is organized, systematic, rigorous, and methodological inquiry that seeks to answer well-framed questions.

Research designs are plans and procedures for research that span the decisions from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data collection and data analysis. - it is the major body of your research proposal.

What is education research

Contrast research and ordinary experiences: In our daily experiences, we all note patterns

and make generalizations; Researchers may ask the same question, but

use organized, systematic, rigorous and methodological ways to do so;

One of the hallmarks of good research is disconfirmability. In good research, the findings can surprise you.

What is educational research

Answer a question; Understand patterns and changes; Establish relationship; Predict for the future; Evaluate programs; Test/build/modify theories; Inform policies, practices, and actions;….

Why do we conduct research

Researchers need to protect their research participants, promote the integrity of research; and guard against misconduct and impropriety.

Ethical issues to consider

National associations have their codes of ethics. For instance, Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research

Involving Humans http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/policystatement/introduction.cfm

The American Educational Research Association Ethical Standards of the American Educational Research Association www.aera.net

Universities have ethics reviews for all research projects conducted by faculty and students. University of Calgary http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/cfreb

Ethical issues to consider

Determine whether the topic is worthy studying;

Provides insights into ways in which the researcher can limit the scope to a needed area of inquiry;

Determine if your study is innovative or needed, or how your study can be innovative and contribute to knowledge building;

Literature review

Identifying key words which may emerge when exploring a topic;

Search for articles and books (ERIC, Proquest, Google Scholar); Locate a number of articles, browse them, produce annotated

bibliography – using APA reference style for educational research, and identify those articles central to your topic;

Develop a literature map: virtual picture of groupings of the literature on the topic;

Draft summaries of the most relevant articles; Assemble the literature review, structuring it thematically or

organizing it by important concepts.

Steps in literature review

Questions and Answers