Educational Research 101

8/4/2019 Educational Research 101

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Educational Research 101

Session 1Course OverviewLearning Objectives

1. Educational Research1.1 The What1.2 The Why1.3 The How1.4 Are you ready?

2. Literature Review2.1 The What2.2 The Why2.3 The How2.4 Framework

3. Research Ethics

3.1 The What3.2 The Why3.3 The How

Session 2Learning Objectives1. Research Questions from Session 12. Data Collection

2.1 Quantitative2.2 Qualitative

3. Data AnalysisProcess of Analysis

Session 3Learning Objectives1. Introduction2. Structure of Report

2.1 Title2.2 Abstract2.3 Introduction2.4 Literature Review

2.5 Methodology2.6 Results2.7 Conclusion2.8 References

3. Reporting of Quantitative and Qualitative Research


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Session 1

Course Overview

There are 3 sessions in Educational Research for Teachers 101:

Session 1: The BIG Ideas behind Educational Research, Literature Review, andResearch Ethics

Session 2: The BIG Ideas behind Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (uponcompletion of Session 1)

Session 3: The BIG Ideas behind Research Articles/Reports and Presentations(upon completion of Session 2)

For the purpose of updating training hours in TRAISI, ERT 101 is taken to be a 12

hour course. Upon completion of Session 1, participants can add 6 hours astraining hours into TRAISI while for both Sessions 2 and 3, participants canadd 3 hours each as training hours into TRAISI.

On completion of the 3 sessions, a certificate will be sent to participants.

Learning Objectives

The course is designed to help you to:

understand the what, why and how of educational research

apply the big ideas of educational research in real life contexts understand the what, why and how of literature review apply the big ideas of literature review during the educational research

process know the 'what', 'why' and 'how' of research ethics apply research ethics to classroom-based research projects

The facilitators for this session are:

Dr Charles Chew (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mrs Cynthia Seto (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mdm Yau Li Heong (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mr Chia Chek Ngee (Academy Officer / Academy of Singapore Teachers)

Instructional Design & Course Development:

Dr Charles Chew (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mrs Cynthia Seto (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mdm Yau Li Heong (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mr Chia Chek Ngee (Academy Officer / Academy of Singapore Teachers)


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1 Educational Research1.1 The What

The What of Educational Research

Educational research is a process through which we collect data and analysethem to help us understand an educational issue and possibly how to resolve it.

It consists of a systematic and rigorous inquiry or investigation that enablespeople to understand the nature of problematic events or phenomena.

Research can be characterised by the following:

- a problem to be investigated

- a process of inquiry

- explanations that enable individuals to understand the nature of the problem

A Vignette on ResearchResearch can be visualised as an extension of the daily activities we are engaged in.

Let's consider a simple problem, I was baking a cake and it came out burnt.


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'Why was the cake burnt?'

* Was the oven set at too high a temperature?

* Was the cake left in the oven for too long a time?

We ask questions that will lead us to collect information that help generate tentative explanations orhypotheses. These questions will then provide us with the basis for possible solutions to ourquestions. However, these explanations will need to be verified by authoritative sources. Oneauthoritative source may advise that to in order to avoid burning the cake, the temperature and theduration of baking must be set at specific levels according to size.So, the next time I bake a cake, I will experiment a range of suitable temperatures and also take noteof the duration of baking time depending on the size of the oven and the size of the cake being baked.In this way, the chances of the cake being burnt will be reduced.

Think for a moment: How is the above story related to the big ideas of research?(Hint : refer to 1.1 The 'What' of Educational Research).

1.2 The Why

The Why of Educational Research

There are many reasons why we are engaged in educational research. We havelisted 3 reasons for discussion:

Expands our knowledge base Improves our classroom practice Helps us make sense of educational policies

a. Expands our knowledge base

As educators, we encourage our students to be life-long learners. What about us?

Research is one way to increase our knowledge base of strategies within andbeyond the context of our classrooms. Moreover, when research is codified(recorded) to inform the professional practice of teachers, it is likely to increase theknowledge base of the teaching fraternity. How can this be so?

An increase in the knowledge base takes place when we conduct research:

i. on emergent (new) pedagogies;ii. to localise (repeat) a research (from another country or educational setting) in

the Singapore context; oriii. to compare the effectiveness of different pedagogies

The beauty of research is that when we codify our research findings, other teachersdo not need to repeat the research to know the outcome. They have the privilege ofapplying these findings and using these effective pedagogies in their classrooms!This is a sure way of contributing to the knowledge base of the Singapore educationsystem.


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b. Improves our classroom practice

This flows naturally from the previous point. Educational researchers understand thatwe do not need to be alone in the classroom. As we work collaboratively with other

educators through building on one anothers research or through collaborativeresearch, we can achieve more by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Your experience in the classroom would probably be similar to the teachingexperiences of the other educators. If research findings are readily available to all ofus, we would become more effective and reflective practitioners. This is especiallycritical for less experienced teachers, who may be tall in passion (Yes, letsdo it),but short in direction (Where do we begin?).

c. Helps us make sense of educational policies

How many of us have ever felt tongue-tied when our critical stakeholders (thestudents parents) asked us the rationale of educational polic ies and theirimplementation?

When we are informed about the rationale of the educational policies through anunderstanding of related research areas (e.g. holistic education, inquiry-basedapproach), we can base our lessons and practice on sound research andpedagogies, while avoiding the pitfalls. Through this, we will add value to the schoolexperience of our students. At the same time, we can address the parents' concernsand reassure them that the educational policy makes sense.

1.3 The How

The How of Educational Research

Broadly, there are 6 steps in the educational research process (Creswell,2008). After Step 6, you may return to Step 1 to start a new research cycle (to buildon what was previously done). For each step, there are a few questions you need toaddress, in sequence.

1. Identifying a Research Problem

2. Reviewing Literature

3. Specifying a Purpose for Research

4. Collecting Data

5. Analysing and Interpreting Data

6. Reporting and Evaluating Research


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1. Identify

Identifying a Research Problem

a. Specifying a problem: What is the specific problem / focus area you aregoing to study?

b. Justifying it: Why is this problem important?

c. Suggesting the need to study it: Who will benefit from your research report?

2. Review

Reviewing the Literature

a. Locating resources:Where can you possibly access the books or journals to help you betterunderstand the research problem?

b. Selecting resources:Which of these books or journals that you have read are most relevant inenhancing your understanding of the research problem?

c. Summarising resources:Write a summary of the overall picture you have obtained from the identified

books or journals, concerning the research problem.

3. Specify

Specifying a Purpose for Research

a. Identifying the purpose statement:What do you hope to achieve through the research?

b. Narrowing down the purpose statement into research questions or

hypotheses:

o What exactly do you want to find out?o How would you know if your (quantitative: numerical) hypotheses

(guesses) are correct?o What is the size of the sample you need for your study?o What is the sampling process you propose?

4. Collect

Collecting Data


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a. Selecting individuals to study:Who are the relevant participants who could provide the answers to yourresearch questions or hypotheses?

b. Obtaining permission:How can you go about getting the participants (or their parents) consent inorder to collect information about them? Research ethics guidelines require usto get parental consent for participants who are minors before they participatein the study.

c. Gathering information:How can you collect the most accurate data that you need within the limitedtime and resources?

5. Analyse and Interpret

Analysing and Interpreting Data

a. Breaking down the data:What do the collected data really tell you about the research questions orhypotheses?

b. Representing the data:After having analysed the data, how would you interpret the data in relation toyour research questions?

c. Explaining the data:What is the best way to summarise your data? Some common ways

include tables, graphical representations etc.

6. Report and Evaluate

Reporting and Evaluating Research

a. Structuring the report:

Which report structure would make it easy for the audience to follow yourresearch process?

b. Writing the report sensitively:What are the discriminatory terms you should avoid using in your report?

c. Deciding on audience:How would you distribute your research report so that the critical stakeholderscan access it and make use of it? It is best to seek permission from schoolleaders before sharing your research findings.


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1.4 Are you ready?

Before you proceed to Literature Review, study the Educational Research ProcessCycle below.

Example of the Research Process Cycle (in action)

1. Identifying a Research Problem

My students consistently failed to allocate sufficient time for revision (that is, they study at the lastminute). This has led to their poor results, or at most, inconsistent good performance.

a. Specifying a problem: what is the specific problem / focus area you are going to study?

I think it is important to find out how to help them prioritise their time, so as to put a heavier weight onthe necessary revision.

b. Justifying it: why is this problem important?

If we can make sure they place more emphasis on the revision required, they may just do better fortheir tests and examinations.


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c. Suggesting the need to study it: who will benefit from your research report?

Obviously, educators (teachers), parents and the students will benefit from this research. I raised arequest for funding for the research, and my Principal got the funding from the cluster.

Reviewing the Literature

a. Locating resources:Where can you possibly access the books or journals to help you better understand the researchproblem?

I started exploring concepts about learning and motivation, through reading books and journals atthe NIE library. I went on to access the EBSCOhost database to find full papers on cognitivedevelopment.

b. Selecting resources:

Which of these books or journals that you have read are most relevant in enhancing your

understanding of the research problem?

I have finally decided to limit my research to concepts on metacognition, as I felt that the studentscould lack the required metacognitive monitoring skills.

c. Summarising resources:

Write a summary of the overall picture you have obtained from the identified books or journals,concerning the research problem.

Based on 10 most recent research journal articles, I realised that students who performed badly asthey allocated insufficient time for revision could be suffering from a judgement of learning error. Isummarised some of the commonly proposed metacognitive monitoring strategies and the methods

which other researchers have proposed teaching these strategies.

Specifying a Purpose for Research

a. Identifying the purpose statement:

What do you hope to achieve through the research?

I hope that this research can provide a simple (and proven) guide on how the students could betrained to self-monitor their learning and revision effectively.

b. Narrowing down the purpose statement into research questions or hypotheses:

o What exactly do you want to find out?o How would you know if your (quantitative: numerical) hypotheses (guesses) are correct?

o What is the size of your sample?

o How is the sampling done?

I want to find out which of the metacognitive monitoring strategies would be most effective for mystudents.

I would be able to tell the effectiveness by triangulation their next set of school results versus theirprevious ones and their self-report on their use of the strategies.

I understand that I need to have 65 students per experimental group to support some form ofgeneralisability. This is about 2 classes of students. To have a comparison group, I need to have atotal of 130 students (4 classes).


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I could not plan for random sampling in a school setting. Therefore, I relied on convenient sampling ofusing existing classes. This reduced my research generalisability. I worked out some lesson planswith another colleague who also taught 2 classes. Between us, there are 4 classes. My colleagueteaches Mathematics, and I teach English. We would randomly assign 1 of each of our classes toform the comparison group while the other remaining class for each subject would form theexperimental group.

Collecting Data

a. Selecting individuals to study:Who are the relevant participants who could provide the answers to your research questions orhypotheses?

In our case, we decided to capture data from all the students in our classes, as we felt that theirpersonal characteristics would be spread out among the 4 classes.

b. Obtaining permission:

How can you go about getting the participants (or their parents) consent in order to collect

information about them?Research ethics guidelines require us to get parental consent for participants who are minors beforethey participate in the study.

We got our school General Office staff to help mail and collate parental consent forms. One weekafter posting the forms, we called those who had not given their replies to explain the benefit of thisresearch. We only based our final analysis on those students whose parents gave their consent.

c. Gathering information:

How can you collect the most accurate data that you need within the limited time and resources?

We arranged for metacognitive training classes after school, and timed the intervention to take place

shortly before the common tests. Neutral content classes were given to the comparison group. Self-reported surveys were collected from the students involved, soon after the tests, and triangulationwere done. The data collection was repeated for the examination period.

Analysing and Interpreting Data

a. Breaking down the data:What do the collected data really tell you about the research questions or hypotheses?

The collected data showed that about 60% of the students in the experimental group were activelyusing metacognitive monitoring strategies, and there was a general improvement in the results ofthese students. There were 2 particular strategies that were most frequently mentioned in the surveys.

b. Representing the data:After you have broken down the data, how could you best link your data to your research findings foreasy understanding?Are you going to present your data through descriptions, tables, figures or pictures ?

I decided to present the student result improvements via a table, so that the readers could see at oneglance how the results of those who used the metacognitive monitoring strategies compared to thosewho did not, and how they also compared to the comparison group in general. I would also bepresenting the choice of the strategies via a chart, arranged from the most frequently mentioned tothe least. I also quoted the students descriptive feedback about the metacognitive training classes, sothat we could reflect on future improvements.

c. Explaining the data:

What is the best way to help your audience understand how your findings affect them?


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Drawing links to previous research, I would try to explain how my current findings supported or refutedthe proposals of other researchers. I would also elaborate on how to implement the metacognitivetraining programme, and the pitfalls to watch out for. I could also include some simple questions theparents could ask their children that could begin their own metacognitive monitoring.

A Vignette on Research to Improve the Learning of Mathematics

Miss Tan, a mathematics teacher, was concerned that her primary school pupils lacked themotivation to learn from the mistakes they made in their homework. They tended to rely on herto help them with their corrections. She found that a number of her pupils were doing poorly inclass tests. She had come across an article about the use of giving written comments to enhancelearning. She hypothesized that by writing comments instead of just putting a cross on pupils'homework, it would encourage her pupils to close the learning gaps themselves. She also wantedto know if giving comments would help pupils in their thinking processes.

She made a note of two groups of pupils who were doing equally badly in mathematics. For one ofthese groups, she repeatedly gave them written comments as feedback and taught them to usethe feedback to close their learning gaps. After about ten weeks, she compared the scores of the

two groups of pupils. She found that the group that made use of her written comments didsignificantly better. From her interviews with these pupils, she learned that they had in theprocess, sharpened their meta-cognitive skills and boosted their confidence.

Upon reflection, Miss Tan felt that she had learnt much about providing scaffolds and askingquestions to provoke deeper thinking. She decided to use the same feedback strategy for theother group. Subsequently, Miss Tan incorporated this approach in her marking and also sharedher practice with fellow educators.

Activity 1.2

Choose one of these challengequestions:

1) As a teacher-researcher, how did Miss Tan go about understanding her students and theirlearning? Can you identify the steps she took?

2) How about writing a vignette on one of your professional classroom practices that lends itselfto possible research?

2 Literature Review

A literature review is a summary of books, journal articles and documents thatprovides us with past and present information about the topic of the proposed study.

Now that you have an idea of the Educational Research Process Cycle, it isimportant to have a good understanding of how to do a good literature review beforeyou embark on your research. There may be an existing body of knowledge which isrelevant and can contribute towards your area of study.

How do you tap on these rich resources to inform your research?


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Lets now gather Three Truly Important Points (TIPs) on Literature Review.

2.1 The 'What'

TIP 1 : The 'What' of Literature Review

A literature review is a summary of books, journal articles and documents thatprovides us with past and present information about the topic of the proposed study.

Literature review is a bridge between your research idea and the body ofknowledge encompassing concepts and theories which already exists ina broader field.

(1) In the context of research, each journal article does the following:

(a) introduces the research topic

(b) identifies work that has already been done on this same topic

(c) shows the researchers understanding of the topic

(d) provides a rationale for the current research

(e) establishes the research context

(f) generates research aims and questions

(g) demonstrates the researchers critical awareness

(h) shows the researchers ability to organise complex ideas in a logicalframework

(i) draws out areas where further research is needed

(2) Sources of literature (books, journals, articles in periodicals or newspapers,written reports and online materials) can be broadly classified into:

General references:

These references will provide you with information to help you locate othersources. Most of them are indexes or abstracts such as EducationalResources Information Centre (ERIC).

ERIC web pagehttp://www.eric.ed.gov/(subscription for access is needed).

o Under ERIC, two very useful preliminary sources are published,namely, Resources in Education (RIE) and
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eric.ed.gov%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzdeEuJINBxettH_bf8lg6VAJZneqwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eric.ed.gov%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzdeEuJINBxettH_bf8lg6VAJZneqwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eric.ed.gov%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzdeEuJINBxettH_bf8lg6VAJZneqwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eric.ed.gov%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzdeEuJINBxettH_bf8lg6VAJZneqw


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o RIE provides abstracts of papers presented at education conferences,progress reports of ongoing research studies while CIJE indexes theeducation journals and journals in related fields.

Primary sources:

These are materials/publications written by authors who were direct observersor participants in the work described. Primary sources in educationinclude journal publications.

Secondary sources:

These are materials/publications written by authors who were not directobservers or participants in the events described. Secondary sources in

education include text books, research reviews, and educationalencyclopedias.

2.2 The 'Why'

TIP 2 : The 'Why' of Literature Review

The objectives

(1) Distinguishing what has already been done from what needs to be

done:Usually, researchers do not repeat what has been done, unless they aretrying to localise a foreign research project for their particular context.

(2) Understanding the structure of the subject:This requires understanding the major theories proposed in previousresearch.

(3) Relating ideas and theory to applications:This requires understanding the work done to see how concepts and theoriescan be applied in the educational context.

(4) Identifying relationships between ideas and practiceThis requires differentiating between proven ideas (in particular or generalisedcontexts), and suggested ideas (which could work based on past research).

(5) Synthesising and gaining a new perspective:This requires coming up with a useful model for the research study.

(6) Discovering important variables relevant to the topic:This is a quantitative approach, in which measurable and useful variables

are used in the proposed research model.


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(7) Rationalising the significance of a problem:This requires justifying how the research would contribute to the knowledgepool of the community.

(8) Establishing the context of a topic or a problem:This sets realistic limits as to what can be achieved within the context of theresearch, and the extent to which the findings can be generalised to othercontexts.

2.3 The 'How'

TIP 3 : The 'How' of Literature Review

Step 1: Define the problem as precisely as possible.

Step 2: Formulate the search terms (key words, phrases or descriptors).

Step 3: Select the appropriate general references.

Step 4: Search the general references, such ashttp://www.lii.org(Librarian Indexto the Internet), for the relevant secondary sources.

Step 5: Obtain and read the relevant secondary sources.

Step 6: Search the general references for the primary sources, based on therelevant secondary sources.

Step 7: Obtain and read the relevant primary sources

Step 8: Note and summarise key points in the sources

Remember that a literature review is not a list of items you have read separately, buta synthesised text in which every part contributes to the coherence of the full text.

2.4 Framework

The Literature Review Framework

The purposeful selection of all pieces of relevant literature can be organised into 3main blocks.The 3 main blocks in a literature review framework are:

the conceptual frameworkto provide the theoretical base for the topic the contextual reviewto provide the contexts for the study (local,national or international) the empirical reviewto provide information on research previously doneon the topic
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lii.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzcNe1hVCpnWzv1XGoFCTVOwFYcnDQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lii.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzcNe1hVCpnWzv1XGoFCTVOwFYcnDQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lii.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzcNe1hVCpnWzv1XGoFCTVOwFYcnDQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lii.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzcNe1hVCpnWzv1XGoFCTVOwFYcnDQ


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3 Research Ethics

Classroom Research Ethical Considerations

Before embarking on any data collection in research, there are some researchethical considerations for you to take note of.

We need to balance the benefits between the researchers and the participants.

In the same vein as understanding the big ideas of Educational Research andLiterature Review, we will begin the journey of learning the what, why andhow of research ethics.

3.1 The 'What'

What are Research Ethical Considerations?

Some key ideas include:

Research ethics refers to the moral principles guiding research from itsinception through to its completion and publication of results and beyond forexample, the curation of data and physical samples after the research hasbeen published (Economic and Social Research Council, 2005).

All educational research should be conducted within an ethic of respect for:


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(a) People

(b) Knowledge

(c) Values

ReferenceHopkins, D. (2008).A Teachers Guide to Classroom Research. Open University Press.Burton, D.D. & Bartlett, S. (2005). Practitioner Research for Teacher. London: Sage.

3.2 The 'Why'

Why are Research Ethical Considerations important?

3.2.1 Some key principles:

Informed consent

(a) Do the people I wish to study have full information about the research,including why and how they have been chosen to participate?

(b) Is their consent freely given?

Confidentiality and anonymity

(a) How will the information be safeguarded, and the identity of people or

institutions be protected?

(b) How will anonymity be preserved, for people and institutions?

Ownership of data and conclusions

(a) After the collection and analysis, who owns the data and the conclusions?

(b) How will the research results be reported and disseminated?

Use and misuse of results

(a) What obligations do I have to help my findings be used appropriately, andnot to be misused?

Honesty and Trust

(a) What is my relationship with the people I am studying?

Reciprocity

(a) What do participants gain from my research?


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Intervention and advocacy

(a) What do I do if I see harmful, illegal, wrongful behaviour during myresearch?

Harm and Risk

(a) What might this research do to hurt the people involved?

(b) Health and safety issues can be involved in some types of research, and inall cases, the principle of non-maleficence (no harm) takes precedence.

Conflict of interest

(a) Questions of power and reliance, along with benefit and trust, are involved

in some research situations, and need to handle with care.

3.2.2 Ethical considerations in Academic Writing

Acknowledging the work of others

(a) Have the contributions of participants been acknowledged?

(b) Who will own the success or failure of the research?

Plagiarism to be avoided

(a) This refers to fraudulently presenting ideas as your own when they are not.

Bias-free writing

(a) No discrimination or oppression towards any group of people should beallowed.

Reference

Punch K. F. (2006). Developing EffectiveResearch Proposals. Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage.

3.3 The 'How'

How do we apply Research Ethics in Classroom Research?

3.3.1 Clearance from Data Admin Centre in MOEHQ


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3.3.2 Checklist before you start

Step 1: Preparation Stage

What ethical issues may arise from your research?

If your research includes children, what ethical issues could arise from theages of the children involved?

Whose interests is the research serving?

Step 2: Before the data collection

Whose consent do you need? Have you fully explained to the participants the reasons for the research, its

methods and possible implications? Have you made clear to participants that they have the right to withdraw at

any stage of the research? Are participants assured of confidentiality? How have you made sure that the participants have understood the above?

Have you used language that they comprehend?

Step 3: During the data collection

Are you true to your promises to participants? Is the research causing participants the minimum disruptions? Are you storing confidential data safely so that they are not accessible by

others? Are the data reliable and valid?

Step 4: During the data analysis

Are findings reliable and valid? Have you been reporting parts of your findings periodically to stakeholders?

Step 5: During the report writing and dissemination

Are you writing the truth? Have you ensured that none of the participants can be identified? Have you considered the different audiences and dissemination approaches

for your research?

ReferenceHopkins, D. (2008).A Teachers Guide to Classroom Research. Maidenhead. McGraw Hill.


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Session 2

Dear Teachers,

Our heartiest congratulations to you for completing Session 1 and welcome to

Session 2 of the Educational Research for Teachers 101 (ERT 101).

To help you recall the 6 steps of Educational Research Process, please go

to educational research process cycle.

You are now going to proceed to Step 4 on 'Collecting Data and Analysing and

Interpreting Data'. It's an exciting phase as you explore various methods and find the

most appropriate and relevant approaches to address and answer your

research problem and questions.

The purpose of Session 2 is to give you an idea of how to collect, analyse andinterpret data. However, it is not within the scope of Session 2 to go into the detailsof statistical analysis as this will be covered in Educational Research for Teachers201 (ERT 201).

Before you proceed, sit back and take some time to listen to Associate ProfessorChristine Lee (Head, Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, National Institute ofEducation) on her views about research.

Once again, welcome to Session 2 of ERT 101 and enjoy the journey to becoming areflective practitioner!

Thank you.

Learning Objectives

Session 2 focuses on the BIG Ideas of Qualitative and Quantitative approaches inresearch and it builds upon what you have learnt about educational research inSession 1.


understand the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative research understand the common methods used in data collection understand the process of data collection, analysis and interpretation of data

Your facilitators for this session are:

Mrs Cynthia Seto (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mdm Rani Viyaya (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mr Chia Chek Ngee (Academy Officer / Academy of Singapore Teachers)


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Instructional Design and Course Development:

Mrs Cynthia Seto (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mdm Rani Viyaya (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mr Chia Chek Ngee (Academy Officer / Academy of Singapore Teachers)

1. Research Questions from Session 1

In Session 1, we learnt that educational research is a systematic inquiry to enable us

to understand the nature of a problem or a phenomenon. There are two parts to this

inquiry: the role of theory (literature review) and the central role of data. As

such, inquiry does not only entail collection of data or analysing the data collected

but more importantly, a correct interpretation of data to answer the questions in the

problem or to explain the phenomenon.

In Session 2, of Educational Research for Teachers 101, we will concentrate

on empirical research. The key concept in empirical research is 'observable

information about (some aspect of) the world'. The essential idea in empirical

research is to use observable data as a way of answering questions, and of

developing and testing ideas (Punch, 2000).

Before we discuss data collection, let's revisit the research questions that you have

formulated in Session 1. From the questions that you have contributed, we can

briefly classify them into various research areas such as:

cognitive domain, e.g. improvement in test scores affective domain, e.g. attitude towards the subject pedagogy domain, e.g. use of ICT or pair-work, etc

Assuming that we have crafted these two research questions for our study:

1) What are the effects of ICT-supported instruction on students attitude towardsMathematics, the use of ICT and academic efficacy?

2) How do ICT-based lessons affect students attitude towards the learning of

Mathematics?

Let's think for a moment....what data should we collect to answer these two researchquestions?

The decision about what data to be collected is determined by the nature of theproblem. There is no one 'recipe' on how to proceed with data collection efforts.

As such, teacher-researchers must determine what data will contribute to theirunderstanding and resolution of a given problem. The approach taken is usuallybased on the desire to understand one's practice and to collect data that is


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appropriate and accessible.

References:Punch, K.F. (2003). Developing Effective Research Proposals. London: Sage.

2. Data Collection

There are 2 approaches to research - quantitative research and qualitativeresearch

Quantitative Research is a type of educational research in which the researcher

decides what to study asks specific, narrow questions collects quantifiable data from participants

analyses these numbers using statistics conducts the inquiry in an unbiased, objective manner

Qualitative Research is a type of educational research in which the researcher

relies on the views of participants asks broad, general questions collects data consisting largely of words (or text) from participants describes and analyses these words for themes conducts the inquiry in a subjective, biased manner

Session 2 deals with research for both quantitative and qualitative studies, andis based on the view that neither approach is better than the other. Both havetheir strengths and weaknesses, and that they can, and should be combinedwhere appropriate.

The understanding is that the methods and data used (quantitative, qualitative orcombined methods) should follow from, and fit in with, the question(s) beingasked. After identifying the types of data you are going to collect, the next

question to ask will be "How do I collect the data?"

Quantitative Approach Qualitative Approach

Data collection is in the form of numbers Data collection is in the form ofwords / artifacts (audio-visual)

Structure tends to be pre-specified (tight) interms of research questions, researchdesign and data

Structure tends to be unfolding(loose) in terms ofresearch questions, research designand data

Begins with hypothesis and theories,

deductive process

Ends with hypotheses and grounded


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theory, inductive process

Uses experimental methods andquantitative measures to test hypothetical

generalisations (theory verification)

Seeks to understand phenomenon incontext-specific settings (theory

generation)

Variables can be identified and relationshipmeasured, tend to be uni-dimensional

Variables are complex, inter-wovenand difficult to measure, tend to bemulti-dimensional

Source: The content in this table is summarised from 'Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative& Qualitative Approaches,' by Punch K.F.

ReferenceCreswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research(3rded.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.

2.1 Quantitative

Data collection using the quantitative approach focuses on numbers and

frequencies rather than on meanings and experiences expressed in words.

The quantitative approach provides information which is fairly reliable and easy to

analyse statistically. They are also associated with the scientific and experimental

approach. Some common methods of data collection and data are:

performance measures questionnaires or surveys checklists databases

In Research Question 1, we want to investigate if there is a change in students'

attitude towards Mathematics as a result of ICT-supported instruction. To conduct

this research, the teacher researchers may use a questionnaire such as the

"Attitude and Efficacy Questionnaire" to find the mean of each item in the

questionnaire.

The mean of each scale is calculated for responses to the 'Attitude and Efficacy

Questionnaire' which is administered before and after the introduction of ICT-

supported instruction. The teacher researcher will then draw a conclusion on the

effects of ICT-supported instruction by comparing the means of the pre and post-

intervention.

Performance Measures

Teachers construct tests to monitor the performance of students, measure the


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extent to which each student has attained the learning objectives of a lesson. Awell-constructed test will provide a clear measure of attainment for eachcompetency or proficiency, measuring each of the different types of knowledgeor skills described in the lesson objectives. A record of results provides the

means to track a student's progress in each area of the curriculum, and to gaina clear picture of the overall performance of the class. This type of data istherefore useful for monitoring student performance or evaluating theeffectiveness of instruction.

Much of the data of student performance is recorded in numeric form, indicatingthe extent to which the student has attained the desired learning outcomes. Asscores may be expressed as raw scores (numbers), as a percentage or in termsof a scale, it is a very convenient way to collect quantitative data fromperformance measures such as Continual Assessments (CAs), Class Tests,Semestral Assessments (SAs) or even Project Tasks.

Depending on the research area, we could also collect data from attendancerecords, referrals for behaviour incidents or other student performanceproducts, such as homework assignments or workbook pages and analysethem in terms of accuracy, speed, number of items completed, time tocomplete, and type(s) of errors made.

ReferenceStringer, E, (2008). Action research in education(pp 79-80). Upper Saddle River, NJ:Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Questionnaires

Questionnaires allow the teacher researcher(s) to collect large amounts ofdata in a relatively short amount of time. The difference between an interviewand a questionnaire is that for the questionnarie, the respondent will write outthe responses on the form provided.

A Likert Scale is usually used in a questionnaire. Respondentsare sometimes asked to respond to a series of statements indicating whetherthey 'Strongly Agree' (SA), 'Agree' (A), 'Undecided' (U), 'Disagree' (D) or'Strongly Disagree' (SD) with each statement. Each response corresponds

with a point value and a score is determined by adding the point values foreach statement. For example, the following point values might be assignedfor positive responses: SA=5, A=4, U=3, D=2, SD=1. By assigning thesepoint values, the teacher-researcher would be able to infer whether thestudents felt positively or negatively about the statement.

Questionnaire provides teacher researchers with quantitative (numerical)data which are commonly analyzed by descriptive statistics to find the'average' or 'mean' value. For example, if the average (or mean) response ofthe 100 respondents to a particular question concerning the usefulness of atraining workshop to their work is 4.2 out of a maximum possible value of 5.0


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on the Likert Scale, an accompanying narrative to describe it would be that"a large majority of the workshop participants found the training to be usefulto their work".

ReferenceMills, G.E. (2003). Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher.(2nd ed.), Pearson, New Jersey.

Checklists

When the focus of an educational research is on the students' skills(performance) or behaviours, the data collected are usually done throughobservation using rating scales. Rating scales for observation may take asimple format of having only two response categories such as

Yes or No Observed or Not Observed Present or Absent

A set of items like this is called a checklist. Checklists are used tostandardize observation.

Databases

In today's digital age, the collection of electronic quantitative data isbecoming popular.

Databases found in online information resources such as 'Schoolpic','School Cockpit' and internal school management systems, providevaluable and easily accessible information for teacher researchers.These databases provide a wide variety of quantitative informationwhich are relevant to the performance of students, their capabilities,and their behaviours over the years. They also provide informationabout the distribution of the classes, and socio-economic status of thestudents.

Attitude and Efficacy Questionnaire

In this 'Attitude and Efficacy Questionnaire', the instrument uses a 5-point Likertscale with response options of 'Almost Never, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, andAlmost Always'. Pupils were asked to respond by indicating on the 5-point Likertscale how often each practice actually took place in the class.

The average item mean of each scale was calculated for the experimental group andthe control group. Please see below for a snapshot of the questionnaire.


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Source: The Attitude and Efficacy Questionnaire is a validated instrument from the Curtin Universityof Technology

2.2 Qualitative

Qualitative methods are ways to collect data which are concerned with describing meaning

instead of drawing statistical inferences. They provide a more in-depth and rich description

of the issue under study. Some examples of qualitative methods are:

student artifacts e.g. journal observations interviews focus groups

Research Question 2:

How do ICT-based lessons affect students attitude towards the learning of Mathematics?

To investigate how ICT-based lessons have affected students' attitude towards the learningof Mathematics, we need to collect data that provides information about the affective

domain. This kind of data is usually reflected through students' articulation of their emotions,

recount of what they did during such lessons or observations of students' behaviours,

etc. From thejournal, the teacher researchers will look for patterns and recurrent themes to

understand students' attitude towards ICT-based lesson in Mathematics.

JournalsA students writing in a journal can display his knowledge orunderstanding of aparticular concept, his academic and problem solving ability. It also reveals thestudent's dispositions, beliefs and attitudes towards the subject. Therefore, journal

writings shed light on both the cognitive and affective domains.
https://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/er101-2/2-data-collection/2-2-qualitative-tools/student-s-journalhttps://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/er101-2/2-data-collection/2-2-qualitative-tools/student-s-journalhttps://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/er101-2/2-data-collection/2-2-qualitative-tools/student-s-journalhttps://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/er101-2/2-data-collection/2-2-qualitative-tools/student-s-journal


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As Anderson, Herr, and Nihlen (1994) point out: "The journal acts as a narrativetechnique and records events, thoughts, and feelings that have importance for thewriter. As a record kept by a student, it can inform the teacher researcher aboutchanging thoughts and new ideas and the progression of learning(p. 153)."

Students' journals can provide teachers with a valuable window into the students'world. Likewise, a journal kept by teachers can also be an opportunity to keep anarrative account of their perspectives of what is happening in their classrooms.

References:Anderson, G.I., Herr, K., & Nihlen, A.S. (1994). Studying your own school: An educator's guide to qualitative practitionerresearch. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

ObservationsObservation is a way of collecting information by observing students performance orreaction under natural and unnoticed situation. It enables teacher-researchers to

draw inferences about students meanings and perspectives that they would notlikely obtain by relying exclusively on interview data. This is particularly true forsieving out tacit understandings and aspects of students perspectives that they arereluctant to state directly in an interview.

The strength of this kind of study lies in the observation of natural behaviour in real-life setting; free from the constraints of other research methods such asinterview. Observation as a research technique must be systematic and directed bya specific purpose. The written records of teacher observers are often referred toas field notes.

Focus GroupAnother valuable interview technique is the use of focus groups with severalindividuals who can contribute to your understanding of your area of focus. One wayto think of focus groups is as a group interview where you are trying to "collectshared understanding from several individuals as well as get views from specificpeople" (Creswell, 2002, p.206).

Focus group is a useful technique especially, when the interaction betweenindividuals will lead to a shared understanding of the questions being posed by theteacher researchers.

Using a structured or semi-structured interview, the teacher researcher can posequestions to the group and encourage all participants to respond. That means, theinterview process will be, ask the question, elicit a response, and pass it on toanother participant instead of ask the question, accept the response, and askanother question to the same participant. This is to get as much information outof each participant as you possibly can and, in the process, ensure thatall participants have an opportunity to respond.

For example, in the video above, the interviewer posed a question on which 'tools' touse in order to understand the concept of ratio. He ensured that every pupil had achance to give his or her response. When a pupil mentioned that he needed two'tools' instead of one, the interviewer asked the pupils to raise their hands if they alsoshared the same opinion. This is to collect data on a shared understanding from the


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pupils.

Ideally, the teacher researcher will use an interview to capture the responses fromthe focus group and then transcribe the discussion. This is to ferret out the nuancesof the focus group interview and the shared understandings that emerge.

References:Creswell, J.W. (2002). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitativeresearch. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Mills, G.E. (2003). Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher.(2nd ed.), Pearson, New Jersey.

3. Data Analysis

In the educational research process, we have arrived at the stage of 'Data

Analysis'. This is the phase for us to review what we have learned and to draw

conclusions about what we think the data mean.

Data analysis is an attempt by the teacher researcher to process and summarize the

data that have been collected in a dependable, accurate, reliable, and correct

manner. It is the presentation of the findings of the study in a manner that has an air

of undeniability (Wolcott, 1994). Alternatively, data interpretation is an attempt by

the researcher to make meaning of the data, to answer the question "So what?" In

other words, data analysis tries to report the outcomes or findings of the data

collected while data interpretation focuses on the implications or meaning of those

findings.

The data analysis in quantitative research is straight-forward as the data are

collected specifically for statistical tests to draw conclusions with. An example of a

simple statistical analysis is the use of means. For example, in Research Question 1,

themeans for the pre and post interventionare then compared to study the cause-

effect relationship between variables so as to draw a conclusion on the effect of the

intervention.

In qualitative research, the data are the means of generating description,

understanding or possible explanation for what is observed. As we go through the

data, look for patterns that emerge, such as events that keep repeating themselves,key phrases that participants use to describe their feelings, or survey responses that

seem to "match" one another. For example, in Research Question 2, conclusion

about students' attitude towards ICT-based learning can be inferred from the way

theydescribe their experiencesin their journals.

Reference

Wolcott, H.F. (1994). Transforming qualitative data: Description, analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.


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Process of Analysis

Below is a summary to show the difference between analysing quantitative andqualitative data:

Stages in the Process ofAnalysis

Quantitative Data Qualitative Data

1. Raw Data Numbers which represent

variables or concepts

Words or other artifacts such

as pictures, sounds, videos,

photos which represent ideas

2. Analysis of Data Usually a one-stage procedure

which commences once data

collection is completed using

descriptive & / or inferential

statistical tools for analysis

Usually a continuous process,

using logical analysis to sort

data into categories (themes,

exemplars, qualities) or

patterns / sequences

3. Interpretation of Data Answering the research question

with the intention of extending

the findings from the sample to a

wider population

Answering the research

question with the possibility of

applying the findings to a

similar context / issue

Source: The contents in the table are summarized from 'Social Research' by Sarantakos.

References:Mathison, S. (1988). Why triangulate? Educational Researcher, 17(2), 13-17.Sarantako, S. (1993). Social research. Melbourne: MacMillan Education Australia.


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Session 3

Dear Teachers,

A warm welcome to Session 3 of the Educational Research for Teachers 101 (ERT

101) and our heartiest congratulations to you for completing Sessions 1 and 2.

You are now in the last lap of our training for ERT 101 course and in the educational

research process cycle, you are now going to start on 'Reporting and Evaluating

Research'.

Some teachers may find the reporting process quite daunting but let us assure you

that this last stage can also be the most rewarding and satisfying.

And before we start the session, let us share with you this invaluable tip! The trick to

making the reporting process an enjoyable one is to write parts of the report as you

are doing your educational research project. Do not leave everything to the last

stage!

Once again, welcome to Session 3 of ERT 101 as you complete the first milestone of

being a reflective practitioner!

Thank you.

Learning Objectives

Session 3 focuses on the BIG Ideas behind research articles/reports andpresentations.


understand the structure of a research report understand an overview of writing a research report in a disciplined way,

showing coherence, conciseness and clarity apply the relevant research ethics in reporting

Your facilitators for this session are:

Mdm Alice Aw (Principal Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mdm Kam Yit Han (Academy Officer / Academy of Singapore Teachers)

Instructional Design and Course Development:

Mdm Alice Aw (Principal Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mrs Cynthia Seto (Master Teacher / Academy of Singapore Teachers) Mdm Kam Yit Han (Academy Officer / Academy of Singapore Teachers)


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1. Introduction

From Session 1, we learnt that educational research refers to an organised and

disciplined attempt to understand and seek answers to problems in educational

practices through the collection and analysis of data for the purpose of describing,

explaining, generalising or predicting findings.

Research is therefore a problem solving activity which addresses a problem,

answers questions, tests hypotheses, or explains phenomena.

"When we speak of research, we speak of a family of methods that share the

characteristics of disciplined inquiry" (Shulman, 1997. p.8). When Lee Shulman, a

noted educational researcher, wrote these words, he was offering new researchers

two ideas. First, research is disciplined, that is, it is structured and not haphazard:

"its data, arguments, and reasoning [are] capable of withstanding careful scrutiny by

another member of the scientific community" (Shulman, 1997, p.9). Second,Shulman was pointing out that there is no one way to do research. There are many,

but they share the characteristics of being disciplined inquiry.

The outcomes of inquiry are documented in a research report. Hence, the

purpose of a report is to communicate your research to the educational community; it

is like building a bridge between your work and a body of knowledge. Through your

documentation and sharing of findings, you add to the repertoire of knowledge, that

means, you are a knowledge creator!

As there is more than one way of doing research, there is also more than one way ofwriting a report. For this session, we will adopt a basic structure that is commonly

used in preparing a research report.

References

Shulman, L.S. (1997). Disciplines of inquiry in education: A new overview. Inr.M. Jaeger (Ed.). Complementary methods for

research in education(2nd ed., pp. 3-29). Washington, DC: Amercian Educational Research Association.

2. Structure of Report

Writing a report involves making strategic decisions about

what materials and content to include, how to sequence the content, and how to achieve a balance between the need for evidence and the need for

clarity

By presenting descriptive details as evidence, one convinces the reader but alsorisks confusing the reader with information overload. On the other hand, presentingan overview maximises clarity but it may fail to persuade the reader due to lack ofevidence and lack of subtlety in reporting and analysis. To avoid the danger of

having a report that is either thick and murky or thin and trivial, it is important to havea balance between the need for evidence and the need for clarity.


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A research report contains basically the following parts:

1. Title2. Abstract3. Introduction4. Literature Review5. Methodology6. Results of Findings7. Conclusions or Implications8. References

2.1) Title

A well-constructed title helps readers in locating articles relevant to their interest.

Since concepts in the title are typically indexed and searched electronically, it isimportant that the words are chosen carefully to convey the contents of thearticle. Using terms likely to be understood both within and beyond ones immediateresearch community helps to make the work accessible to a broad audience.

The title should be brief and accurately describes the research problem. It shouldideally have fewer than twelve words.

Assuming that you are writing a report on one of these research problems, suggest atitle for your report.

1) What are the effects of ICT-supported instruction on students attitude towardsMathematics, the use of ICT and academic efficacy?

2) How do ICT-based lessons affect students attitude towards the learning ofMathematics?

2.2) Abstract

The abstract should provide a summary of the article. It should be self-contained,concise, and accurate. Whenever feasible, it should set forth the research questionor problem; descriptions of the research sites, objects, or participants; the conceptualorientation of the study; the methods used for collecting sources of evidence or data;procedures used for analysing the evidence; and the main conclusions andimplications.

The content of the abstract includes:

background or research statement or hypothesis method(s) used in the investigation key findings of the study

Below is an example of an abstract.
https://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/er101-3a/2-structure-of-report/2-2-abstract/GeekNotesIcon.png?attredirects=0


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This paper reports the findings of the effects of ICT-supported instruction on students'

attitudes towards Mathematics. In essence, it reports on the use of ICT and its effect on

academic efficacy of pupils in a primary school. A series of ICT-supported lessons were

conducted based on the constructivist's view of learning. A total of 80 pupils from two mixed-

ability classes participated in this study. By means of a validated questionnaire, teacher-

designed multiple-choice test papers and students' journals, quantitative and qualitative data

were collected and analyzed. Implications of the results were discussed in terms of the use of

ICT as a pedagogical tool and motivation of pupils in a primary school.

2.3) Introduction

The objective of Introduction is to provide readers with some backgroundinformation about the problem being researched. The number of words for thissection is variable. However, the introduction must contain sufficient information to

let the readers know what the study is about, and specifically what aspects the studyis addressing.

Therefore, you need to state briefly the following:

introduce the phenomena you are studying present what you already know about the problem, and state the outstanding issues in the problem.

If it is a quantitative research, the problem statement should imply a question about

the relationship between specified variables and the variables must be clearlydefined. As such, it is imperative to link the problem to the body of informationavailable in the field (related to Review of the Literature) and establish theimportance of and the need for carrying out the research.

Sometimes, a short paragraph under Rationale is included after Introduction toarticulate why the problem is worth studying and how solving the problem would helpyour practice as a teacher or enhance your students' learning.

2.4) Lit Review

A Literature Review presents what is currently known about the problem under

consideration and thus sets the context for the question or hypothesis of the

proposed study. A critical review of the literature will not only position your study but

also show how the proposed study fits with the existing body of knowledge.

You need to give some background to the research problem, summarise what the

literature says about the problem, explain the important terms, and provide any

theoretical, conceptual or methodological framework that can lead you to examining

the problem.


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2.5) Methodology

In Methodology, you would state clearly the following:

how you have collected the data how many data sources you have used in your study the frequency with which data is collected who your participants are

You would also tell the readers what you did with the data that you have collectedand how the data was analysed. These need to be stated in detail so that thereaders would be able to make decisions about the validity of your claims orfindings.

The length of this section varies according to the research problem. Your choice ofsub-headings will highlight the way you have conducted your research. Here are

some examples of sub-headings that you may use for your report:

Methodological framework Research method(s) Instruments Sample selection Data Collection Data Analysis

2.6) Results

The interpretation of research findings, the implication and application of theresearch findings are discussed in this section. This section is likely to be the mostimportant part of the report.

The report should not have any raw and unprocessed data, for example students'raw scores. You would need to organise the data or run the necessary statisticaltests before presenting the final form of the data to the readers.

A sample of how data are organised for discussion of results of findings in a report isattached below.

Figure 1. A comparison of the mean for each scale in the Attitude and Efficacy Questionnaire


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Scale Mean Value (Pre) Mean Value (Post)

Attitude towards

Mathematics

3.49 3.63

Attitude towards

Computer Use

3.84 3.85

Academic Efficacy 2.70 2.83

Table 1. A comparison of the mean for each scale in the Attitude and Efficacy Questionnaire

From the table and the graph, it is evident that there is an increase of about 4% inthe mean values (from 3.49 to 3.63) for the scale on 'Attitude towards Mathematics'and about 5% for 'Academic Efficacy'. This shows that ICT-supported instruction

has a positive effect on students' attitude towards Mathematics and academicefficacy. As there is hardly any difference in the mean values (3.84 vs 3.85) for thescale on 'Attitude towards Computer Use', it is likely that ICT-based instruction doesnot have any effect on students' attitude to the use of computers.

While the results show a positive effect on the 'Attitude to Mathematics' and'Academic Efficacy', it may or may not be statistically significant. For more rigorousreporting in descriptive statistics, the use of standard deviation* to see the spreadof the scores is also useful.

An example of the use of standard deviation in a pre-post design in an Inquiry-based

Learning course is shown below.

*The concept of standard deviation will be covered in a face-to-face session in Educational Research 201 (ER 201).


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2.7) Conclusion

The conclusion section forms the capstone of the report.

The research question or problem statement is revisited to draw conclusions to thequestion of whether the intervention measures have worked and if so, how they hadworked. It indicates what the research findings really mean in terms of informingclassroom practice and perhaps how they impact policy at the school level.

If the data shows that the intervention actions had failed to reach the desiredoutcomes, you can suggest reasons for that. It is valuable information to find outwhy certain interventions do not achieve their intended outcomes. Suggestions forfurther systematic inquiry can also be included in this section.

2.8) References

In this section, all materials you have read and cited are placed under 'References' inyour report.

Generally, the APA format is used in referencing.

Here is the guideline to use APA 6th referencing style:Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

Author, A. A. (year). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Titleof book(pp. xxxxxx). Location: Publisher.

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of article. Title ofJournal, vol, xxxxxx. doi: xxxxx

For more information on APA style, here are a few useful online resources:

http://www.apastyle.org/

http://library.nmu.edu/guides/userguides/style_apa.htm

3. Reporting of Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Although the format for reporting the research is generally the same for bothquantitative and qualitative research, there are some differences in the focus andframing of how they are reported.

The table below shows the differences in the way quantitative and qualitativeresearch are reported.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apastyle.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzeStab-wRT1YRyq5ugp3M4fHPidSAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apastyle.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzeStab-wRT1YRyq5ugp3M4fHPidSAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.nmu.edu%2Fguides%2Fuserguides%2Fstyle_apa.htm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEze9aSwblsPczD7b5GAUJYz3CxedFQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.nmu.edu%2Fguides%2Fuserguides%2Fstyle_apa.htm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEze9aSwblsPczD7b5GAUJYz3CxedFQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.nmu.edu%2Fguides%2Fuserguides%2Fstyle_apa.htm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEze9aSwblsPczD7b5GAUJYz3CxedFQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apastyle.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzeStab-wRT1YRyq5ugp3M4fHPidSA


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Structures Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

Introduction The introduction identifiesthe problem, provides

background information,presents the researchquestion(s), and states thehypotheses to be tested.

This section identifies the issue onwhich the study is focused and

frames it within the social, cultural,and/or physical location of particulargroups of people. The purpose ofthe study is defined.

*LiteratureReview

The literature reviewpresents what is knownabout the problem andidentifies gaps andinconsistencies in theacademic literature.

Existing definitions andinterpretations for the problemformed within the academicliterature are described andcritiqued to reveal their underlyingassumptions.

Methodology The methodology sectionpresents the researchdesign and describes theoperationalisation ofhypotheses, samplingprocedures, instrumentation,and procedures for datacollection and analysis.

This section presents thephilosophical assumptions of theform of inquiry applied in thestudy. It also presents details ofresearch processes, includingprocedures for capturing multiplepersonal and self-stories describingparticipant experiences andbracketing procedures that identifykey elements, features, structuresand themes.

Results The results section presentsthe outcomes of the study,revealing and interpretingthe results of data analysis.

The results are classified andreassembled into coherent, detailedaccounts that present participants'experience and interpretation ofevents. Accounts provide anempathetic understanding ofparticipants' lived experience fo theissue investigated.

Conclusion The conclusion discussesthe theoretical and practicalimplications of the study,

sometimes also presentingrecommendations forapplying the results of thestudy.

Participants' perspectives arerelocated in the broader socialcontext by comparing and

contrasting their accounts withexisting academic and institutionalinterpretations of the issue. Thesection also explores theimplications of the study forpolicies, programmes and practicesrelated to the issue.

* For some reports, the Literature Review may be incorporated into the introduction, methodology orconclusion section of the report, depending on how the Literature Review helps to illustrate therationale or main ideas, choice of methodology and supports the conclusion or any theories

formulated.

Educational Research 101

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Transcript of Educational Research 101