Research Methods in Education. Handbook

Open University Press, 2001. — 272 p.This compilation of materials is a valuable resource for postgraduate students involved in educational research, either from a professional or an academic standpoint. It is designed to supplement the materials from individual modules in the Open University's Postgraduate Programme in Education. The three parts of the Handbook address the history of educational research, policy making and practice, guidance for doing a small scale research project and an analysis of talk in educational settings.
The Masters degree in Education is designed particularly for those with experience of teaching, the advisory service, educational administration, or an allied field. A Masters degree in Education comprises three 60-point modules selected from a range of modules covering:
psychology/child development.
applied linguistics.
lifelong learning.
management.
inclusive education/special needs.
curriculum and primary education.Principles and debatesWhat is educational research?
Educational research as scientific
Reactions against the scientific approachResearch, theory and educational practice
The nature of educational theory and practice
The relationship between educational theory, research and practiceApproaches to educational research and its assessment
Distinguishing between quantitative and qualitative research
Standards of assessment
Reading for understanding
Reading for assessmentQualitative research
Main features of qualitative research
The methods of qualitative research
Analysis of qualitative dataQuantitative research
Causal thinking
Co-variation
Controlling variables: experimentation
Correlatonal research
The chi-squared test
Relative contributions: measures of the strength of association
Representative samples and statistical testing
Statistical significance and substantive significance
Underlying assumptions
Regeression analysisPlanning research
Problem formulation
Case selection
Data production
Data analysis
Writing research reportsAppendix
Stephen Ball on banding and social class at beachside comprehensiveExtract from beachside comprehensivePractical guidelines for practitioner researchAbout practitioner researchWhy practitioner research?
Ethics and practitioner research
Theory and evidence in practitioner research
Sampling, reliability validity and bias
Research purposes
Further reading
Getting information from documents and school resourcesDeciding what inrofmation you need and what sources to turn to
Using documents other than classroom resources
Dealing with published
Using classroom resources
Reviewing methods
Further reading
Getting information from peopleDiciding what information you need and how best to obtain in
Keering diaries
Face-to-face interviewing
Using questionnaires
Reviewing methods
Further reading
Seeing what people doDeciding what and how to observe
Monitoring class or group activities
Monitoring class or group discussion
Monitoring an individual
Using children’s work
Reviewing methods
Further reading
Unformation and data: analysis and persentationDescription/, analysis, explanation and recommendation
Dealing with qualitative data
Presenting qualitative data in your report
Dealing with quantitative data
Presenting quantitative data in your reportFurther readingResources for the analysis of talk as dataThe analysis of talk as data in educational settingsApproaches and methods
The functions of spoken language in educational settings
Analyzing the talk of interviewsRecording and transcribing talk in educational settingsPreliminaries: deciding what information you need and how to collect this
Making audio and video-recordings
Making field-notes
Making a transcript
Towards an analysis: quantitative and qualitative approachesAcknowledgements