methods of research and enquiry fundamental issues with research in education by dr. daniel...
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Methods of Research and Enquiry
Fundamental Issues with Research in Education
by Dr. Daniel Churchill
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Content Overview
Defining research question Reviewing literature Referencing and APA Selecting Methodology Ethical issues Data Collection Analysis Validity and reliability issues Writing a Reporting
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Let’s Check on your Group Blogs…
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Revision--Educational Research
Educational Research explains, predicts and/or control educational phenomenon
Educational research is conducted in the following way:
Define -- a significant problem, hypothesis or question
Plan -- review literature to establish background to the study, identify methodology, plan procedure
Execute research procedures -- collect data e.g., interviews, surveys, questionnaires, observations
Analyze data -- qualitatively, quantitatively or a mixed way
Draw conclusions and recommendations
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Revision--Overview of Approaches to ER
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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
Qualitative QuantitativeDevelops hypotheses Tests hypotheses
Does not seek to control the contexts
Seeks to control the context
Researcher interacts with the participants
Researcher does not interact with participants
Involves a smaller sample Involves large number of subjects/participants for results to be statistically significant
Assumes individuality Assumes that contexts are stable, uniform and controllable
Interpretation of data Data analyses relies on statistical procedures
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Defining research Identify the problem Understand the background of the problem Determine significance of the study – what is important of that
problem. Determine the Unit of Analysis (e.g., student, class, school…etc) Determine the Relevant Variables – relationship or variable. State the Research Questions A good research problem
Can be investigated through the collection and analysis of data
Has theoretical or practical significance It is a good problem for you
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Possible Areas of Research on IT in Education
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Important Research Areas (Lim & Hedberg, 2004) Professional development of teachers in ICT integration
(from pre-service to in-service) R&D of emerging technologies grounded in theories and
pedagogies Systemic processes in schools to facilitate ICT integration ICT integration in specific disciplines; that is, how the
affordances of ICT are taken up to enculturate students into discipline-specific way of thinking – e.g. teach maths is diff. from science.
ICT-mediated learning environments for low-performance students Student generated games and simulations
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Limitations of R&D in IT in Education (Lim, 2004))
For a research to transform practices in schools, findings should be accepted by the education community
The culture of schooling does not support innovation Lack of theoretical framework for research design Research studies have been mostly at descriptive level,
lack of studies that refine and generate theories = no any suggestion or recommendation.
Lack of research-based development of tools and processes for use by practitioners – lack of implementation.
Lack of coordination of effort between research, design, development, policy and practice
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Research Framework A framework is a particular set of rules, a particular set of rules,
ideas, or beliefsideas, or beliefs which you use in order to deal with problems or to decide what to do
A framework is a structurestructure that forms a support or frame for something
Contains all the appropriate, relevant and important conceptsconcepts related to the research study
For example, in the Law et al. (2000). Changing Classrooms & Changing Schools: A Study of Good Practices in Using ICT in Hong Kong Schools. CITE, HKU (http://sites.cite.hku.hk)
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Framework for Research of IT in Schools
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Framework for Research of IT in Schools
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Reviewing literature
After selecting a research topic and formulating research problem and significance, identify key words for a literature search
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Reviewing literature
General purposes Summary and synthesis of the state of knowledge - existing
studies and findings Evaluation - strength and limitations in methods, results and
conclusions Identifying gaps in knowledge Providing background and justification of one’s own research
Justification of the research objective There is a gap in or a need of knowledge This gap can be proposed as a research question This question should and can be answered by research Your research objective is to answer the question
Justification of the methods
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Reviewing literature Requirements
Comprehensive coverage - literature search (e.g. electronic databases - ERIC) - search for local as well as international materials
Up-to-date e.g. you may use some original sources, but your review should include a majority of papers which are from about 1990 onwards
Depth vs. breadth i.e. it is better to cover your chosen area well, than to give an overview of a number of areas
Common Problems Too brief, too lengthy, out of proportion Missing important literature Biased, unbalanced selections or opinions Close paraphrasing and plagiarism Linkage between parts and coherence
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Library Collections Reference collections:
Materials used in the library that provide access to information often in a summarized form. Reference collections typically include encyclopedias, statistical material, dictionaries, bibliographies, literary criticism, handbooks, and biographies. Reference collections do not circulate.
Circulating collections: Materials that can be checked out of the library. Each
library sets its own policy on how many items a patron can check-out, as well has how long the item is loaned.
Reserve collections: Course materials set aside by faculty for student use.
Most library reserve collections are located behind the circulation desk and are limited to in-library use only.
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Library Collections Special Collections/Archives:
Materials purchased in specialized subject areas. The library usually shelves special collection material separate from the general circulating and reference collections.
Microform collections: Material that has been miniaturized and placed on
microfilm or microfiche. Microform material must be read on special microform machines.
Electronic media collection: Collection of video and audio tapes, CD-Roms and
other electronic resources
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Other Sources of Literature Education Index
Covers professional publications Readers Guide to Periodical Literature
covers articles from 200 widely read magazines (popular literature).
Expanded Academic Index Covers journal articles from over 1500 periodicals.
Dissertation Abstracts International Contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from
doctoral dissertations and master's theses worldwide. Psychological Abstracts
Presents summaries of studies completed in psychology, including developmental psychology and educational psychology. These two areas are of special interest to educational researchers.
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Other Sources of Literature ERIC - the Educational Resources Information
Center collects and disseminates reports of current educational research, evaluation, developmental activity. ERIC maintains two databases searchable by computer: RIE - Resources in Education, this ERIC database
contains bibliographic citations and summaries to information not published in journals, e.g. conference presentations, technical reports, and unpublished research results. The items in this database are identified by ED numbers.
CIJE - Current index to Journals in Education, this ERIC database contains bibliographic citations and article summaries to journals. The items in this database are identified by EJ numbers.
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Let’s Search for Something HKU Library Resources
http://lib.hku.hk/ http://lib.hku.hk/general/research/index.html http://obelix.lib.hku.hk/irms/education.html
ERIC http://searcheric.org/ http://www.eric.ed.gov
Proquest http://proquest.umi.com/login?ts=0
UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/gateway
Some other places (Try Harward) http://lib.harvard.edu/e-resources/index.html
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Other Sources of Literature Internet Search
There are many searching engines Question: Do you knows any searching engines?
Lets look at http://www.google.com Searching and filtering e.g. site: define: link: Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/ Google Books: http://books.google.com/
You can ask a question at Ask Jeeves:http://www.ask.com
Web 2.0 Resources: http://www.citeulike.org/ http://www.librarything.com/ http://www.connotea.org/
There is also MetaSearch Tools that use many searching engines and help you to organize search records. Lets look at the http://www.copernic.com
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Other Sources of Information
Newspaper Organizational Records Experts in the field Professional magazines
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Referencing If you quote someone, spell the name correctly
and make sure they appear in your reference list. Do not include references in the reference list if
they have not appeared in the text. Remember your reference listing style MUST
comply with the American Psychological Association (APA) style and must be consistent: http://www.apastyle.org/
Check out this: http://www.citationmachine.net/
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Reviewing Articles You can use the following procedure for abstracting the
contents of articles (Gay, 1996) : Read the article's abstract or summary to see if it is a
useful Skim the entire article making a mental note of the
main topics Write the complete reference in APA style Classify and code the article according to some
system of your own devising. Put the code: on an index card, on the photocopied article (if you photocopied it), on the computer so you can sort the article abstracts in any way you wish to.
Summarize the reference by paraphrasing the essential points of the reference.
Add any thoughts that come to your mind about the article.
Indicate any statements that are direct quotations
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Selecting Methodology Based on your research question, you can
identify your methodology A qualitative research question includes
phenomenon of interest and subjects e.g.,: A Study of challenges of a new environment
for a group expatriate teachers in a Hong Kong School What are challenges of new working environments
for expatriate teachers in Hong Kong? How perception of challenges shift through out the
first teaching semester?
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Selecting Methodology
A quantitative research question includes variables of interest to the researcher, relationship between the variables and type of subjects involved, e.g., The relationship between intelligence and
computer use in a secondary school science class.
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Selecting Methodology From a question you can identify a kind of quantitative
research based on the following formulas:
[variable X], [variable Y], and [variable Z] among [type of subjects] descriptive research.
The relationship between [variable X] and [variable Y] among [type of subjects] correlational research.
The effect of [independent variable not under experimenter's control] on [dependent variable] for [type of subjects] quasi-comparative research.
The effect of [independent variable X under experimenter's control] on [dependent variable Y] for [type of subjects] experimental research.
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Data Collection What is the methodology of the research (e.g.
quantitative or qualitative)? What kind of research design will be used? What are the advantages and limitations of the design?
Who will undertake the research? What and where is a research site? What is the target population or who are the
participants? How big will sample be, how will it be selected, and will it be representative of the population?
What kinds of data are required? What instruments will be used? Do they include the
researcher? How were they selected/developed? What evidence will be given about their validity and reliability (or other standards)? Are they the best instruments to use?
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Ethical issues Ask participants to acceptance to participant in the study
Provide the participant with Plain Language Statement containing; Information about the objectives of the study; Data collection methods; Right to withdraw from the study; Access preliminary data, analysis and report ; Explanations of the participants’ role and responsibilities will be; That the participant’s identity will not be disclosed and acronyms
will be used for his/her name, and Inform the participant that data will be used for the purpose of the
study and possible journal publications Inform the participant when collecting data When writing report the researcher will ensure that the
audience will be able to distinguish between data and interpretations.
The researcher will remain unbiased in respect to collected data and will acknowledge if any biases cannot be controlled.
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Validity and reliability issues Concept of Validity and reliability is different
for Qualitative and Quantitative studies In Quantitative Research:
The concept of reliability has to do with how well have you carried out your research project. Have you carried it out in such a way that, if another researcher were to look into the same questions in the same setting, they would come up with essentially the same results (though not necessarily an identical interpretation). If so, then your work might be judged reliable.
Validity has to do with whether your methods, approaches and techniques relate to, or measure, the issues you have been exploring.
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Validity and reliability issues In Qualitative Research there is a concept of Internal
Validity which is strengthened through: Prolonged involvement in the study by the researcher; Member checking -- allowing participant to scan
transcripts, field notes, preliminary analysis and report; Use multiple sources of data -- interviews, observations
reflection records, documents; Involve critical advisors to help with data analysis; Test working hypotheses by confronting the participant --
frequently move between data and analysis and allow preliminary analysis to direct further data collection;
Search and read literature for theoretical validation, and Auditing -- obtain auditing report from an independent
researcher to confirm the authenticity of data collection and analysis.
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Writing a Reporting
The research report, thesis, dissertation, the journal article, academic text and conference paper are the main forms of communication about what the research has achieved
Report usually contains the following sections: Introduction – background of research Literature Review Methodology Results Discussion
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Writing Academically
Academic Grammar is a HKU Web-based resource to help students with their academic assignments http://ec.hku.hk/acadgrammar/
Nuts and Bolts of College Writing http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com
PhraseBook for Writing Papers and Research http://www.wholeworldcompany.com/phrasebooks/
Writing dissertations guide
http://www.learnerassociates.net/dissthes/
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Digital Theses -- Available in full online
http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/browse/by_author/all.html
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Blog Task for next Session Complete before next session
Identify the best research oriented professional journal in the field you plan to do research in.
Review the table of contents for at least three recent issues of this journal and for each issue identify a research based article you would like to review .
Read one of the identified articles of interest to you and answer the questions about it:
What is the problem for the study? What procedures did the experimenter use for the study? What were the major conclusions for the study? How would you classify the study, according to the six types
of research studies we looked at in this lesson? Present your review in your blog Critique at least two reviews done by other
groups http://www.isiwebofknowledge.com/
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Suggested Readings
Kozma, R. (2000). Reflections on the state of educational technology research and development. ETR&D, 41(1), 5-15.
1. Journal of Learning Sciences 2. Computers & Education 3. British Journal of Educational
Technology 4. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 5. Etr&d educational Technology Research
and Development