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Research vocabulary in Educational Leadership and Management - Coggle…
Research vocabulary in Educational Leadership and Management
Approaches to knowledge
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Ways to approach a study. This is determined by the purpose of the research
Technical -
The events of the practice are logged by the researcher
Illuminative
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Findings of the research are interpreted by the researchers
Practical
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Researchers adopt improvement strategies based on observations
Positional
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The research is aligned with existing claims or knowledge on the subject
Critical
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Field members observe and question power dynamics within that which is served
Leadership influence on student learning
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Theories that show the way specific types of leadership in schools affect not only the staff, but also the students in terms of their outcomes.
Ration path
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Student outcome is determined by teachers knowledge and skills in communicating the curriculum.
Emotional path
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Emotion and staff morale are direct links to their efficacy as teachers
Organisational path
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The
bureaucratic approach
where the structure of the system, the culture, and standard procedures are determinants of the efficacy of the system, and the teachers
Family path
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Family, home-environment, and in-school parent involvement are determinants of students success
Research subjects or points of interest
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These are the beings, entities, and individuals, who are often the focus of the research itself.
Learners
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Students, the ones who are receiving instruction in the educational setting wherein your research is taking place.
Staff
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Those who are employed within the educational setting your research is taking place. Often times they have different roles which can be categorized: teachers, administrators, executives, custodial, to name a few. This also includes the difference in credentials necessary for specific positions.
Organisation
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The over-arching institution within which the educational setting wherein your research is taking place exists in. This also includes their processes such as division of labor, core functions, and why these exist.
Culture
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Informal structures within the setting wherein your research is taking place that are the result of social/symbolical/political interactions between entities within the setting.
Communities
- *The ensemble of all entities who directly and indirectly influence the setting wherein your research is taking place: parents, local businesses, local people and experts, local tribes and native communities, etc."
State or province
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The highest form of influence on the school system: the system for which students are being prepared for by going to school.
Connections
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The relationship between entities that are part of the overall community which affects the education setting your research is taking place, and how these connections affect this setting directly. For example, a political dispute between the state and local businesses.
Paradigms
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A set of beliefs that help direct research.
Positivism/Empiricism
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An approach to research which sees science as the universal language through which we can measure and communicate natural phenomenon. Many Positivists use quantitative research and follow the scientific approach to research"
Phenomenology
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Research subjects and researches alike seek to understand the components of the world through symbolic interactions. The conclusions they pull, although they may not be mathematically measured, are reason enough to explain the reasoning behind a certain phenomenon. Phenomenologists will often prefer using qualitative measures when researching.
Critical Theory
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Critical theory is when the researcher takes a stance which critiques or questions a certain part or aspect of the specific phenomenon. Sometimes this type of research seeks to disprove or discredit the phenomenon that is being researched. Many popular movements have stemmed from critical theory, like feminist theory for example.
Postmodernism
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Postmodernists offer a different kind of critique. One where the researcher takes a stance which not only disproves the reasoning behind the existence of a certain phenomenon. They reject modern phenomenon and structures in order to explore a diversity of different options.
Literature Review
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A step in research that helps us better understand the totality of that which we are researching.
Specialist data
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Information that doesn't always stem directly from the phenomenon which we're researching, but from an adjacent subject that is
important
to know so that we can understand our phenomenon. Many times this information comes from another individual who is a specialist in that field.
For example : Researching the process of oil and fossil-fuel extraction is essential to better understand the war in Iraq.
Systemic Review
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Systemically reviewing all pertinent data and research to the phenomenon or concept that we are researching. Also trying to take into account different biases that may be affecting this particular piece of information.
Biases
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When an external factor can skew or influence the results of a research in any way. Usually they have to do with the researchers of those articles themselves.
Confirmation bias
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When a researcher has the tendency of favouring the concepts that reinforce or help confirm their prior beliefs. To avoid this we must always remain skeptical of the findings and ask important questions on the fidelity and validity of the way they found their data.
Groupthink bias
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When the decisions taken by a group of researchers have guided the research in the wrong direction. To avoid this we must ask ourselves if we would have made the same decisions, and if the decision was different, how would the results differ?
Anchoring bias
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Anchoring bias happens when the researcher finds information or has ideas and builds off of it, possibly in the wrong direction. This happens a lot of times when they get their initial research idea or they find their first piece of information and only go off of this instead of branching out and adapting to other pieces of information or data. To avoid this we must look at the references and ask ourselves : are some used more heavily than others? Are they used appropriately?
Selection bias
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When the participants selected for research aren't selected at random.
Clustering Illusion bias
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This happens when the researcher tries to find patterns in a bunch of random data. To avoid this we have to treat the data and information presented to us individually and stop trying to find direct correlations.
Reporting bias
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When the direction or statistical significance of data directly influences how the research is reported. To avoid this we must look at the validity and fidelity of data and sometimes review the data in groups.
Observer Expectancy Effect
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When the researchers own biases could affect the outcome and responses of the participants.
Good practices for managing your data from your literature review
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Keep a log of the articles you have read. There are many different software that allow you to do this (for example ; Mendeley. If possible, format them so that they can be pasted directly in your assignment.
Determining authenticity and quality of a research
Validity
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The notion that the research is actually researching what it is saying it's researching. For example, if we use IQ tests to measure a students ability to learn, we can say that this isn't a valid research since IQ doesn't represent ones ability to learn.
Triangulation
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When we use many different ressources in order to cross-check and cross-validate the consistency of certain ressources, data, or information.
Reliability
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The notion that a research method is good. Usually these are time-tested research methods that have time and time again produced the same, predictable outcomes in similar circumstances.
Ethical concerns
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Types of research, topics, or subjects that are important to consider when ensuring we have an ethical research.
Vulnerable groups
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Vulnerable groups refers to the age and status of the subjects of your study. Vulnerable groups are usually children, individuals with learning or cognitive impairments, or any individual who is dependent of another.
Sensitive topics
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Topics that usually remain private or that could be cause of a trigger in participants. To avoid this, we need to ensure that participants have full control over what they want, and choose not to answer, or giving them the permission to walk away at any point.
Gatekeepers
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These are usually individuals or organizations whose permission you need before reaching out to a specific person or group of people. These can be parents, nurses, elders, protection organizations, etc.
Deception
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This happens when participants aren't fully informed of the research, or when we don't have their full consent at the time the research begins.
Access to records
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Access to records usually require an external permission beforehand. These can be any records from bills, report cards, medical histories, etc.
Psychological stress
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Researches are suppose to induce the least amount of pain and stress possible. If this isn't followed, a research is deemed unethical.
Intrusive Interventions
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Anytime a participant encounters a situation that usually involves the administration or directing of some activity that they wouldn't encounter in standard everyday life.
Types of Research
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The kinds of data we collected, and the methods we use to collect it.
Quantitative
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When data has a numerical value that can be measured using tools. For example : Diameter of pupils
Survey
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The survey is the most typical kind of quantitative research since it can reach many participants in a relatively shot amount of time and provides participants scales that are directly translated to scores. These scores can be quickly analyzed through data analysis software.
Qualitative
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When the dada can't be measured using standardized tools so we use observations, or we quantify these values. For example : Eye colour
Case Study
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Case studies are a good kind of qualitative research tool. This is because they focus on individual experiences which usually can't be standardized into scales. Individual participants are asked to answer a questionnaire, or perform a task and scores are taken from this.
Mixed
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When both quantitative and qualitative data are used within a research.