Quantitative and qualitative mwthods

Features of Education and Education Research

Guiding Principles for Scientific Inquiry

Methods section

QUALITATIVE METHODS

Surveys and tests

Eye tracking

Video study

Interview

Observation

Pose significant questions that can be investigated empirically

Link research to relevant theory

Use methods that permit direct investigation
of the question!

Provide a coherent and explicit chain of
reasoning

Replicate and generalize across studies

Disclose research to encourage professional scrutiny and critique

involves studying humans (e.g., students, teachers)  ensure ethical treatment

depends on its relationships with practice (e.g. state assessments, …)

multiple disciplinary perspectives

Procedure (DESIGN): What happened in the study?

Measures/Materials (Instruments, …): What was used to obtain data?
(Measures e.g. questionnaire; materials e.g. tech equipment)

Participants (Sample): Who was in the study?

Analysis section (Analyses): How was data analyzed to obtain results?

Research questions

Focused on a single problem or issue

Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources

Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis

Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints

Specific enough to answer thoroughly

Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

QUANTITATIVE METHODS

Meta-analysis

Effect Sizes

Do literature search

Decide on criteria of including studies

Do the meta-analysis

Mean difference / Standard deviation