Balancing coverage of qualitative, quantitative and combined methods, "Educational Research" offers a truly inclusive and integrated overview of the processes involved in planning, conducting and evaluating research. It first examines the general steps in the research process and then details the procedures for conducting specific types…

This open access book discusses challenges in school improvement research and different methodological approaches that have the potential to foster school improvement research. Research on school improvement and accountability analysis places high demands on a study's design and method. The potential of combining the depth of case studies with the…

This case study highlights three processes in conducting a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research on comparative curricular and professional experiential outcomes in an online curriculum development course. In the original study, I compared the results of expected learning outcomes, as defined in a curriculum course syllabus, with…

This case study focuses on issues and dilemmas I faced when collecting data on a social networking site that enabled sociability, communication, and collaboration among teachers. To understand teacher online participation, I used an eclectic mixed-methods design with three phases to collect qualitative and quantitative data. This design allowed me…

"Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research" offers a truly balanced, inclusive, and integrated overview of the processes involved in educational research. This text first examines the general steps in the research process and then details the procedures for conducting specific types…

In some studies, participants are assigned ethnographic or communicative tasks, such as field-work observation, life-story interviews, and photography. These studies usually involve in-person interaction, both for the participants doing the task and for the researchers in engaging with participants throughout the research process. Our study was…

"The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, Second Edition" presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of the field of qualitative research. Divided into eight parts, the forty chapters address key topics in the field such as approaches to qualitative research (philosophical perspectives), narrative inquiry, field research,…

Our research examines the effectiveness of intake variables used by a Canadian post-degree teacher education program over the period of 3 years to select candidates for entry into the program. Using a mixed-methods approach, we compared intake variables (grade point average, written response, work experience, reference letters, academic…

This methods case reports reflections from a small-scale mixed-methods study that involved qualitative case study and a quantitative single-case design (specifically, an alternating treatment design). The study occurred with bilingual elementary students, and it explored how these students responded and performed differently when, as a group, they…

An advantage of well-designed survey research is that, typically, it yields large volumes of quantitative and qualitative data. A key challenge researchers face is mining and reporting these data appropriately and promptly to inform research publications and presentations. When mixed methods are employed, and researchers attempt to master computer…

As part of my PgCert in Higher Education Practice, I undertook a learning and teaching research project into the effect of small group mathematics tutorials on student confidence and academic performance. I chose this project because it related directly to my practice as a higher education lecturer: I regularly supported first year animal science…

This case study describes a research project employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design investigating teachers' motivations, expectations, values, and teaching practices due to their attendance of an innovative Professional Development program in the United States. The Professional Development program, called Research Experience for…

"Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research" offers a truly balanced, inclusive, and integrated overview of the processes involved in educational research. This text first examines the general steps in the research process and then details the procedures for conducting specific types…

In 2007, I embarked on what turned out to be a 6-year-long PhD study that examined the leadership of teaching and learning through advice and information in school subject teams. Previous research had focused predominantly on formally designated leaders and their interactions with followers in informal contexts. My study focused on both formal and…

In this case, I describe the "Paths on Life's Way (Paths)" project. The "Paths" project is the only longitudinal study of its kind in British Columbia and one of the few longitudinal studies in Canada. The research, now spanning 22 years-with a 28-year follow-up underway-is designed to provide a detailed examination of the life…