An engaging, cross-disciplinary guide to research methodology "Practical Research: Planning and Design" is a do-it-yourself, how-to manual for planning and conducting research. Suitable for a wide variety of courses in basic research methodology, the book uses a conversational tone, step-by-step instructions, and practical suggestions to…

This manual is a practical training guide for graduate and undergraduate research assistants (RAs) working in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. It may also be applicable to research assistants working in other fields or institutions. The purpose of this manual is to train RAs on how to plan and conduct focus groups 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…

Written by a social worker for social work students, this is a nuts and bolts guide to statistics that presents complex calculations and concepts in clear, easy-to-understand language. It includes numerous examples, data sets, and issues that students will encounter in social work practice. The first section introduces basic concepts and terms to…

Compares qualitative and quantitative research in terms of features, researcher role, design, data collection strategies, data analysis, and judgment. Offers advice about selecting a method. (SK)

This book is a broad-spectrum guide, suitable for all courses in basic research. It guides the student from problem selection to completed research report with practical suggestions based on a solid theoretical framework and learning procedure. As a do-it-yourself guide, it is useful for students who are left to their own resources in executing…

This book is intended to explain principles of qualitative research to potential researchers and to provide them with a set of tools, and guidelines for critical thinking as they carry out such research. The chapters are organized around the elements of the research process which require decisions. Following an introductory chapter, Chapter 2…

Intended for students and for researchers who conduct interviews as part of case studies or as ethnography, this book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to the theory and practice of qualitative interviewing. It shows researchers how to design research based on interview data; to stimulate conversation; to absorb what is being said;…

This paper addresses the conceptual issues of combining qualitative and quantitative methods in early intervention research by illustrating how two analytic approaches were used for different mixed-method purposes in the study of preschool inclusion. It describes practical strategies for conducting mixed-method data analysis in terms of data…

This article is designed to make qualitative research more understandable by providing details about the procedures that were used in one project to develop grounded theory. Interviews with 16 gifted students (grades 1-8) participating in pull-out programs found they were dissatisfied with the pace of their regular classroom. (Contains…

This introductory level text provides a background for understanding the uses of qualitative research in education, its theoretical and historical underpinnings, and specific methods of educational research. This revised edition places qualitative research into the context of current discussions of research methods and alternative ways of knowing.…

This guide is designed to encourage students, faculty, and policymakers to become more self-reflective in their inquiry. Placing the pursuit of ideas at the epicenter of research, K-12 and higher education scholars advance ideas for enhancing educational inquiry, relying extensively on narratives, vignettes, and examples of key episodes in…

This guide for researchers introduces important research methodologies and data collecting techniques, provides a framework for the critical assessment of existing research, and encourages involvement of academics and practitioners in research. Chapter 1, on planning a research project, discusses scheduling, time management, and planning the…

This guide to writing research proposals for theses, dissertations, and grants contains practical suggestions for the would-be writer and several exemplars that show how effective proposal writing can be done. The guide is divided into two parts: Part 1, "Writing the Proposal" and Part 2, "Specimen Proposals." Part 1, the core of the guide,…

Outlines the foundations of the qualitative and quantitative approaches to research and discusses the implications of these two completely different approaches in educational research. Points out they are not complementary as they are separate scientific paradigms.(MD)