This article explores the practical challenges one faces when combining qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and process tracing (PT) in a manner that is consistent with their underlying assumptions about the nature of causal relationships. While PT builds on a mechanism-based understanding of causation, QCA as a comparative method makes claims…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) uses the term "baseline equivalence" when determining if the intervention group (those that received the intervention of interest) and the comparison group (those that did not receive the intervention) had characteristics that were similar enough ("equivalent") at the start of the study (at…

Since the 1990s, there have been repeated calls for the systematic use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to inform educational decision-making. The advent of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) -- described as England's What Works Centre for Education -- in 2011 has made this a reality in England: by 2020, over a third of English schools…

Teachers need to be aware of biology misconceptions in their classrooms and how to address them. In response, researchers and science educators have suggested and examined effective practices to prevent and ameliorate misconceptions. An extensive review of the literature gives researchers and educators insights into trends, practices, and gaps in…

Experimental studies are often employed to test the effectiveness of teaching innovations such as new pedagogy, curriculum, or learning resources. This article offers guidance on good practice in developing research designs, and in drawing conclusions from published reports. Random control trials potentially support the use of statistical…

Introduction: Registration and publication of trial protocols has become increasingly important and a requirement in some sources of funding and publication. Increased access to protocols yields many potential benefits, but there are issues regarding identification of published protocols. The aim of this investigation is to compare methods of…

The doctor of business administration (DBA) degree is widely considered as a professional doctorate or professional doctoral degree that is designed to prepare business practitioners. The doctor of philosophy (PhD) in business, by contrast, is thought to prepare research scholars and higher education faculty members. Prior research conducted by…

Despite a growing interest in posthuman research methodologies within educational research, there has been limited research to date which applies this theory to music education. We consider that there is much that posthumanism and music education may offer each other, particularly within the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic which challenges…

Since the standards-based education movement began in the early 1990s, mathematics education reformers have developed and evaluated many interventions to support students in mastering more rigorous content. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of U.S. PreK-12 mathematics intervention effects from 1991 to 2017 to study sources of…

This second-order meta-analysis (i.e., systematic quantitative synthesis of individual meta-analyses) summarises how the use of technology affects learning (achievement outcomes) in three different educational settings: in-class, online learning and blended learning. Comprehensive literature searches identified 915 potentially relevant…

The aim of this article is to provide practitioners and other nonresearchers a basic understanding of research designs to aid in appropriately interpreting and applying research findings in special education. Research design provides the blueprint for conducting a research study and shapes what kind of knowledge is generated by the study. We…

The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an introduction to differential item functioning (DIF) analysis using mixture item response models. The mixture item response models for DIF analysis involve comparing item profiles across latent groups, instead of manifest groups. First, an overview of DIF analysis based on latent groups, called…

The purpose of this article is to provide a critique of the main concepts of qualitative and quantitative methodologies for conducting research. It is written expressly for the novice researcher in an attempt to clarify the major misconceptions and misunderstandings concerning the qualitative-quantitative research polarities. This article will not…

Photographic images allow data to be captured from an alternative perspective. Traditional, manual cameras are the most common method of recording photographic data, however, innovative technology is changing the way in which photographs can be collected. Wearable cameras enable a vast amount of photographic images to be captured, automatically,…

To adequately tackle a research problem, master students of applied linguistics should learn that the selection of (a) data elicitation technique (s) should be made in consistence with choices at three other levels: method, methodology and paradigm. Hence, this paper addresses the following question: how should the methodology course be…