This essay presents the reflections of four Education Doctorate (EdD) students on the pilot testing strategies used during an online research methods course. Rigorous questionnaire and interview development skills are challenging to acquire. Pilot testing is an under-researched stage of instrument design, yet it is crucial to ensure validity and…

This paper explores how to apply the principles of accommodations and universal design (UD) in research methods involved in quantitative research (e.g. questionnaires). In particular, we focus on how to make research more accessible for individuals with Learning Disabilities (LD), while also providing suggestions for potential participants of…

Teacher research is described as being beneficial and yet it is hampered by teachers' lack of knowledge about research, including how to use popular research methods. Given that accounts by teachers describing their use of such methods in a systematic manner might prove useful for their peers, this article describes my experience of using a…

It is truly important for students to understand how to monitor online marketing buzz. This assignment, social media analytics, utilizes the content analysis research method to build student's in-depth understanding on how to evaluate and interpret user-generated content (UGC) to create social media campaigns. The authors adapted Resnik and…

Since Mezirow, there has been considerable research into transformative learning. However the research methods generally used have been of the same kind that are drawn on to inquire into any area of interest. A key aim of this journal is to explore the transformative possibilities of research, and in the process to investigate creative methods…

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) represents the teachers' professional knowledge needed to integrate technology in education. Following a design-based approach this study describes the strategies for designing and assessing an in-service science teacher education course. Data was obtained through interviews, questionnaires, using…

As pressure builds to assess students, teachers, and schools, educational practitioners and policy makers are increasingly looking toward student perception surveys as a promising means to collect high-quality, useful data. For instance, the widely cited Measures of Effective Teaching study lists student perception surveys as one of the three key…

Linear factor analysis (FA) models can be reliably tested using test statistics based on residual covariances. We show that the same statistics can be used to reliably test the fit of item response theory (IRT) models for ordinal data (under some conditions). Hence, the fit of an FA model and of an IRT model to the same data set can now be…

Two basic data sources required for research studies have been secondary and primary. Secondary data collection helps the researcher to provide relevant background to the study and are, in most cases, available for retrieval from recorded sources. Primary data collection requires the researcher to venture into the field where the study is to take…

Content analysis is a valuable research tool for social scientists that unfortunately can prove challenging to teach to undergraduate students. Published classroom exercises designed to teach content analysis have thus far been predominantly envisioned as lengthy projects for upper-level courses. A brief and engaging exercise may be more…

The "PISA 2012 Technical Report" describes the methodology underlying the PISA 2012 survey, which tested 15-year-olds' competencies in mathematics, reading and science and, in some countries, problem solving and financial literacy. It examines the design and implementation of the project at a level of detail that allows researchers to…

This manual has been produced to familiarize data users with the design, and the procedures followed for data collection and processing, in the base year and first follow-up of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), with emphasis on the first follow-up. It also provides the necessary documentation for use of the public-use data…

The manual that accompanies these appendices was produced to familiarize data users with the design, and the procedures followed for data collection and processing, in the base year and first follow-up of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), with emphasis on the first follow-up. It also provides the necessary documentation for use…

This article describes the development and national trial of a methodology for collecting disability data directly from parents, enabling schools and local authorities to meet their obligations under the "Disability Discrimination Act" (DDA; 2005) to promote equality of opportunity for all children. It illustrates the complexities around…

The policy of deinstitutionalization was based on the proposition that quality of life (QoL) of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) will improve as a result of being moved from institutions to community-based care settings. The aim of this literature review was to evaluate whether this assumption has become a reality now that the…