The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Five-Level Qualitative Data Analysis (5LQDA) method for ATLAS.ti as a way to intentionally design methodological approaches applicable to the field of evaluation. To demonstrate my analytical process using ATLAS.ti, I use examples from an existing evaluation of a STEM Peer Learning Assistant program.…

This guide will help researchers design and implement impact studies in education so that the findings are more generalizable to the study's target population. Guidance is provided on key steps that researchers can take, including defining the target population, selecting a sample of schools--and replacement schools, when needed--managing school…

We briefly review the emergence of internet research ethics (IRE) since 2000 across three stages, showing how the last, IRE 3.0, focuses on ethical challenges and issues evoked by Big Data. We explore specific examples of IRE 3.0 as occasioned by requirements for informed consent -- including Big Data analyses of a closed Facebook group -- as…

Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis is an increasingly used approach for synthesizing and investigating treatment effect estimates. Over the past few years, numerous methods for conducting an IPD meta-analysis (IPD-MA) have been proposed, often making different assumptions and modeling choices while addressing a similar research…

Planned missing data designs allow researchers to increase the amount and quality of data collected in a single study. Unfortunately, the effect of planned missing data designs on power is not straightforward. Under certain conditions using a planned missing design will increase power, whereas in other situations using a planned missing design…

Mathematics education researchers conducting instruction experiments using a design research methodology are challenged with the analysis of often complex and large amounts of qualitative data. In this paper, we present two case studies that show how multimedia analysis software can greatly support video data analysis and theory development in…

One purpose of educational research is to provide information about the likely impact of interventions or treatments on policy-relevant populations of students. Randomized experiments are useful for estimating the causal effects of interventions on the students in schools that participate in the experiments. Unfortunately, the samples of schools…

With the advent of the computer and user-friendly statistical software packages, factor analysis has become accessible to most researchers. However, conventional factor analysis, or R-technique, is only useful for research concerning types or groups of variables. Educational and psychological researchers are often interested in types of people,…

This paper discusses the results of a research project which aimed to capture, analyse and communicate the complex interactions between students, teachers and technology that occur in the classroom. Teachers and researchers used an innovative research design developed through the InterActive Education Project (Sutherland et al., 2003). Video case…

Present research connected with computer-based instruction indicates that many investigators rely on conventional experimental design and data analysis to address the research question. Although this is appropriate in many cases, the limits of hard and software resources and sample size in other cases have made conventional approaches a poor…

This paper presents five designs (three one-group and two two-group) which can be effectively employed to study computer-based methods in non-laboratory settings, including actual classroom implementation, where a non-treatment control design may not be feasible. These designs are sequential analysis, value-added analysis, non-equivalent dependent…

The purpose of this study guide, designed for computer students who have never been involved in a research project, practicum, or dissertation activity, is to provide background information on the affective and cognitive skills required for success in any project involving research and/or statistics. Successful enrollment in computer based…

The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance produced this major study of the effectiveness of education technology. Mandated by Congress, the report uses scientifically based research methods and control groups to focus on the impact of technology on student academic achievement. Thirty-three districts, 132 schools, and…

Concludes that (a) there is a lack of congruence between the actual research findings and the numerous "pronouncements and speculations" about microcomputer effects in preschool; (b) many methodological weaknesses limit the utility of research findings; and (c) little is known, empirically, about important process and outcome variables…

Over the past several years, technical communicators have been struggling to change some of the stylistic traditions inherited from scientific discourse. Rhetoricians, writing teachers, and psychologists all agree that the use of analogy and first- or second-person sentence construction make for more effective communication than the absence of…