The aim of this paper is to identify and describe the key traits of research with life histories. Previous studies on disability and my own work conducting research with the life histories and university experiences of students with disabilities help to explain how these key characteristics manifest themselves in practice. There are six traits…

One of the characteristics of massive open online courses (MOOCs) is that the overall number of social interactions tend to be higher than in traditional courses, hindering the analysis of social learning. Learners typically ask or answer questions using the forum. This makes messages a rich source of information, which can be used to infer…

This paper discusses the process of analysing online discussion and argues for the merits of mixed methods. Much research of online participation and e-learning has been either message focused or person focused analysis. The former covers methodologies such as content and discourse analysis, the latter interviewing and surveys. The paper discusses…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2018, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, 17-19 July, 2018. This conference is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems 2018, 17-20 July, which had a total of 617 submissions.…

This article focuses on student participation in the research process as a contribution to school improvement. The specific aim of this article was to explore students' participation in different phases of a research process and discuss how their participation can contribute to school improvement. Based on a life-world phenomenological ontology,…

Most assessment arguments are about measurement. When is it better to use direct versus indirect measures of student learning? Is one standardized test of critical thinking better than another? Is applying rubrics to student work better than using standardized tests? How valid are self-reported measures of learning? Although these arguments are…

This article reflects on key methodological issues emerging from children and young people's involvement in data analysis processes. We outline a pragmatic framework illustrating different approaches to engaging children, using two case studies of children's experiences of participating in data analysis. The article highlights methods of…

To complement traditional learning activities in a masters-level research methodology course, social work students worked on a formal research project which involved: designing the study, constructing measures, selecting a sampling strategy, collecting data, reducing and analyzing data, and finally interpreting and communicating the results. The…

The extent to which 230 university students following a one-year psychology course were 'active' (i.e., competitively or recreationally involved) in sport or 'non-participant' was compared with their scores on measures of personality, attitude, social class, sex, previous school involvement in sport, and attainment in university course work.…

It is the purpose of this paper to discuss one qualitative research method, participant observation, which describes and analyzes a setting based on data that has been laboriously and systematically collected and analyzed. (Author/RK)

Several studies examining computer-mediated communications (CMC) in online courses have found low levels of participation under both voluntary (ungraded) and mandatory (graded) conditions. This is troubling since student participation is widely considered to have a positive impact on performance. Program-level data were analyzed to explore the…

In a relatively small, predominantly undergraduate university, it is often hard to find the time and resources to conduct educational research. One small liberal arts college, the University of Montevallo (Alabama), has addressed this problem by involving undergraduate psychology majors in collaboration in educational research with faculty. It is…

Examines participation in secondary school courses and programs of selected minority groups in Canada. This pilot study of 2,308 secondary school students illustrates methods and software that make fine-grained analysis of group participation possible. Methodological issues are explored. (SLD)

This text is designed to enable educators to design, conduct, and report research and evaluation in a way that transforms special education by addressing the needs of persons with disabilities as heterogeneous, cultural groups. The book explores ways to adapt those research methods to the special education context by providing a framework for…