This paper explores the methodological approaches most commonly adopted in the scholarly literature on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), published during the period January 2008-May 2014. In order to identify trends, gaps and criticalities related to the methodological approaches of this emerging field of research, we analysed 60 papers…

The author feels that the stakeholder approach unavoidably pushes the evaluation toward technical compromises and accommodations that diminish the long-term gains in knowledge. (PN)

If social scientists are to offer useful insights into schooling, the nature of schools as sociological environments needs to be examined. Statistical effects are not the same as social causality and explaining statistical variance is not sociological explanation. (Author/AM)

Deliberately involving urban education stakeholders in the Cities-in-Schools evaluation study improved the utility of the findings for formative evaluation stakeholders but not for summative evaluation stakeholders. (Author/PN)

This paper reports on research into the concept of mentoring from many educational perspectives, based on six papers presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in April 1994. The paper notes that mentoring is a slippery concept, without a precise operational definition; definitions used in the six papers are…

Case study is a method currently being used in the field of English in which the investigator gathers data from several sources on an individual: directly from the individual, from the individual's parents, from school records, and from the individual's teachers. The investigator interviews and observes the individual over a period of time in…

Because of states' growing roles in education, the study of variation in state educational policies contributes to a better understanding of policy processes and to the prediction of possible policy outcomes. Comparing state educational policies involves choosing variables and analytical designs and defining cases, concepts, and measurement.…

Three addresses by internationally renowned mathematics researchers and a fourth paper on the role of research are presented. Each of the addresses focuses on the learning process, but from different points of view. Heinrich Bauersfeld provides an analysis of the miscommunication inherent in many teacher-student interactions. Four deficient areas…

Discusses the work of Donald Graves, who has achieved wide recognition for propounding a method of teaching writing that stresses unstructured expression of personal experiences, using a case study of 16 children as his research base. Concludes that because Graves never considers negative evidence for his hypotheses, his work constitutes reportage…

Findings from informetric research represent an important background resource to add to the mix of information useful for resolving difficult and ongoing problems in specific library environments or information service settings. This paper provides examples of informetric research that can be useful input to decision-making in the field of library…

Home school research studies--surveys, case studies, and comparison studies--have primarily focused on the immediate environment of the home. Future investigations should expand to include the characteristics of other surrounding environments that may influence the home schooling process. (BJV)

This paper reports research which utilizes a qualitative approach in order to document and describe the process of complex organizational conflict. Qualitative research methodology and conflict sociology can be relevant to analysis of organizational processes. The qualitative approach is interpreted to include techniques such as observation, event…

This paper focuses on the philosophical implications of assessment methodologies by describing problems that occurred during internship programs for school administrators in Louisiana. A state conference internship's guidelines lacked a formalized learning contract for participants. At the time, more teachers sought access to administrative…

This book, consisting of 13 papers, deals with the theory, practice, and reactions to participatory research in the area of social research for development. Included in the volume are the following papers: "Breaking the Monopoly of Knowledge: Research Methods, Participation, and Development," by Budd Hall; "Creating Alternative…

The papers in this collection were presented at an international symposium on improving the management of urban research, particularly through city-university collaboration. An introductory framework paper summarizes the range of research services available to local government, the types of urban research activity, and the problems of urban…