Description
Research involves the natural human actions of asking questions and
finding answers. The beginning state of a research project is an engaging
and relevant question and the end state is an answer to this question.
The heart of research is validation. When a researcher validates an
answer, they bend over backwards to perform every reasonable check to
ensure that their answer is an appropriate representation of reality. The
context of research is social. New knowledge created during research is
linked to knowledge that was created by previous researchers. New
knowledge is only accepted after it has been presented to and critically
reviewed by a community of researchers. Social science research, the
topic of this page, involves research questions that involve interactions
between people.
Relevance
The research process is a time effective way to discover best
practices for elevating learning and professional growth of others. At
present, most teachers advance their practices by a trial and error
process. In general, a trial and error process is time consuming,
ineffective, and leads to anecdotal findings that cannot be transferred to
others. In contrast, the research process helps a teacher focus on that
which is most important, it fosters review and application of known
knowledge, and it leads to results that extend the body of knowledge.
Methodology
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Step 1. Research Question.
Inventory needs, select the most important needs, identify relevant
literatures, acquire and review key literature, synthesize known
knowledge, generate multiple questions, evaluate the questions, and
select one more questions. Your question needs to be only good
enough so that you can move forward with the next steps. Step 2.
Writing. Begin writing the paper in parallel with
the research process. For early drafts, use lists of ideas. Write in
organized sections--these section describe the present situation,
needs for the research, research question, literature review, methods,
results, analysis and discussion of data, and conclusions. Write the
abstract last. As you write drafts, write just enough to allow you to
move forward.
Step 3. Research Strategy. Select the
epistemology and theoretical perspective (see Creswell. 2003). Select
an approach from one of three categories: qualitative, quantitative,
or mixed methods. Select the specific methods with the category.
Determine how to achieve validity and reliability (as appropriate).
Design, build, and test instruments. Note--consulting with an expert
in social science research methods is helpful in this step.
Step 4. Plan the Research. Organize the research
in phases, organize each phase into specific tasks, balance project
resources with the requirements on the tasks, organize tasks along a
time line, define key milestones, assign owners to each task, obtain
committment for each team member, develop a document management
system, and create a simple Gantt chart that will guide the project.
Step 5. Gather Data. Follow the project plan,
modify as needed, hit key milesones, and end up with the raw data.
Step 6. Process Data ==> Construct Knowledge.
Organize raw data into a format suitable for presentation, interpret
data, make inferences, relate inferences to existing knowledge, test
for and challenge validity, synthesize inferences into main finds.
Step 7. Present Results. Write final
draft of paper. Peer review with colleagues. Modify.
Submit for presentation and publication. Process peer reviews
and improve the paper. When a paper is rejected, fix the
problems and resubmit, learning in the process.
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Resources
At present, no additional resources available.
References
Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design:
Choosing among the five traditions. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative,
and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
National Research Council (2002). Scientific research in education.
Committee on Scientific Principles for Educational Research. Shavelson,
R.J., and Towne, L., Editors. Center for Education. Division of Behavioral
and Social Science and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
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