Educational Research
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Educational research refers to the systematic collection and analysis of data related to the field of education. Research may involve a variety of methods and various aspects of education including student learning, teaching methods, teacher training, and classroom dynamics. Educational researchers generally agree that research should be rigorous and systematic. However, there is less agreement about specific standards, criteria and research procedures. As a result, the value and quality of educational research has been questioned. Educational researchers may draw upon a variety of disciplines including
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
,
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...
,
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
,
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
, and philosophy. Methods may be drawn from a range of disciplines. Conclusions drawn from an individual research study may be limited by the characteristics of the participants who were studied and the conditions under which the study was conducted.


General characteristics

Gary Anderson outlined ten aspects of educational research: * Attempt to discover cause and effect. * Research involves gathering new data from primary or first-hand sources or using existing data for a new purpose. * Research is based upon observable experience or empirical evidence. * Research demands accurate observation and description. * Research generally employs carefully designed procedures and rigorous analysis. * Research emphasizes the development of generalizations, principles or theories that will help in understanding, prediction and/or control. * Research requires expertise—familiarity with the field; competence in methodology; technical skill in collecting and analyzing the data. * Research attempts to find an objective, unbiased solution to the problem and takes great pains to validate the procedures employed. * Research is a deliberate and unhurried activity which is directional but often refines the problem or ques


Approaches

There are different approaches to educational research. One is a basic approach, also referred to as an academic research approach. Another approach is applied research or a contract research approach. These approaches have different purposes which influence the nature of the respective research.


Basic approach

Basic, or academic research focuses on the search for truth or the development of educational
theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may ...
. Researchers with this background "design studies that can test, refine, modify, or develop theories". Generally, these researchers are affiliated with an academic institution and are performing this research as part of their graduate or doctoral work.


Applied approach

The pursuit of information that can be directly applied to practice is aptly known as applied or contractual research. Researchers in this field are trying to find solutions to existing educational problems. The approach is much more utilitarian as it strives to find information that will directly influence practice. Applied researchers are commissioned by a sponsor and are responsible for addressing the needs presented by their employer. The goal of this research is "to determine the applicability of educational theory and principles by testing hypotheses within specific settings".


Comparison of basic and applied research

The following are several defining characteristics written by Gary Anderson to compare basic (academic) and applied (contract) research.


Methodology

The basis for educational research is the
scientific method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article hist ...
. The scientific method uses directed questions and manipulation of variables to systematically find information about the teaching and learning process. In this scenario questions are answered by the analysis of data that is collected specifically for the purpose of answering these questions. Hypotheses are written and subsequently proved or disproved by data which leads to the creation of new
hypotheses A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...
. The two main types of data that are used under this method are
qualitative Qualitative descriptions or distinctions are based on some quality or characteristic rather than on some quantity or measured value. Qualitative may also refer to: *Qualitative property, a property that can be observed but not measured numericall ...
and
quantitative Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...
.


Qualitative research

Qualitative research Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This ...
uses the data which is descriptive in nature. Tools that educational researchers use in collecting qualitative data include: observations, conducting interviews, conducting document analysis, and analyzing participant products such as journals, diaries, images or blogs.


Types of qualitative research

*
Case study A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business Business is the pract ...
* Ethnography *
Phenomenological research Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is a qualitative form of psychology research. IPA has an idiographic focus, which means that instead of producing generalization findings, it aims to offer insights into how a given person, in a given ...
* Narrative research * Historical research


Quantitative research

Quantitative research Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. It is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philos ...
uses data that is numerical and is based on the assumption that the numbers will describe a single reality. Statistics are often applied to find relationships between variables.


Types of quantitative research

* Descriptive survey research * Experimental research * Single-subject research * Causal-comparative research * Correlational research *
Meta-analysis A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting m ...


Mixed methods (Pragmatic)

There also exists a new school of thought that these derivatives of the scientific method are far too reductionist in nature. Since educational research includes other disciplines such as
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
,
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
,
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
,
science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
, and philosophy and refers to work done in a wide variety of contexts it is proposed that researchers should use "multiple research approaches and theoretical constructs." This could mean using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods as well as common methodology from the fields mentioned above. In
social research Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative. * Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable ...
this phenomenon is referred to as
triangulation (social science) In the social sciences, triangulation refers to the application and combination of several research methods in the study of the same phenomenon. By combining multiple observers, theories, methods, and empirical materials, researchers hope to overc ...
. This idea is well summarized by the work of Barrow in his text An introduction to philosophy of education:


Types of mixed methods

* Action research * Program evaluation In analysis of mixed methods, the following ways might be used; *''Explanatory mixed method'': starts with quantitative followed by qualitative data and results *''Exploratory mixed method'': starts with qualitative followed by quantitative data and results *''Triangulation mixed method'': all data and results are concurrently analysed


Organization of research fields

Discipline-based education research (DBER) is an
interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...
research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...
enterprise that "investigates learning and
teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely ...
in a
discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...
ormally from the STEM fields">STEM_fields.html" ;"title="ormally from the STEM fields">ormally from the STEM fieldsfrom a perspective that reflects the discipline's priorities, worldview, knowledge, and practices." Examples include: * Astronomy education research (AER) * Biology education research (BER) * Chemistry education, Chemistry education research (CER) * Computer science education research (CSER), also computing education research * [ ngineering education research (EER) *
Geoscience education research Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spher ...
(GER) *
Mathematics education research In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Although rese ...
(MER) *
Physics education research Physics education research (PER) is a form of discipline-based education research specifically related to the study of the teaching and learning of physics, often with the aim of improving the effectiveness of student learning. Approximatel ...
(PER) Educational research can also be organized by the subject or object of focus, as in school, teacher, student, etc., the relationship between actors such as student-teacher, teacher-principal, school-home, etc. by educational outcomes, such as motivation, learning of core subjects, learning of 21st century skills, attitudes, etc.


Results

In response to increased attention to the replicability of experimental findings in the sciences and medicine, in 2014, '' Educational Researcher'' published a
review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...
of the entire publication history of the 100 education journals with the highest five-year
impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as ...
s that found that out of 164,589 articles published only 221 articles (or 0.13 percent) were attempted replications of previous studies. Only 28.5 percent of the replication studies were direct replications rather than conceptual replications (i.e. usage of a different experimental method to test the same
hypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can testable, test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on prev ...
). 48.2 percent of the replications were performed by the same research team as produced the original study, and when the same research team published the replication studies in the same journals, 88.7 percent of replications were successful while only 70.6 percent were successful when published in a different journal. When different researchers attempted to replicate the findings, only 54 percent of replications were successful. , among more than 300 other psychology and medical journals, the '' British Journal of Developmental Psychology'', the '' British Journal of Educational Psychology'', the '' Canadian Journal of School Psychology'', ''
Exceptional Children ''Exceptional Children'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of special education. The editors-in-chief are John Wills Lloyd and William J. Therrien ( University of Virginia). It was established in 1934 and is publis ...
'', '' Frontiers in Education'', the '' Gifted Child Quarterly'', the '' Journal for the Education of the Gifted'', the ''
Journal of Advanced Academics A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
'', the ''
Journal of Cognition and Development The ''Journal of Cognition and Development'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal dedicated to the study of cognitive development in humans and other animals. It was established in 2000 with Philip David Zelazo (University of Toronto) as the foun ...
'', the ''
Journal of Educational Psychology The ''Journal of Educational Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1910 and covers educational psychology. It is published by the American Psychological Association. The current editor-in-chief is Steve Graham (A ...
'', the '' Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition'', '' JMIR Medical Education'', the ''Journal of Numerical Cognition'', the ''
Journal of Research in Reading ''Journal of Research in Reading'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the UKLA. The journal was established in 1978. The ''Journal of Research in Reading'' publishes papers on topics such as t ...
'', ''
Language Learning Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to ...
'', ''Learning and Instruction'', '' Mind, Brain, and Education'', and '' Scientific Studies of Reading'' have adopted result-blind peer review (i.e. where studies are accepted not on the basis of their findings and after the studies are completed, but before the studies are conducted and upon the basis of the methodological rigor of their experimental designs and the theoretical justifications for their statistical analysis techniques before data collection or analysis is done) as part of an initiative organized by the Center for Open Science in response to concerns about
publication bias In published academic research, publication bias occurs when the outcome of an experiment or research study biases the decision to publish or otherwise distribute it. Publishing only results that show a significant finding disturbs the balance ...
and ''p''-hacking. Early analysis of such reforms in psychology journals has estimated that 61 percent of result-blind studies have led to null results, in contrast to an estimated 5 to 20 percent in earlier psychological research.


See also


Related fields

* Education theory *
Educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in ...
** School psychology *
Educational technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...
* Scholarship of teaching and learning * Research in science education


Educational research communities and organizations

*
American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association (AERA, pronounced "A-E-R-A") is a professional organization representing education researchers in the United States and around the world. AERA's mission is to advance knowledge about education and p ...
* American Institutes for Research * Education Resources Information Center *
Educational Testing Service Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, but has a Princeton address. ETS develops v ...
*
Institute of Education Sciences The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent, non-partisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. IES' stated mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice ...
* WestEd


Other

*
Scholastic Aptitude Test The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
(SAT) * Online credentials for learning


References


Further reading

* * *Furlong, J. and Oancea, A. (2008) Assessing Quality in Applied and Practice Based Research. Continuing the Debate. London, Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Assessing-quality-in-applied-and-practice-based-research-in-education/Furlong-Oancea/p/book/9780415448017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Educational Research Educational psychology