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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
•Qualitative researchers seek to understand a phenomenon by focusing on the total picture
rather than breaking it down into variables. For example, social scientists have long observed
that differences in educational background alone do not seem to account for the diffi culties
black students encounter in a predominantly white university. The goal is a holistic picture and
depth of understanding rather than a numeric analysis of data.
BASIC INTERPRETATIVE STUDIES
•A basic interpretative study provides descriptive accounts targeted to understanding a
phenomenon using data that might be collected in a variety of ways, such as interviews,
observations, and document review.
CASE STUDIES
•A case study is a type of ethnographic research study that focuses on a single unit, such as
one individual, one group, one organization, or one program. Case studies use multiple methods,
such as interviews, observation, and archives, to gather data. Education and psychology
researchers have used the case study widely.
DOCUMENT OR CONTENT ANALYS IS
•Content analysis focuses on analyzing and interpreting recorded material to learn about human
behavior. Content analysis is sometimes quantitative, such as when one investigates middle
school science textbooks to determine the extent of coverage given to the achievements of
minority scientists.
ETHNOGRAPHY
•Ethnography is an in-depth study of naturally occurring behavior within a culture or social group.
GROUNDED THEORY
•Grounded theory research is designed to develop a theory of social phenomena based on the fi
eld data collected in a study. For example, a researcher interested in mainstreaming in
elementary school could observea number of classrooms and conduct interviews with teachers
and students.
HISTORICAL RESEARCH
•Historical research analyzes documents, and artifacts and/or uses interviews with
eyewitnesses to gain insight into past events. An educational researcher might want to
investigate the trends in kindergarten education in a particular school district from its
beginnings to the present. The researcher must establish the authenticity of the documentsEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
•Researchers study variables, which are characteristics that take on different values across
people or things. If test scores and fi nal grades were higher than could be accounted for by
chance in the section receiving online feedback, the researcher could tentatively conclude that
there is evidence the online feedback (treatment or independent variable) contributed to greater
learning than the in-class feedback. Using two sections of economics taught by the same
professor, the researcher using a random procedure would select one section to receive
immediate online feedback about their performance on test questions; the other section would
receive feedback during their next class session (independent variables).In the foregoing
example, the researcher would attempt to make sure that both groups had the same instructor;
that both sections met at the same time of day but on different Days; that lecture notes,
reading's, and exams were the same; and so forth. For example, assume a university researcher
wanted to investigate the effect of providing online feedback to students immediately following
course examinations. The researcher would compare the two sections' exam scores and their fi
nal grades in the course (dependent variables).
NONEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
•In nonexperimental quantitative research, the researcher identifi es variables and may look for
relationships among them but does not manipulate the variables.
•The researcher simply compares groups differing on the preexisting independent variable to
determine any relationship to the dependent variable.
•Major forms of nonexperimental research are relationship studies including ex post facto and
correlational research and survey research.
•Ex post facto research is similar to an experiment, except the researcher does not manipulate
the independent variable, which has already occurred in the natural course of events.
•Because there is no manipulation or control of the independent variable, variables in this type
of research differ in kind rather than in amount.
•Survey research (also called descriptive research) uses instruments such as questionnaires
and interviews to gather information from groups of individuals. For example, an educational
researcher might ask a group of parents about what kind of sex education program, if any, they
believe schools should provide for middle school students. Researchers in education and the
social sciences use surveys widely. We discuss surveys in Chapter 14.used, as well as the validity of their contents.
NARRATIVE INQUIRY
•In narrative inquiry, researchers examine the stories people tell about their lives and coconstruct a narrative analysis of those stories. Narrative analysis has also been referred to
using terms such as life stories.
PHENOMENONOLOGICAL STUDIES
•Phenomenological studies begin with the assumption that multiple realities are rooted in
subjects' perspectives. Through unstructured interviews, the investigator explores the subject's
thoughts and feelings to elicit the essence of an individual's experience. Thus, an experience
has different meanings for each person.
TYPICAL STAGES IN RESEARCH
•We focus on these activities in greater detail in later chapters; here, we briefl y summarize the
steps involved.

1. For example, "How do elementary classroom teachers deal with aggressive children?" or
   "How do high school students become alienated from their peers?"For example, "Do children
   who are taught reading through the wholelanguage approach score higher on reading
   achievement than children who are taught reading through phonics?" or "What do teachers know
   about attention defi cit/hyperactivity disorder?"The fi rst step is to select the problem to
   investigate.


2. The beginning researcher will likely turn to the literature for help in locating and formulating a
   researchable problem. Reviewing the literature on the problem.


3. Unhypothesized observed relationships among variables may be reported and proposed as
   topics for future research, but they should not replace the original intent of the study. The
   design is the researcher's plan for the study, which includes the method to be used, what data
   will be gathered, where, how, and from whom. Designing the research.


4. Qualitative researchers also have a toolbox of data-gathering techniques, including indepth
   interviewing, participant observation, and document analysis. Collecting the data.


5. The analysis of the numerical data in quantitative research provides evidence that supports
   or fails to support the hypothesis of the study. Quantitative data are usually in the form of
   numbers that researchers analyze using various statistical procedures. Qualitative data
   generally take the form of words (descriptions, observations, impressions, recordings, and the
   like).The data collected in research must be analyzed. Analyzing the data.6. The quantitative researcher typically makes statements about the probability that such a fi
   nding is due to chance and reaches a conclusion about the hypothesis . Qualitative researchers
   present their interpretations and explanations in narrative form.-We discuss in detail each of the foregoing stages of a research study in later chapters. These
   steps are shown in Figure 2.2 .