Hunter College, City University of New York, Department of Curriculum & Teaching

EDSTATS Primer

Session 1 - Introduction to Educational Research

Dr. Anthony G. Picciano, e-mail address: anthony.picciano@hunter.cuny.edu

Topics Covered in this Session

• Definition of Educational Research
• Purposes for Studying Educational Research
• Types of Educational Research

Definition

Educational research is a careful, systematic investigation into any aspect of education. From the French word "recherche" which means to travel through or survey.

Purposes for Studying Educational Research

1. To orient students to the nature of educational research: its purposes, forms, and importance.
2. To provide information which helps students become more intelligent consumers of educational research: where to locate it, how to understand it and critique it.
3. To provide information on the fundamentals of doing educational research such as selecting a problem, using available tools, organizing a project, etc.

Types of Educational Research

There is not general agreement on the types of educational research which exist. The types that will be presented in this primer are as follows:

• Ethnographic - attempts to describe group behavior and interactions in social settings. It relies on qualitative techniques especially observation and careful recording of events and social interactions.
• Historical - attempts to describe and explain conditions of the past. It generally relies on qualitative data such as written documents and oral histories.
• Descriptive - attempts to describe and explain conditions of the present. It relies on qualitative and quantitative data gathered from written documents, personal interviews, test results, surveys, etc.
• Correlational - attempts to explore relationships or make predictions. It relies on quantitative data such as test scores, grade point averages, attitudinal instruments, etc. which can be correlated and shown that some relationship exists between or among them.
• Action and Evaluation Research - attempts to determine the value of a product, procedure, or program in a particular (e.g., school, district) setting with the goal of improving same. Action and evaluation research does not attempt to generalize results for a broader population.
• Causal Comparative - attempts to explore cause and effect relationships where causes already exist and cannot be manipulated. It relies on both qualitative and quantitative data such as written documents, interviews, test scores, etc.
• Experimental - attempts to explore cause and effect relationships where causes can be manipulated to produce different kinds of effects. It relies mostly on quantitative data such as test scores and measures of performance.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE TOPICS COVERED IN THIS SESSION, PLEASE REFER TO CHAPTER 1 OF A.G. PICCIANO "EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH PRIMER".

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