This guide will help researchers design and implement impact studies in education so that the findings are more generalizable to the study's target population. Guidance is provided on key steps that researchers can take, including defining the target population, selecting a sample of schools--and replacement schools, when needed--managing school…

In the past decade or so, there has been an increasing interest in employing a combination of archival and life history methods to understand the complexities of schooling. This book explores the history of the Beal Technical School in order to discuss the methods and problems involved in researching the story of an institution. It offers the…

Are you using interviews in your classroom? Carolyn Frank's new book on interviewing is a powerful tool for teachers and educational researchers. Through an anthropological frame, this book explains techniques for ethnographic interviews and observations in and out of the classroom. Carolyn Frank shows how teachers in particular can use…

Argues educational researchers must recognize the need for a dialectic between theory and method. Proposes a quasi-historical methodology based on a theory of social action. Suggests a means for understanding the meanings of actions. Outlines a schema for the interpretation of text and offers researchers a form of disciplined inquiry. (Author/NL)

The Austin Independent School District's Research and Evaluation Office presents practical information concerning observational research. This paper focuses on five topics: (1) what makes a good observer (setting the ground rules, training observers in details, and practice, i.e., involving the observers in planning and providing rigorous…

Delineates three levels of participation for classroom employees in educational research and presents issues that must be considered at each level. Specific roles examined include: (1) subjects in research studies; (2) facilitators for others conducting studies; and (3) researchers. (SD)

Getting answers to questions about schools and student learning requires that educators know how to collect, analyze, and interpret data. Six critical steps in this process include: posing questions, establishing judgment criteria, making a plan, gathering data, analyzing data, and interpreting results. These steps can serve as a beginning guide…

Over the past decade there has been a substantive change in the role of practitioners in educational research. Grassroots efforts in action research highlight the importance of educators' own understanding of their practice. This book, which stems from a school-university collaboration, describes the theory and methods for conducting…

This book presents information on action research for teachers and administrators. Chapter 1, Reflective Professional Practice, discusses reflective professionals, urges active use of solitary dialogue and personal journals to enhance reflectiveness, delineates concerns of maturing educators, and summarizes meditative steps of reflective practice…

This book examines issues and methods for conducting research into the educational resource environment in colleges and universities. That environment is defined as whatever is used to facilitate the learning process, including learning space, support staff, and teaching staff. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the series and lays out the process of…

This text is designed to enable educators to design, conduct, and report research and evaluation in a way that transforms special education by addressing the needs of persons with disabilities as heterogeneous, cultural groups. The book explores ways to adapt those research methods to the special education context by providing a framework for…

This book examines issues in studying equal opportunity in colleges and universities, especially those in the United Kingdom, and methods for conducting research into equal opportunity issues. It is intended to provide a framework of ideas and starting points for research. Most of the techniques suggested are forms of participant research on a…