Primary sources are the foundations of historical research because they are artifacts representing first-hand accounts or connections to the event, time, or place being investigated. The reality is that many IDT researchers do not have training in historical source analysis, nor do many researchers know where to find primary sources in the field…

CADRE interviewed researchers to learn about their most effective strategies for recruiting and retaining participants for STEM education research. While there are no shortcuts to successful recruitment, a sustained commitment to understanding and addressing the needs of a district and its teachers is key to long-term success. In this new brief,…

This article provides an overview of research methodologies and designs, sample techniques and approaches, research ethics, and strategies for assisting students with research in the new normal. Each strategy offers some advantages and disadvantages. In times of global health emergencies, virtual surveys surpassed traditional methods. Replacing…

Whether the goal is to identify and describe trends and variation in populations, create new measures of key phenomena, or describe samples in studies aimed at identifying causal effects, description plays a critical role in the scientific process in general and education research in particular. Descriptive analysis identifies patterns in data to…

The Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) offers advice on becoming a successful researcher in the field of STEM education and a portrait of an early career researcher support program. The advice offered throughout the guide comes from experienced researchers who are part of the National Science Foundation's Discovery…

This article examines the growth of practitioner research in England through the creation of the Learning and Skills Research Network (LSRN) and identifies its effect on subsequent developments in what is generally known as the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS). It offers an analysis of this development as a case study in developing practitioner…

This guide is designed to help researchers make sure that their research reports include enough information about study measures so that readers can assess the quality of the study's methods and results. The guide also provides examples of write-ups about measures and suggests resources for learning more about these topics. The guide assumes…

This paper focuses on the research competencies of students in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) programs. First, we describe how research is being taught to students enrolled in several leading IDT programs. Next, we present findings from a survey administered to determine what knowledge and skills are being taught to IDT graduate…

This study assessed the perceptions of faculty employed by the historically black institutions of the University of North Carolina, concerning the personal utility of activities to increase their educational research participation or to gain educational research skills and knowledge. The study was part of a pilot project to develop strategies to…

Describes four research courses developed by the instructional systems faculty at the University of Florida which are designed to prepare doctoral students to plan and conduct high quality instructional systems research. Goals of each course are described, as well as course procedures and products, and evaluation methods. (MBR)

This report discusses findings from a research project examining the demands made on students and teachers by the "investigations" (or research) required of students in social subjects in Scottish schools. Students and teachers in six secondary schools in Scotland were interviewed, and it was found that teachers were seriously concerned…

This paper addresses several problems relating to the use of research materials and information resources by graduate students and proposes teaching educational research skills in an introductory-level graduate research course, "Information Resources for Educational Research," to be taught by the Memphis State University (MSU) Library…

Asserts that all research is interpretive and that reality is constructed at every stage of a research project. Explores three research constructs: (1) role of the researcher; (2) research questions; and (3) underlying assumptions of the researcher. Presents and applies a foundation for an interpretative research framework. (CFR)

Asserts that the teacher as researcher movement increased awareness of the human interventionary nature of teaching. Maintains that the human interventions of regular classroom practice must be subject to the same ethical scrutiny that applies to all professional endeavors. (CFR)

Educational planners and policymakers are rarely able to base their decision-making on sound information and research, according to this book. Because the situation is even more difficult in developing countries, educational policy often is based on research conducted in others parts of the world. This book provides a practical framework that can…