Research Methods in Education Sixth e d i t i o n Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison
Ö Routledge g^^
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Contents
List of boxes Acknowledgements
xm xvii
Introduction
Part I The context of educational research
Research and evaluation Research, politics and policy-making Methods and methodology
The nature of inquiry - Setting the field Introduction 5 The search for truth 5 Two conceptions of social reality 7 Positivism 9 The assumptions and nature of science 11 The tools of science 14 The scientific method 15 Criticisms of positivism and the scientific method 17 Alternatives to positivistic social science: naturalistic approaches 19 A question of terminology: the normative and interpretive paradigms 21 Phenomenology, ethnomethodology and symbolic interactionism 22 Criticisms of the naturalistic and interpretive approaches 25 Critical theory and critical educational research 26 Criticisms of approaches from critical theory 29 Critical theory and curriculum research 30 A summary of the three paradigms 32 The emerging paradigm of complexity theory 33 Feminist research 34
41 46 47
Part 2 Planning educational research
The ethics of educational and social research Introduction 51 Informed consent 52 Access and acceptance 55 The field of ethics 58 Sources of tension 58 Voices of experience 61 Ethical dilemmas 62 Ethics and research methods in education 69 Ethics and evaluative research 70 Research and regulation: ethical codes and review 71 Sponsored research 74 Responsibilities to the research community 75 Conclusion 75
3
Planning educational research Introduction A framework for planning research A planning matrix for research
78 78 87
Managing the planning of research A worked example Conclusion
Part 3 Styles of educational research
93 95 98 7
Naturalistic and ethnographic research
Sampling Introduction The sample size Sampling error The representativeness of the sample The access to the sample The sampling strategy to be used Probability samples Non-probability samples Planning a sampling strategy Conclusion
100 101 106 108 109 110 110 113 117 117
Elements of naturalistic inquiry Planning naturalistic research Critical ethnography Some problems with ethnographic and naturalistic approaches 8
What is sensitive research? Sampling and access Ethical issues in sensitive research Researching powerful people Asking questions Conclusion
119 121 124 127 130 131
Validity and reliability Defining validity Triangulation Ensuring validity Reliability in quantitative research Reliability in qualitative research Validity and reliability in interviews Validity and reliability in experiments Validity and reliability in questionnaires Validity and reliability in observations Validity and reliability in tests Validity and reliability in life histories
133 141 144 146 148 150 155
9
188
Historical and documentary research Introduction Choice of subject Data collection Evaluation Writing the research report The use of quantitative methods Life histories Documentary research
Sensitive educational research
167 171 186
191 192 193 194 195 197 198 201
Surveys, longitudinal, cross-sectional and t r e n d studies Introduction 205 Some preliminary considerations 207 Planning a survey 208 Survey sampling 211 Longitudinal, cross-sectional and trend studies 211 Strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal, cohort and cross-sectional studies 214 Postal, interview and telephone surveys 218 Event history analysis 224
157 158 159 164
10 Internet-based research and c o m p u t e r usage Introduction Internet-based surveys Internet-based experiments Internet-based interviews
226 226 239 241
CONTENTS
Searching for research materials on the Internet Evaluating web sites Computer simulations Geographical Information Systems
A c t i o n research 242 244 245 251
11 Case studies What is a case study? Examples of kinds of case study Why participant observation? Recording observations Planning a case study Writing up a case study Conclusion
253 258 260 260 261 262 263
Introduction Defining action research Principles and characteristics of action research Action research as critical praxis Procedures for action research Reflexivity in action research Some practical and theoretical matters Conclusion
297 297 299 302 304 310 311 312
Part 4 Strategies for data collection and researching
12 Ex post facto research Introduction Co-relational and criterion groups designs Characteristics of ex post facto research Occasions when appropriate Advantages and disadvantages of ex post facto research Designing an ex post facto investigation Procedures in ex post facto research
264 265 266 268 268 269 270
13 Experiments, quasi-experiments, single-case research and meta-analysis Introduction Designs in educational experimentation True experimental designs A quasi-experimental design: the non-equivalent control group design Single-case research: ABAB design Procedures in conducting experimental research Examples from educational research Evidence-based educational research and meta-analysis
272 274 275 282 284 285 287 289
15 Questionnaires Introduction Ethical issues Approaching the planning of a questionnaire Types of questionnaire items Asking sensitive questions Avoiding pitfalls in question writing Sequencing the questions Questionnaires containing few verbal items The layout of the questionnaire Covering letters or sheets and follow-up letters Piloting the questionnaire Practical considerations in questionnaire design Administering questionnaires Processing questionnaire data
16 Interviews Introduction Conceptions of the interview Purposes of the interview Types of interview
349 349 351 352
x
CONTENTS
Planning interview-based research procedures Group interviewing Interviewing children Focus groups The non-directive interview and the focused interview Telephone interviewing Ethical issues in interviewing
356 373 374 376 377 379 382
Parametric and non-parametric tests Norm-referenced, criterion-referenced and domain-referenced tests Commercially produced tests and researcher-produced tests Constructing a test Devising a pretest and post-test Reliability and validity of tests Ethical issues in preparing for tests Computerized adaptive testing
414 415 416 418 432 432 432 433
17 Accounts Introduction T h e ethogenic approach Characteristics of accounts and episodes Procedures in eliciting, analysing and authenticating accounts: an example Network analyses of qualitative data What makes a good network? Discourse analysis Analysing social episodes Account gathering in educational research: an example Problems in gathering and analysing accounts Strengths of the ethogenic approach A note on stories
384 384 384 385 388 388 389 391 391 392 393 394
18 Observation Introduction Structured observation Critical incidents Naturalistic and participant observation Natural and artificial settings for observation Ethical considerations Some cautionary comments Conclusion
396 398 404 404 408 408 410 412
19 T e s t s Introduction What are we testing?
414 414
20 Personal constructs 435 Introduction 435 Characteristics of the method 436 'Elicited' versus 'provided' constructs Allotting elements to constructs 437 439 Laddering and pyramid constructions Grid administration and analysis 439 439 Procedures in grid administration Procedures in grid analysis 439 442 Strengths of repertory grid technique Difficulties in the use of repertory grid 442 technique Some examples of the use of repertory 443 grid in educational research Grid technique and audio/video lesson recording 445 Focused grids, non-verbal grids, exchan^;e grids and sociogrids 446 21 Role-playing Introduction Role-playing versus deception: the argument Role-playing versus deception: the evidence Role-playing in educational settings The uses of role-playing Strengths and weaknesses of role-playin g and other simulation exercises Role-playing in an educational setting: an example Evaluating role-playing and other simulation exercises
448 450 451 452 452 455 455 456
CONTENTS
Part 5 Data analysis 22 Approaches t o qualitative data analysis Introduction Tabulating data Five ways of organizing and presenting data analysis Systematic approaches to data analysis Methodological tools for analysing qualitative data
461 463 467 469
506 506 515 519 520 525 527 528 536 542
473
23 C o n t e n t analysis and grounded t h e o r y Introduction What is content analysis? How does content analysis work? A worked example of content analysis Computer usage in content analysis Reliability in content analysis Grounded theory Interpretation in qualitative data analysis: multilayered texts
Reliability Exploratory data analysis: frequencies, percentages and cross-tabulations Statistical significance Hypothesis testing Effect size The chi-square test Degrees of freedom Measuring association Regression analysis Measures of difference between groups and means
475 475 476 483 487 490 491 495
25 Multidimensional m e a s u r e m e n t and factor analysis Introduction Elementary linkage analysis: an example Factor analysis Factor analysis: an example Examples of studies using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis Multidimensional data: some words on notation Multilevel modelling Cluster analysis
559 559 560 570
576 579 583 584
24 Quantitative data analysis Introduction Scales of data Parametric and non-parametric data Descriptive and inferential statistics One-tailed and two-tailed tests Dependent and independent variables
501 502 503 503 504 504
26 Choosing a statistical t e s t How many samples? Assumptions of tests
