Preface p. xiii
Introduction to Educational Research: Definitions, Research Problems, Proposals, and Report Writing p. 1
Fundamentals of Research p. 3
The Search for Knowledge p. 3
Science p. 6
The Role of Theory p. 9
Operational Definitions of Variables p. 9
The Hypothesis p. 10
Sampling p. 12
Purposes of Research p. 19
Descriptive Research, Assessment, and Evaluation p. 20
Types of Educational Research p. 22
Summary p. 23
Exercises p. 24
References p. 25
Selecting a Problem and Preparing a Research Proposal p. 26
The Academic Research Problem p. 27
Using the Library p. 32
References and Bibliography p. 34
The Research Proposal p. 35
The First Research Project p. 39
Submitting to a Funding Agency p. 42
Thesis Proposal p. 43
Ethics in Human Experimentation p. 44
Summary p. 52
Exercises p. 53
References p. 54
The Research Report p. 55
Style Manuals p. 55
Format of the Research Report p. 56
The Thesis or Dissertation p. 60
Style of Writing p. 61
Reference Form p. 62
Pagination p. 64
Tables p. 64
Figures p. 66
Evaluating a Research Report p. 71
Summary p. 72
References p. 73
Research Methods p. 75
Historical Research p. 79
Purpose of Historical Research on American Education p. 80
History and Science p. 83
The Historical Hypothesis p. 85
Sources of Data p. 87
Historical Criticism p. 89
Writing the Historical Report p. 94
Summary p. 95
Exercises p. 96
References p. 96
Sample Article p. 98
Descriptive Studies: Assessment, Evaluation, and Research p. 114
Assessment Studies p. 116
Evaluation Studies p. 124
Assessment and Evaluation in Problem Solving p. 127
Descriptive Research p. 129
The Follow-Up Study p. 134
Replication and Secondary Analysis p. 137
The Post Hoc Fallacy p. 140
Summary p. 141
Exercises p. 142
References p. 142
Sample Article p. 145
Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research p. 159
Early Experimentation p. 160
Experimental and Control Groups p. 161
Variables p. 162
Controlling Extraneous Variables p. 164
Experimental Validity p. 166
Experimental Design p. 171
Summary p. 191
Exercises p. 192
References p. 192
Sample Article p. 194
Single-Subject Experimental Research p. 210
General Procedures p. 212
Assessment p. 215
Basic Designs p. 217
Evaluating Data p. 224
Summary p. 226
Exercises p. 227
References p. 228
Sample Article p. 229
Qualitative Research p. 240
Themes of Qualitative Research p. 241
Research Questions p. 243
Theoretical Traditions p. 245
Research Strategies p. 247
Data Collection Techniques p. 254
Summary p. 260
Exercises p. 261
References p. 261
Sample Article p. 263
Methods and Tools of Research p. 276
Reliability and Validity of Research Tools p. 276
Quantitative Studies p. 277
Qualitative Studies p. 279
Psychological and Educational Tests and Inventories p. 280
Types of Tests and Inventories p. 288
Observation p. 293
Inquiry Forms: The Questionnaire p. 300
Inquiry Forms: The Opinionnaire p. 317
The Interview p. 323
Q Methodology p. 325
Social Scaling p. 327
Organization of Data Collection p. 331
Limitations and Sources of Error p. 333
Summary p. 334
Exercises p. 335
References p. 335
Data Analysis p. 337
Descriptive Data Analysis p. 339
What Is Statistics? p. 340
Parametric and Nonparametric Data p. 340
Descriptive and Inferential Analysis p. 341
The Organization of Data p. 342
Statistical Measures p. 344
Normal Distribution p. 354
Measures of Relative Position: Standard Scores p. 359
Measures of Relationship p. 364
Interpretation of a Correlation Coefficient p. 374
Standard Error of Estimate p. 379
A Note of Caution p. 381
Summary p. 382
Exercises (Answers in Appendix I) p. 383
References p. 387
Inferential Data Analysis p. 388
Statistical Inference p. 388
The Central Limit Theorem p. 389
Parametric Tests p. 392
Testing Statistical Significance p. 392
Decision Making p. 395
A One-Sample Z Test p. 399
Student's Distribution (t) p. 400
Homogeneity of Variances p. 402
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) p. 408
Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Partial Correlation p. 413
Multiple Regression and Correlation p. 415
Nonparametric Tests p. 419
Outliers and Missing Data p. 426
Summary p. 427
Exercises (Answers in Appendix I) p. 429
References p. 431
Computer Data Analysis p. 433
The Computer p. 433
Data Organization p. 435
Computer Analysis of Data p. 436
Statistics on the World Wide Web (Internet) p. 447
Qualitative Analyses Using Computer Software p. 448
Summary p. 454
References p. 456
Statistical Formulas and Symbols p. 457
Sample Data Microsoft Excel Format p. 462
Percentage of Area Lying between the Mean and Successive Standard Deviation Units under the Normal Curve p. 466
Critical Values for Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation (r) p. 468
Critical Values of Student's Distribution (t) p. 469
Abridged Table of Critical Values for Chi Square p. 470
Critical Values of the F Distribution p. 471
Research Report Evaluation p. 476
Answers to Statistics Exercises p. 477
Author Index p. 481
Subject Index p. 485