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Teachers Doing Research: An Introductory Guidebook
R. Murray Thomas, University of California, Santa Barbara

ISBN-10: 020543536X
ISBN-13: 9780205435364

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Copyright: 2005
Format: Paper; 208 pp
Published: 09/23/2004
Status: Instock

Net price: $33.00 (What's this?)

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This brief text is for teachers who will carry out research and produce persuasive answers to educational questions they encounter in their classrooms.

Observant teachers, from their daily experiences in the classroom, compile a wealth of educational problems to solve, topics to investigate, and issues to ponder. From those experiences, they also gain valuable insights into potential solutions to such problems, various methods of investigating topics, and ways to settle issues. Some teachers are not satisfied to ponder such matters in a casual, cursory fashion. Instead, they yearn to investigate issues in a systematic manner that qualifies them to share the outcomes of their study with fellow teachers, administrators, readers of professional books, educators who subscribe to professional journals, and the general public. These teachers wish to “do research” on significant educational matters and to disseminate the outcomes of their investigations to broader audiences. However, they often feel poorly prepared to tackle the task and that is why this book was written.

The purpose of this text is to prepare teachers to be efficient classroom researchers and to produce persuasive answers to educational questions. This book performs that task by describing typical steps in the conduct of research on schooling topics, with each step accompanied by a host of specific examples of what the step entails in the study a wide variety of questions about life in elementary and secondary schools.

The text (Chs. 2-8) is organized into the eight major steps in conducting research, from choosing a topic to reporting the results, so that teachers can develop their research project by completing each step.

Includes dozens of specific examples of research projects from preschool through high school, with multiple life-like examples, so that teachers see exactly how each step in research is taken.

Illustrates and evaluates sources of research topics for appropriateness so that teachers get ideas of where to find topics and how to evaluate them (Ch. 2).

Includes specific steps in searching research literature, both print and electronic, for teachers who can then follow the steps that are illustrated with examples (Ch. 3).

Describes six qualitative research methods (Ch. 4) along with advantages and limitations so that teachers can compare qualitative methods and understand their use. Three quantitative research methods are also described with their advantages and limitations (Ch. 5).

Covers all aspects of five data-collection methods for teachers to see how each method is carried out (Ch. 6).

Outlines six ways to report and publish research outcomes to illustrate alternative ways that results can be disseminated (Ch. 9).

Chapter-end exercises and problems and a “planning guide” at the end of each chapter (Chs. 2-9) provide students with immediate opportunities to apply the information in the chapter in practical situations.

Each chapter concludes with “Planning Guide.”

Preface.

1. What This Book Is About.

What Is Research?

What Are Schooling Topics?

Why Do Teachers Do Research?

How Is Information Collected?

Where Is Such Research Reported?

How Might This Book Help?

2. Finding and Defining Research Topics.

Sources of Research Topics.

Distinguishing Between Better and Worse Topics.

Phrasing Topics Precisely.

Creating Definitions.

Starting to Write.

3. Consulting the Literature.

What to Hunt for in the Literature.

Ways to Survey Print Literature.

How to Search the World Wide Web.

Useful Databases.

4. Research Method—Qualitative.

The Process of Selecting a Method.

A Way to Analyze Methods.

Histories.

Biographies and Autobiographies.

Experience Narratives.

Ethnographies.

Activity Analyses.

5. Research Method—Quantitative.

Surveys.

Correlation Studies.

Experiments.

6. Techniques for Gathering Data.

Observations.

Interviews.

Questionnaires.

Content Analyses.

Tests.

7. Organizing Information.

Classification Systems.

Descriptive Statistics.

Graphic Displays.

8. Interpreting the Outcomes.

Status.

Causation.

Comparisons.

Evaluation.

Extension.

Prediction.

9. Reporting the Results.

Oral Presentations.

Popular Periodicals.

Theses and Dissertations.

Journals and Bulletins.

The Internet.

Books and Book Chapters.

References.

Index.

Educational Research (Ed Psych / Tests & Measurements)
Introduction to Educational Psychology [ASSESSMENT] (Ed Psych / Tests & Measurements)
Introduction to Research Methods [CORE TEXTS] (Educational Research)
Action Research (Educational Research)
Assessment / Measurement [ASSESSMENT] (Ed Psych / Tests & Measurements)

Backcover Copy

The purpose of this brief text is to prepare teachers to be efficient classroom researchers and to deduce useful answers to educational questions. The book performs that task by describing typical steps in the conduct of research on classroom topics, with each step accompanied by a host of specific examples of what the step entails in the study of a wide variety of questions about life in elementary and secondary schools.

Features:

Organized into the eight major steps in conducting research, from choosing a topic to reporting the results.
Includes specific examples of research projects from preschool through high school with multiple, realistic examples.
Illustrates and evaluates appropriate sources of research topics so that teachers can readily brainstorm or adapt ideas for topics.
Illustrates specific steps in searching for both print and electronic literature with examples that help make the research process easier for teachers.
Describes six qualitative and three quantitative research methods, along with advantages and limitations, to help teachers compare methodologies and understand their use.
Covers all aspects of the most popular data collection methods.
Outlines six ways to report and publish research outcomes to illustrate the alternative ways that results can be disseminated.
Includes exercises, problems, and a “planning guide” at the end of each chapter to provide students with immediate opportunities to apply the information in practical situations.

Allyn & Bacon CourseCompass for Educational Psychology, Version 2.0 (Access code required)
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Teachers Doing Research: An Introductory Guidebook

Using Technology in the Classroom, Brief Edition

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