Research Methods in

1 Research Methods inEducationThis rewritten and updated sixth edition of the long-running bestsellerResearch Methods in Educationcovers the whole range of Methods currently employed by educational Research at all stages. It has fivemain parts: the context of educational Research , planning educational Research , styles of educationalresearch, strategies for data collection and researching and data analysis. The book contains referencesto a comprehensive dedicated web site of accompanying materials. It continues to be the standard textfor students and lecturers undertaking, understanding and using educational sixth edition comprises new material including.

2 Ocomplexity theory, ethics, sampling, sensitive educational Research , researching powerful people,Internet-based Research , interviewing and surveysOexpanded coverage of, and practical guidance in, experimental Research , questionnaire design andadministrationOan entirely new part, containing five new chapters covering qualitative and quantitative data analysisincluding content analysis, grounded theory, statistics and how to use them, effect size, and reportingdata, all with practical examplesOdetailed cross-referencing to a major educational resource web site designed specifically to runalongside this Methods in Education,sixthedition,isessentialreadin gforboththeprofessionalresearcherandanyo ne involved in educational Cohenis Emeritus Professor of Education at Loughborough University, Manionwas former Principal Lecturer in Music at Didsbury School of Education, ManchesterMetropolitan University.

3 Morrisonis Professor of Education at the Inter-University Institute of Macau and formerly SeniorLecturer in Education at the University of Durham, Methods inEducationSixth editionLouis Cohen, Lawrence Manionand Keith MorrisonFirst published 2007 by Routledge2 ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144 RNSimultaneously published in the USA and Canadaby Routledge270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business 2007 Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith or utilised in any form or by any electronic,mechanical,orothermeans,nowkn ownorhereafterinvented, including photocopying and recording, or in anyinformation storage or retrieval system, without permission inwriting from the Library Cataloguing in Publication DataAcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailab lefromtheBritishLibraryLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataAcatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenrequ estedISBN 10: 0 415 37410 3 (hbk)ISBN 10.

4 0 415 36878 2 (pbk)ISBN 10: 0 203 02905 4 (ebk)ISBN 13: 978 0 415 37410 1 (hbk)ISBN 13: 978 0 415 36878 0 (pbk)ISBN 13: 978 0 203 02905 3 (ebk)This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library,2007. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge scollection of thousands of eBooks please go to ISBN 0-203-02905-4 Mastere-bookISBNFor Lawrence Manion, a wise counsellor and a good friendContentsList of boxesxiiiAcknowledgementsxviiIntroductio n1 Part 1 The context of educational research1 The nature of inquiry Setting thefieldIntroduction5 The search for truth5 Two conceptions of social reality7 Positivism9 The assumptions and nature ofscience11 The tools of science14 The scientific method15 Criticisms of positivism and the scientificmethod17 Alternatives to positivistic social science:naturalistic approaches19 Aquestionofterminology.

5 Thenormativeand interpretive paradigms21 Phenomenology, ethnomethodology andsymbolic interactionism22 Criticisms of the naturalistic and interpretiveapproaches25 Critical theory and critical educationalresearch26 Criticisms of approaches from criticaltheory29 Critical theory and curriculumresearch30 Asummaryofthethreeparadigms32 The emerging paradigm of complexitytheory33 Feminist research34 Research and evaluation41 Research , politics and policy-making46 Methods and methodology47 Part 2 Planning educational research2 TheethicsofeducationalandsocialresearchI ntroduction51 Informed consent52 Access and acceptance55 The field of ethics58 Sources of tension58 Voices of experience61 Ethical dilemmas62 Ethics and Research Methods ineducation69 Ethics and evaluative research70 Research and regulation.

6 Ethical codes andreview71 Sponsored research74 Responsibilities to the researchcommunity75 Conclusion753 PlanningeducationalresearchIntroduction7 8 Aframeworkforplanningresearch78 Aplanningmatrixforresearch87viiiCONTENTS M anaging the planning of research93 Aworkedexample95 Conclusion984 SamplingIntroduction100 The sample size101 Sampling error106 The representativeness of the sample 108 The access to the sample109 The sampling strategy to be used110 Probability samples110 Non-probability samples113 Planning a sampling strategy117 Conclusion1175 SensitiveeducationalresearchWhat is sensitive Research ?

7 119 Sampling and access121 Ethical issues in sensitive research124 Researching powerful people127 Asking questions130 Conclusion1316 ValidityandreliabilityDefining validity133 Triangulation141 Ensuring validity144 Reliability in quantitative research146 Reliability in qualitative research148 Validity and reliability in interviews150 Validity and reliability inexperiments155 Validity and reliability inquestionnaires157 Validity and reliability inobservations158 Validity and reliability in tests159 Validity and reliability in lifehistories164 Part 3 Styles of educational research7 NaturalisticandethnographicresearchEleme nts of naturalistic inquiry167 Planning naturalistic research171 Critical ethnography186 Some problems with ethnographic andnaturalistic approaches1888 HistoricalanddocumentaryresearchIntroduc tion191 Choice of subject192 Data collection193 Evaluation194 Writing the Research report195 The use of quantitative methods197 Life histories198 Documentary research2019 Surveys.

8 Longitudinal,cross-sectionaland trend studiesIntroduction205 Some preliminary considerations207 Planning a survey208 Survey sampling211 Longitudinal, cross-sectional and trendstudies211 Strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal,cohort and cross-sectional studies214 Postal, interview and telephonesurveys218 Event history analysis22410 Internet-based Research and computerusageIntroduction226 Internet-based surveys226 Internet-based experiments239 Internet-based interviews241 CONTENTS ixSearching for Research materials on theInternet242 Evaluating web sites244 Computer simulations245 Geographical Information Systems25111 Case studiesWhat is a case study?

9 253 Examples of kinds of case study258 Why participant observation?260 Recording observations260 Planning a case study261 Writing up a case study262 Conclusion26312Ex post factoresearchIntroduction264Co-relationa l and criterion groupsdesigns265 Characteristics ofex post factoresearch266 Occasions when appropriate268 Advantages and disadvantages ofex post factoresearch268 Designing anex post factoinvestigation269 Procedures inex post factoresearch27013 Experiments, quasi-experiments,single-case Research and meta-analysisIntroduction272 Designs in educationalexperimentation274 True experimental designs275 Aquasi-experimentaldesign:thenon-equival ent control group design282 Single-case Research .

10 ABAB design284 Procedures in conducting experimentalresearch285 Examples from educational research287 Evidence-based educational Research andmeta-analysis28914 Action researchIntroduction297 Defining action research297 Principles and characteristics of actionresearch299 Action Research as critical praxis302 Procedures for action research304 Reflexi