Educational Research: Creative Thinking and Doing (2nd Edition)

Part of the series Oxford University Press - Teacher Education.

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Educational Research: Creative Thinking and Doing is an engaging and accessible introduction to the broad field of educational research. It demonstrates how to use research to think about issues arising from classroom settings, organisations, or wider professional activities.

Using engaging anecdotes from the field, this textbook thoroughly covers the basic principles, imperatives and theoretical approaches, and offers practical strategies for tackling the necessary processes and procedures.

New to this edition:

* Fully revised and updated to cover the introduction of National Curriculum * Increased focus on research in science and social science education and educational contexts * Agony aunt style epilogues at the end of each part, answering students’ questions about research

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Contents:

PART A: THINKING RESEARCH

• 1. ‘Seeing’ research
  • What is research?
  • Why do it?
  • Contexts of formal research
• 2. What does research entail?
  • Some philosophical considerations
  • Some responsibilities
  • Defining the key terms
• 3. Research and the practitioner
  • Practitioners as researchers
  • Researching practice
  • Three approaches to research
  • The underpinning significance of human experience
• 4. Methodologies and methods
  • Descriptive and interpretive research
  • Interventionist methodologies—bringing about change through research
  • Blended methodologies—for description, interpretation and ongoing change
  • Mixed methodologies
  • Meta-research
• Postscript to Part A: A warning
• Epilogue to Part A: The agony column Part 1—Getting started

PART B: DOING RESEARCH

• 5. Making a start
  • Starting points
  • Developing the proposal or submission
  • Ethics approval
• 6. The literature
  • Accessing the literature
  • Making a start
  • How to read
  • Documenting the literature
  • The internet and other sources
• 7. Dealing with data
  • Collecting and generating data
  • Negative data and silent voices
  • Background data
  • Participant data
  • Experimental data
  • Documenting data
• 8. Data analysis and synthesis
  • A note of encouragement
  • Preparing the ground for analysis
  • Analysis in action
  • Analysis after action
  • Analysing the data—quantitative
  • Analysing the data—qualitative
  • Mediating and mediated data
  • Data synthesis
• 9. Reporting research
  • Planning your report
  • Aesthetics and style
  • Dynamic reporting
  • Publishing research
• Postscript to Part B: A valediction
• Epilogue to Part B: The agony column Part 2—Getting it done