Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches

1. Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches Chapter 2

2. Research Paradigm • A perspective held by a community of researchers that is based on a set of shared assumptions, concepts, values and practices. • Qualitative • Quantitative • Mixed

3. Incompatibility Thesis says you cannot mix the two. Pragmatism says that what works is what is important or valid. Qualitative vs. Quantitative

4. Quantitative Relies primarily on the collection of numerical data. Focuses on hypothesis and theory testing. “narrow-angled” lens. Only one factor is manipulated. Researchers operate under the assumption of objectivity. Reduces measurements to numbers. Reports are commonly reported in journals and only 5-15 pages in length. Qualitative Relies primarily on the collection of nonnumerical data. Used to understand people’s experiences and to express their perspectives. “wide or deep-angled” lens Researchers observe behavior as it occurs naturally without intervening. Researchers believe that reality is socially constructed. Measurements are usually in the form of words. Reports are longer, written in narrative form and published in the form of books or monographs. So, What’s the Difference?

5. Mixed Research • Research that involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or other paradigm characteristics.

6. Determinism • All events have more than one cause.

7. Probalistic Causes • Causes that usually produce an outcome.

8. Linguistic-Relativity Hypothesis • The idea that people see and understand the world through the lens of their local language. • People’s thoughts are bound by their language.

9. Vestehen • Method of empathetic understanding of others’ viewpoints, intentions, and cultural beliefs.

10. Quantitative Research Methods Experimental and Nonexperimental Research

11. Variables

12. Independent = A variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable Dependent = A variable that is presumend to be influenced by one or more independent variables Independent vs. Dependent

13. Quantitative = Variable that varies in degree or amount #s Height Weight Temperature Annual income age Categorical = Variable that varies by type or kind Groups Gender Religion Ethnicity College major Social class Quantitative vs. Categorical

14. Intervening or Mediating Variable • A variable that occurs between two other variables; it’s a mediating variable.

15. Moderator Variable • A variable that changes the relationship between other variables

16. Cause-and-Effect Relationship: The purpose of Experimental Research

17. Cause-and-Effect Relationship • A relationship in which one variable affects another variable

18. Experimental Research • Research in which the researcher manipulates the independent variable and is interested in showing cause and effect Beware of the EXTRANEOUS and CONFOUNDING variables!

19. Extraneous Variable • A variable that may compete with the independent variable in explaining the outcome

20. Confounding Variable • A type of extraneous variable that was not controlled for and is the reason a particular “confounded” result is observed

21. Nonexperimental Research Causal-Comparative Research Correlational Research

22. Causal-Comparative Research • A form of nonexperimental research in which the primary independent variable of interest is a categorical variable

23. Correlational Research • A form of research where the researcher studies the relationship between one or more quantitative independent variables and one or more quantitative dependent variables; in other words, independent and dependent variables are quantitative

24. Positive correlation= the situation when scores on two variables tend to move in the same direction Negative correlation= the situation when scores on two variables tend to move in opposite directions Correlational Coefficient: A numerical index that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. (Positive or Negative DOES NOT MATTER, only the numbers distance from zero is relevant!)

25. Qualitative Research Methods

26. Phenomenology • A form of qualitative research in which the researcher attempts to understand how one or more individuals experience a phenomenon

27. Culture = The shared attitudes, values, norms, and practices, patterns of interaction, perspectives, and language of a group of people Holisitic description= The description of how members of a group interact and how they come together to make up the group as a whole Ethnography: A form of qualitative research focused on describing the culture of a group.

28. Case Study Research • A form of qualitative research that is focused on providing a detailed account of one or more cases • The 7 Up documentary series is a great example of this type of research.

29. Grounded Theory Research • A qualitative approach to generating and developing a theory from the data that the researcher collects

30. Research about people, places, and events in the past Historical Research

31. Mixed Research

32. The Fundamental Principle of Mixed Research • By combining two or more research methods with different strengths and weaknesses in a research study, you can make it less likely that you will make a mistake