Educational Research: a Beginner's Guide

This book presents a rudimentary exposureto the fi eld of educational research and anattempt to allay the unwarranted fear of thosewho perceive research as a highly technicaland complex scholarly activity carried outby persons in the sciences. The author takesthe position that anyone can do research andthat it can be an interesting and very worthwhile experience. Educational research, particularly action research, which theauthor emphasizes, is an invaluable exercise about whicheveryone in education should be knowledgeable or at least befamiliar. Starting with an explication of some salient conceptsin the study of research (e.g., research, educational research,research problem v. research topic, hypothesis, experimental v. non-experimental research) , the book takes the reader throughthe process of conducting a research problem from problemselection and statement, signifi cance, review of literature,methodology, data analysis, fi ndings to recommendationsand conclusions. Detailed descriptions of the AmericanPsychological Association (APA) style of referencing with ampleexamples are provided. The book is written in simple languageso that even high school students will be able to acquire a fairlygood understanding of each contents. Though the primarytarget population is undergraduate students of education, thecontents are broad enough to provide a guide for students inother disciplines, as well as whet the appetite of the generalreader who seeks only a basic knowledge of research and/oreducational research.