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Introduction to Educational Research
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Introduction to Educational Research
A Critical Thinking Approach

Second Edition
June 2013 | 528 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Engaging, informative, and nontechnical, Introduction to Educational Research: A Critical Thinking Approach, Second Edition was written and organized specifically for students intending to conduct future educational research. It enables students to think clearly and critically about the process of research and illustrates how easily research can be misinterpreted. The author empowers educators and makes research truly accessible by equipping readers with the reasoning and thinking skills needed to understand and critically evaluate empirical studies across all areas of education. Students are guided through the stages of the research process: thinking about research, formulating hypotheses, selecting appropriate research designs, collecting and analyzing statistical and qualitative data, and completing research analyses and critiques. As a result, students will better understand research as an integrated process, as well as show how and why researchers think like they do.

 
Preface
 
Part I: Foundations
 
Chapter 1: Educators as Critical Thinkers
 
Chapter 2: Thinking About Research
 
Chapter 3: Diversity of Educational Research
 
Part II: Research as Process
 
Chapter 4: The Research Problem
 
Chapter 5: Research Language
 
Chapter 6: Theory and Practice
 
Part III: Data Collection
 
Chapter 7: Research Bias and Control
 
Chapter 8: Sampling in Research
 
Chapter 9: Measurement in Research
 
Part IV: Design and Analysis
 
Chapter 10: Common Experimental Research Designs
 
Chapter 11: Common Non-Intervention Research Designs
 
Chapter 12: Qualitative Data, Analysis, and Design
 
Chapter 13: Statistical Data Analysis
 
Part V: Consumer to Producer
 
Chapter 14: Research Analysis and Critique
 
Chapter 15: Writing Research Proposals
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index

“The Suter text has a critical thinking approach that engages students and makes the topics meaningful and connected.”

David K Pugalee
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

“I would very likely recommend this textbook to colleagues. I will also consider adopting this textbook for my course. I like the readability of the text as well as the examples given by the author to help the reader understand the topics.”

Tracy Walker
Virginia State University

“. . . the explanations of statistical procedures, examples of real research projects and their problems, and the chapter-end application exercises are so well done.”

Pamela Murphy
Virginia Tech

The book was well written and organized the content was well developed and related to current issues. Further, the book focused on critically analyzing research while learning the research process, rather than memorizing facts.

Dr Dorothy Leflore
Curriculum Instruction Dept, North Carolina A & T State University
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Previously used in the course and it meets the needs of the students.

Dr Ruby Owiny
Special Education Dept, Minnesota State Univ-Mankato
drupal

This text is extremely dense and oftentimes confusing. I felt that instead of breaking concepts down and making them simpler and easier for students to digest, this text often over-complicated methods and methodology needlessly. I could not see my students being able to work with this text successfully, which is unfortunate as I had high hopes for using it in a research methods course.

Dr Wendy Fuller
Social Sciences Div, Norwich University
drupal

Great intro text for grad students.

Professor HAROLD MCGINNIS
BAGWELL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, Kennesaw State University
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price
text is not too long and strikes a good balance between detail and overview

Professor Kai Cortina
Psychology Dept, University of Michigan
drupal

Previously used in the course and it meets the needs of the students.

Dr Ruby Owiny
Special Education Dept, Minnesota State Univ-Mankato
August 5, 2022
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Great intro text for grad students.

Professor HAROLD MCGINNIS
BAGWELL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, Kennesaw State University
June 25, 2013
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Key features

New to the Second Edition

  • Greater guidance for thinking critically about research conclusions, including how to avoid traps—seductive claims that easily mislead many practitioners—how to sharpen your thinking
  • Enhanced description of bias in research, including those rarely recognized, and how this threatens sound judgment.
  • Expanded coverage of qualitative data, practical suggestions for its analysis and interpretation, and examples of sound applications of qualitative research designs in the literature
  • New sections on important topics that have arisen in recent years, including data mining with practical examples of how this is done, as well as research designs now recognized for their value in testing causal connections (e.g., regression-discontinuity)
  • Greater coverage of action research and reflective practice, including discussion of models with ample illustrations and examples of successful applications
  • Inclusion of new concepts (e.g., cherry picking) to explain why research is so commonly misinterpreted
  • Expanded material on mixed method designs and their value (including entry into the Critical Perspectives Toolbox)
  • New examples of key concepts applied to contemporary research in broad areas of education


Key Features

  • Critical Thinker Alerts are spread throughout the 15 chapters. Each one describes a key concept in research coupled with a discussion question designed to enable clear thinking.
  • Highlight and Learning Checks provide conceptual recaps and opportunities for student engagement.
  • Critical Perspectives present "Critical Thinking Toolboxes" (and associated questions) within a context that describes key concepts (e.g., control, sampling, etc.) across four major research traditions in education: quantitative, qualitative, action, and mixed method research.
  • Critical Terms are defined throughout.
  • More Examples direct students to the web-based Student Study Site, which contains additional learning activities and resources that facilitate the learning objectives of each chapter.
  • Application Exercises can be used for additional learning checks, student projects, or optional enrichment.