4. Quality
• Blind Peer Reviewed Journal articles published
in reputable academic journals
• Blind Peer Reviewed Journal articles
published in reputable academic journals
• Research Reports by reputable institutions
(caution: political agendas)
• Edited Books
• News Articles/Books (Major difference
between authors and researchers)
5. Empirical Methods
• Quantitative
– Randomized control trials
– Quasi experimental
– Pre/post design
• Qualitative
– Case study
– Ethnography
– Phenomenology
• Mixed Methods
– Sequential
– Concurrent
– Iterative
Writing that does not
specify the method is
usually not research
based and is more
opinion… in education
there is a great deal of
opinion on “what works”
6. Impetus for Research
• Curiosity
• Practical Need
• Academic Funding
• Contracted Funding*
• Ongoing Concerns
• Consistent body of evidence
(Shank & Brown p.8)
7. Four basic goals
1. Create a useful public record
– What good is it to do research, if the researchers do not share
the results?
2. Write articles that are precise and accurate as possible
– Researchers need to documents thoroughly and correctly any
and all steps, procedures and findings
3. Create articles that are as clear as possible
– Even the most complex ideas can be explained easily
4. Organize their articles in as orderly a fashion as possible
– How does a piece of research fit in with the larger body of
evidence?
(Shank & Brown p. 10)
8. Tone of Articles
1. Rhetoric – expected tone of language of a
community
2. Style guides – writing style conventions and
guides e.g. APA style guide
3. Structures
• textual structures, outlines, charts & figures, underlining or
italicizing
4. Precedents
• Rules, conventions, shared knowledge, shared assumptions
9. Start with Secondary Articles
• These are often professional journals
• http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership.aspx
• http://www.canadianteachermagazine.com/
• Secondary Journals are not as rigorous as
primary research journals sometimes more
relevant for practice settings
10. Types of Secondary Articles
• Lay review
– Provide some exposure to the topic
• Focused Review
– Systematic review of research
• Action Plan
– Focused review with a piece on how to move forward
• Interview
– A published interview transcript often informative
• Opinion Piece
– Difficult to evaluate, many of these in education
11. Activity
• In groups review the article you were provided
• As a larger group identify:
– Purpose
– Methodology
– Importance
– Relevance to Education
