Doing Research in Education

Theory and Practice

Ioanna Palaiologou, David Needham, Trevor Male, Ioanna Palaiologou, David Needham, Trevor Male

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781473944084
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Research in Education

This book will help you to plan, design and conduct quality research within the specific context of education and educational studies.

An impressive cast of contributors discuss the reality of conducting research in different educational settings and provide practical advice for both undergraduate and postgraduate students and early career researchers doing research in education. The book discusses key philosophical issues such as understanding research paradigms, ethics and selecting appropriate methodologies but remains grounded in the practical experience of the researcher. It has comprehensive coverage of the whole research process from start to finish, is easy to navigate and helps develop key skills such as:

• Time management
• Creating good research questions and hypotheses
• Constructing the literature review
• Structuring a project
• Writing a proposal
• Managing data
• Analysing data
• Writing for specific audiences

Packed full of learning features and showcasing a wide range of voices and opinions this book is an ideal guide for anyone conducting research in education or educational studies.

1 The Purpose of Research: Why do we do it?

David Needham

Chapter Aims and Objectives

This chapter aims to help you to:

• understand the nature of educational research;
• appreciate the purpose of the research process;
• classify the different types of educational research;
• understand your role as an educational researcher as you put together your research strategy;
• write a good piece of educational research;
• understand the role of your supervisor.

Introduction

When you go into an educational setting, do you ever ask questions that help you to find something out? Sometimes conversations with professional people enable you to learn from what they do and may prompt you to ask even more questions so that you explore issues and improve your understanding of some of what you observe. It could be argued that as human beings it is instinctive for us to ask questions, often internally to ourselves, and that research is something that we all do most of the time.

Intuitively, and in different ways or at different levels, we want to discover knowledge, often by prefacing our thoughts with words such as ‘why, how, might, what if, does, could, do, when, where, suppose or even “surely”!’ It was Kagan (1972) who argued that people are motivated to reduce their sense of uncertainty between themselves and their environment. This is simply part of our behaviour. We all have a desire for knowledge which is why we seek explanations. It simply helps us to make sense of the world. The instinct of human beings is to ask questions and then try to answer them by finding the answers. Reading, research and finding things out just makes life so much better!

It is not easy beginning a research project and subsequently writing a report or constructing a dissertation or thesis. This is because in some cases it may take a great deal of time to complete, possibly spanning at least a whole academic year and maybe longer! It is important, therefore, to choose an area that you are genuinely interested in and fascinated by. Perhaps it is clichéd to say that research is something that is very personal, but it is something that you, the researcher, control from the outset. It is your topic and is different to that chosen by anybody else. It is also something that you are going to complete and do differently to the way in which anybody else would carry out their project. It is you, with your very human qualities, who will make your project unique. That makes it very exciting! Through your project you are going to gain an insight into an area of education in a way that enables you to become a specialist within your chosen topic.

Figure 1.1 Prefacing questions

Definition – Thesis or dissertation

A detailed document based upon an element of research submitted in full or part fulfilment of an academic degree or professional qualification.

What is Educational Research?

The starting point for this is to think about the word ‘research’. The picture that often comes into our minds when we think about research is that of scientists in white coats experimenting in a laboratory. We may also think about doing research, however, by exploring the Internet or through reading books and browsing journals in a library. Each of these images contains similar characteristics in that research is something scholarly that involves some form of investigation in order to find something out within a particular discipline such as education (Newby, 2014).

The word research comes from the French word ‘rechercher’ (to travel or survey, or establish facts and relationships). This is not like being in a classroom or a lecture hall where you might listen or take notes. In those instances you are at the receiving end of the educational process. Although these sessions are important in providing you with knowledge and understanding it might not be answering all of your questions or allowing you to test your thoughts. Research is something that involves an investment and enables you to develop new knowledge and understanding (HEFCE, 1999). In this sense it helps you to seek answers to questions (Tuckman and Harper, 2012). Involving yourself in research helps to make your learning active and makes it relevant and exciting. Research is, therefore, a practical process for you. However, let us not forget that research also involves a sense of your own personal reflection in which you ponder and make sense of what you have learnt.

We all have experience of an educational environment. Inevitably, your early experiences within school will have had some part to play in developing your views or ideas about education. The problem with forming views, and we all have them, is that they create unsubstantiated reasoning. There is often little basis upon which to make statements or observations other than through our own experience. This is where educational research comes in. Educational research is about the reorientation of ideas on the basis of information obtained through an investigation. It is a process of discovery through which reading and data help to reduce any sources of error within our reasoning to create a better sense of authority. Think of it as a process of putting contact lenses or spectacles on to help you to see the world more clearly. As you do so you come closer to understanding the real answer to all of your questions. It is through this that with authority and confidence you find out a little bit more about all that is happening within the world of education.

Educational research is something that engages with the practice of education. For example, it could include a focus upon schools, classrooms, learning, teaching, management, policies, and legislation and might cover issues related to sociology, psychology, history, politics, child development, teacher education, culture, gender, economics, art and creativity, life sciences, ethnicity, technology, media, mathematics, language, recreation and human physical or social performance. The list is almost endless. There is also logic about educational research which ensures that the procedures for constructing the project and undertaking the research help to make it a valuable tool for understanding the chosen area. For further guidance on this it is worth referring to the SAGE book Research Methods in Education (Check and Schutt, 2012).

Educational research thus involves an organised and structured process or approach by the researcher – you – to find the answers to a hypothesis or research question or attempt to solve one or more problems, likely to be related to one or more of the areas above, by reading, collecting data and through searching for explanations (Anderson and Arsenault, 1998). In other words, by gathering data from one or more sources and by undertaking a thorough examination of relevant literature the researcher is trying to improve their understanding of the issue upon which they are focused in a way that produces unbiased findings. This involves:

• reading literature and gathering data to use;
• developing new knowledge;
• creating a qualified understanding of issues related to learners and education;
• processes of discovery about issues that really matter to the researcher;
• being careful, rigorous, measured, accurate and precise as the process of research is developed;
• developing an unbiased process that attempts to solve a problem;
• satisfying and informing the interests of the researcher;
• enjoying the journey. Research is not a fixed process, but is iterative and creative. Along the journey you may adapt and refine your approaches and direction.

Researching an educational environment can be unpredictable and messy. It was W.C. Fields, the American comedian, who penned the phrase ‘never work with children or animals’. Your research may take place in early years settings, schools, colleges, universities or other educational organisations; it could involve talking with specialists such as teachers or child psychologists. You may meet members of other related occupations such as carers, parents, police officers or employers. It could involve listening, observing, asking questions, recording and meeting individuals of various ages and from different backgrounds. However, in most instances and, at the heart of many areas of educational research, are children or young and perhaps vulnerable people. Things often go wrong. It can sometimes be difficult to arrange meetings with busy people or observations in educational settings. As research involves dealing with people, there are also many ethical issues which should be at the forefront of any project. It is never easy being a researcher and an ethical code of conduct is really important (this will be discussed more fully in Chapter 3). Educational research takes many different forms and may demand many different approaches. As you undertake the role of a researcher you will want to seek answers and improve your understanding of issues related to your chosen area. You may be trying to find out, for example, whether reading differences in children within a Year 2 classroom depend upon their birth date, whether sex education programmes within a secondary school impact upon teenage pregnancy, how speaking English as a second language impacts upon the experiences of an early years child, whether gender influences outdoor learning or whether role play within a nursery might help children to develop life skills. The list is endless and everybody’s approach to solving their research problem is different. This is what makes educational research so interesting, not just for the researchers, but also for the tutors and supervisors.

Educational research allows you to pursue your interests and to learn something new. It is an academic exercise that enables you to hone your problem-solving skills and to challenge yourself in new ways as part of your own learning. As you do so you work closely with your supervisor who is likely to be an experienced researcher and with whom you should meet regularly. Then as a researcher you seek answers to questions that you are genuinely interested in. Remember that it is you who chooses your approaches and the tools or your research as you read and articulate your ideas while you gather and analyse your data.

Practical Tip

So, what do you really want to find out? In the early stages of your project this can be difficult. Before you begin your project or, during the early weeks, it can be useful to keep an Ideas Diary. Into this put everything that you are thinking about your research. You are not making notes in here about the literature. It is for your eyes only so that you can record and reflect upon your thoughts as your ideas develop.

Activity

Either on your own or within a group, think about the potential benefits that could arise for teaching and learning from good educational research. Discuss your thoughts with others.

The Purpose of Educational Research

As part of their daily activities, anybody who works in education is a consumer of research and also a producer of their own research. For example, in working with young and vulnerable people you might be reflecting upon your own practice and also want to strive to improve your practice. In this sense educational research is about raising questions. This might involve experimenting with different techniques in order to test their effectiveness. Similarly, published research into pedagogies that has been substantiated across a range of situations might suggest ways in which practice could be improved.

Research is essentially about acquiring knowled...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Publisher Note
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List Of Contributors
• Preface
• Companion Website
• 1 The Purpose of Research: Why do we do it?
• 2 Making Sense of Research Methodology
• 3 Ethical Issues Associated with Educational Research
• 4 Constructing the Hypotheses/Creating the Research Question(s)
• 5 Managing the Project
• 6 Writing the Proposal
• 7 Constructing the Literature Section
• 8 Selecting Appropriate Research Methods for an Educational Context
• 9 Collecting Qualitative Data
• 10 Analysing Qualitative Data
• 11 Collecting Quantitative Data
• 12 Analysing quantitative data
• 13 Research Analysis and Discussion
• 14 Writing and Reporting the Research
• Index