Applying Educational Research: How to Read, Do, and Use Research to Solve Problems of Practice

This text brings research alive for educators by introducing readers to people who actually “do” research. It is intended for instructors who emphasize teaching students how to locate, read, and interpret and apply the findings of educational research studies. The revision addresses how to design and conduct a research study in more detail.

The text includes numerous recent, published research articles involving high-interest problems of educational practice. The chapters, which treat quantitative, qualitative, and applied forms of educational research, stand alone, allowing instructors to choose those they want to cover. Designed for courses focused primarily on applying, rather than conducting research, this text includes 13 actual research articles, reprinted in their entirety. The primary author of each article then offers original commentary on his/her piece. Through this format, the text presents a comprehensive explanation of the methodologies used by present-day researchers, data-collection challenges, and the meaning of the results. The book makes no assumptions about readers' prior knowledge of research or statistics.

This text builds students' confidence so that they are able to successfully read research reports and research. Through its clear yet scholarly treatment and numerous examples of educational research the text addresses the learning and application needs of an increasingly wider spectrum of students and practitioners in the field of education. For the first time, readerswill see the relevance of research to educational practice.