science involves arguing from methodologically sound

8/14/2019 Science Involves Arguing From Methodologically Sound

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Education Research as a

Science?EDPS 533

Aman Yadav



Today’s Agenda

In-house maintenanceSmall Group DiscussionWhole Class DiscussionAman’s Take on ThingsAssignment: Initial Research Problem



Some Terms

Quantitative Research: surveys, testscores

Qualitative Research: interviews,field observations, document reviews

Random Sample versus RandomAssignment



More Terms

ReplicationGeneralization



Discussion Questions What makes educational research so difficult?

How can we tell proper from improper uses ofresearch methods? In your group come up with 1example of each.

What is the role of research methodology ineducation research?

What does it mean to conduct “scientific”research?



Debating the two sides

Education research as a science?

Does education research has to be scientific? Why orwhy not? Why is it important for educators to rely on

research as a way of knowing or understanding?What are the limitations of such reliance?

Discuss what you think is good and what you thinkis bad about the “No Child Left Behind” act interms of education research.



Why is education researchdifficult?

The power of context.Education research involves humans who

are interconnected via social network.

The interaction factor.



“Hardest Science of All” - Berliner,

2002

Education research is too soft.

Instead of “hard versus soft sciences”maybe it is more of “hard versus easysciences”.

“Education hardest science of them all”(Berliner, 2002)



Scientific Research inEducation

Recently emphasis on “scientificresearch” and “evidence-basedpractices”.

This view of research is a narrow viewof education research.



Source:Mayer, 2000



Quantitative & QualitativeResearch

“In short, science involves arguingfrom methodologically sound data, butscience is agnostic on the issue ofwhether the data need to be

quantitative or qualitative.” (Mayer,2000, p. 39)



So what does it mean to doscientific research?

Pose significant questions that can be investigated

empirically, Link research to relevant theory,Use methods that permit direct investigation of the

questions, Provide a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning, Yield findings that replicate and generalize across

studies, andDisclose research data and methods to enable and

encourage professional scrutiny and critique.

science involves arguing from methodologically sound

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