Historically, qualitative and quantitative approaches have been applied relatively separately in synthesizing qualitative and quantitative evidence, respectively, in several research domains. However, mixed methods approaches are becoming increasingly popular nowadays, and practices of combining qualitative and quantitative research components at…

In response to the dearth of research agendas that connect teacher education and teaching in the field and to the call for more programmatic research, the purpose of this paper is to present the Agenda for Researching Teaching (ART). The ART is a visual research agenda that spans the time from a teacher candidate learning to teach to impacting…

This article presents a process for utilizing a bibliographic system built with Microsoft Excel as well as concept maps to organize and to synthesize information that can be included in a literature review. A review of the conceptual framework behind these tools is included as well as a detailed description about how to build the system in Excel.…

Due to the continued growth of qualitative research methodology, the demand for large-scale quasi-experimental studies, and a renewed interest in mixed methodologies, there is concern regarding methods courses taught in schools or colleges of education in the United States. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of current methods…

This paper describes the process and results of teacher-research conducted at Parkside Middle School, a Professional Development School in an Appalachian state. Working together as a team, teachers and a university faculty liaison examined students' perceptions regarding academic and social climate issues. A questionnaire containing Likert-type…

"Research in the Schools" publishes empirical studies focusing on the results of applied educational research, scholarly reviews of research, descriptions of technology applications and innovative teaching strategies, and other topics of interest to educational researchers. Issue number 1 contains these articles: (1) "Factors Associated with…

Investigated the effectiveness of cooperative learning (CL) in a graduate-level research methodology course. Eighty-one students participated in the CL condition; 112 were in the individual learning condition. CL students had lower performance on the midterm examination, but no statistically significant difference was seen in performance on the…

Summarizes the post-1994 literature in psychology and education regarding statistical significance testing, emphasizing limitations and defenses of statistical testing and alternatives or supplements to statistical significance testing. (SLD)

Studied empirical factors related to achievement in educational research courses using a sample of 121 graduate students. Students with the lowest achievement tended to have or exhibit at least one of these characteristics: younger age, lower overall achievement, higher levels of research anxiety, higher statistics anxiety, poorer study habits,…

Critiqued six methods that have been used to study the relationship between per pupil expenditures and student achievement and considered two methods used to summarize the results that have produced conflicting conclusions. Results of the critique suggest that a preponderance of the evidence supports the existence of a positive relationship…

Explains confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis using a small heuristic data set that allows readers to grasp the conceptual underpinnings of each method. Discusses analytic tradition in both forms of analysis by examining recently published examples of each. (SLD)

The controversy about the use or misuse of statistical significance testing has become the major methodological issue in educational research. This special issue contains three articles that explore the controversy, three commentaries on these articles, an overall response, and three rejoinders by the first three authors. They are: (1)…

Three articles in this special issue explore issues related to the use and misuse of statistical significance testing, the major methodological issue in current educational research. Comments on these articles and rejoinders by the authors of the first three articles explore additional aspects of statistical significance testing. (SLD)

Reviews null hypothesis statistical significance testing (NHST) in its historical context and concludes that workable alternatives to NHST are available. Among suggested alternatives, effect magnitude measures, replication techniques, and meta-analytic techniques are discussed. (SLD)

Although statistical significance testing as the sole basis for result interpretation is a flawed practice, significance tests can be useful as one of three criteria that must be demonstrated to establish a position empirically. Statistical significance testing provides evidence that an event did not happen by chance but gives no evidence of the…