Chapter Objectives

The five chapter objectives listed in this module are the same as those found in Chapter 1 in the textbook. However, several learning objectives have been written and listed below to help you focus on specific material that is critical to your being able to demonstrate proficiency on the broader chapter objectives. In addition, multiple choice and essay/activity self-assessment items have been written for most of the learning objectives to help assess your knowledge of this material. You can access these items through the Multiple Choice and Essay/Activity modules.

1. List and briefly describe the major steps involved in conducting a research study.

   1.1	State the goal of the scientific method.
   1.2	Identify five methods of knowing and explain the limitations of each.
   1.3	Identify four limitations of the scientific method.
   1.4	Explain why the scientific method is preferred over other ways of knowing.
   1.5	Define educational research.
   1.6	Identify the general goal of educational research.
   1.7	Describe the four steps for conducting educational research.
   1.8	Identify the difficulties associated with conducting educational research.

   multiple choice questions for Objective 1

   essay/activity questions for Objective 1

   web links for Objective 1

2. Describe the differences between quantitative and qualitative research.

   2.1	Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research methods in terms of general purpose, specific characteristics, and underlying assumptions of the researchers.

   essay/activity questions for Objective 2

   web links for Objective 2

3. Briefly define and state the major characteristics of these research approaches: action, descriptive, correlational, causal-comparative, experimental, narrative, and ethnographic.

   3.1	Identify the two major approaches by which research can be classified.
   3.2	Describe what is meant by purpose as a way to classify research studies.
   3.3	Identify the five categories discussed by the authors with respect to the purpose of the research.
   3.4	Describe the unique purpose of each of the five categories of research.
   3.5	Describe what is meant by method as a way to classify research studies.
   3.6	Describe the general purpose of quantitative research, identify six characteristics of it, and discuss the underlying assumptions of a quantitative researcher.
   3.7	Describe five types of quantitative research designs in terms of the unique purpose and characteristics of each.
   3.8	Describe the general purpose of qualitative research, identify six characteristics of it, and discuss the underlying assumptions of a qualitative researcher.
   3.9	Describe two types of qualitative research designs in terms of the unique purpose of each.
   3.10	Explain why it is important to identify the type of research method in a study.
   3.11	Describe the complementary nature of quantitative and qualitative approaches.

   multiple choice questions for Objective 3

   essay/activity questions for Objective 3

   web links for Objective 3

4. For each research approach in Objective 3, briefly describe two appropriate research studies.

   4.1	Differentiate among each of the five types of quantitative approaches to research in terms of purpose.
   4.2	Differentiate between the two types of qualitative approaches to research in terms of purpose.

   essay/activity questions for Objective 4

   web links for Objective 4

5. Given a published article, identify and state the problem or topic chosen to study, the procedures employed to conduct the study, the method of analyzing collected data, and the major conclusion of the study.

   5.1	Identify the problem or topic in a study and categorize it as quantitative or qualitative.
   5.2	Identify the specific type of quantitative or qualitative research approach.
   5.3	Identify the type of data collected and the way in which it was analyzed.
   5.4	Describe the major conclusion(s) and categorize the study as basic, applied, evaluation, research and development, or action research.

   essay/activity questions for Objective 5