Educational Research: Fundamentals For The Consumer: Sixth Edition

Educational Research:
Fundamentals for the Consumer

Sixth Edition
Woolfolk / Perry
Child and Adolescent Development
2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
McMillan
Educational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer, 6e
Locating and Reviewing
Related Literature
Chapter 3
McMillan
Discussion Topics
General and specific purposes for

reviewing the literature
Steps to review related literature
Internet searches
Writing a review of literature
McMillan
2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3
The Purposes of a Review
General purpose - to relate previous

research to the current problem being
investigated
Provide contextual understanding
Contribute to the overall evaluation of the
credibility of the research
Indicate whether the nature of the research
is targeted to the readers needs
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Specific purposes
Refine the problem
Identify specific ways in which others have defined the
general problem
Identify delimitations related to the problem
Identify operational definitions of the variables in the
problem
Establishing the Conceptual or Theoretical
Orientation
Develop the significance of the research
Establish the importance of the current study in the
context of what is known at this time
Integrate the results of the study within the broader
context of what is known at this time
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Specific purposes
Identify specific methods for conducting the
research
Identify appropriate sampling strategies, instruments,
and procedures
Identify appropriate designs to use when conducting
the research
Identify contradictory findings
Uncover studies or theories that contradict one
another
Identify reasons for the contradictions
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Specific purposes
Develop specific research hypotheses
Prior studies contribute to understanding likely
outcomes of the current investigation
Prior studies identify relevant theories or the research
related to them which can serve as the basis for
specific hypotheses
Learn new information
Relevant information to the current study
New information or ideas unrelated to the current

study but of interest to the researcher
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Steps for Conducting a Review
Step 1 Select a Topic and Key Terms

General or specific
Identify key terms
Utilize the ERIC Thesaurus for searching
Identify other databases for your topic
Start your search with general terms first
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Step 2 Identify Database and Access

Software
Identify the keyword descriptors using the ERIC
Thesaurus
PsycINFO database
For psychological research consult the Thesaurus of
Psychological Index Terms available in most libraries
or through the American Psychological Association
(APA)
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Step 3 Conduct Search

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
ERIC a federally funded information network that is
designed to provide access to education literature
(www.eric.gov.ed)
Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) -
abstracts of articles compiled from approximately
1000 educational journals and periodicals
Resources in Education (RIE) - abstracts of research
reports not published in journals (e.g., conference
papers; project reports; federal, state, and local
agency documents; etc.)
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Step 3 Conduct Search

PsycINFO
PsycINFO is an online APA database of psychological
literature available in most libraries or on a cost basis
Abstracts of articles from approximately 1800 journals
as well as books, book chapters, dissertations, reports,
and other documents
Educational emphasis is on human development,
learning motivation, teaching methods, and teacher
effects
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Step 4 Identify the source as Primary

or Secondary
Primary sources are articles that report
original research
Referred journals
Non-referred journals
ERIC searches
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Step 4 Identify the Source as Primary

or Secondary
Secondary sources are those that
summarize or discuss original research
Books
Encyclopedias
Reviews
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Step 5 Summarize and analyze the primary

source information
Record notes electronically, or using index cards
Identify bibliographic information
Summarize the research problem
Identify all variables, subjects, and instruments
Describe the procedures
Summarize the results and conclusions
Record important quotes, weaknesses of the study,

relevance to the current problem, etc.
Code each article with your overall judgment of it
Note the major focus of each article
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Internet Strengths &
Weaknesses
General issues
Plethora of information available on the Internet
Quality concerns
Comparing ERIC and the Internet

Database indexing
ERIC indexes over 1000 journals and maintains a
common database of all entries
The Internet indexes each journal and entry separately
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Strengths and Weaknesses

Database organization
ERIC offers a set of standardized subject headings that
can be used to search the database efficiently and
effectively
The Internet offers no consistency in the use of
vocabulary by which databases are constructed or
searched
Quality control
ERIC entries are all reviewed and have met high
standards for quality
The Internet information is not reviewed for quality
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Currency of information
ERIC contains material that is somewhat dated
due to the submission, review, and database
entry process
The Internet materials tend to be more current
Text availability
ERIC contains abstracts and bibliographic
information
The Internet contains full-text of articles
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Access
ERIC indexes journals mostly relevant to educational
research in the United States
The Internet provides access to research being
conducted world-wide
Availability of other information
ERIC contains research-based information only
The Internet provides many other types of information

(e.g., statistical databases, organization information,
e-mail, etc.)
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Internet Search Strategies
Three search mechanisms

Subject directories
Search engines
Meta-search engines
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Subject directories
A subject directory is an online service that reviews
and categorizes information on the web
Assets and limitations
Websites are reviewed and categorized using common
standards, thus increasing the likelihood of a good hit.
The number of reviewed websites is small given the
exponential growth of websites, thus a comprehensive
search is unlikely.
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Subject directories
Types of questions relevant for subject
directories
Which states have educational research
associations?
Where would I contact the department of
education in each state?
Where would I find a regional educational lab?
How many journals are published online?
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Subject directories
Yahoo!
WWW Virtual Library
KidsClick
Educators Reference Desk
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Search engines
A service that categorizes websites by
automated indexing of key terms in the
website
Search language
Special search features
Relevancy of hits
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Search engines
Large numbers of websites are automatically
searched
Ability to use search logic and options (e.g.,
words, phrases, case sensitivity, Boolean logic,
etc.)
Idiosyncratic nature of the indexing process
Little if any consistency in database quality, size,
and type across search engines
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Search engines
Types of questions
Does Allyn and Bacon maintain a web site for
McMillans text?
What are the standardized tests given to eighth
grade students in specific states?
In any information available on constructivist
learning theory?
What are the most recent articles written in a
specific electronic journal?
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Search engines
Google
Alta Vista
AllTheWeb
Wisenut
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Meta-search engines
A search engine that submits your search to several
search engines
Useful to search multiple search engines due to the lack of
consistency across individual search engines
Unique search language of each search engine make
meta searches difficult
No meta-search engine includes all the major search
engines
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Meta-search engines
Types of research questions
Are there many web pages addressing experimental
research designs?
Does the web have any information on the historical
report entitled A Nation At Risk?
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Meta Search Engines

Dogpile
MetaCrawler
Fazzle
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Educational Research Sites
US Department of Education (DOE)

State Education Agencies
National Research Centers
Regional Educational Labs
Electronic journals
Electronic Journals in Education
Electronic Journals and Newsletters
Education Line
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Scholar Communication
Strategies
E-mail and Social Networking

Newsgroups and Blogs
Listservs
Associations, Organizations, and
University Websites
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Citing Internet Resources
General formats
See examples 3.6 to 3.11 on page 81.
American Psychological Association. How
to Cite Information from the World Wide
Web
Research Navigator - see the Citing
Your Sources section
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Evaluating Internet
Information
Criteria
Who is the author?
What reputation and qualifications does the
author have?
Is the information objectively presented?
Are the facts or statistics verifiable?
Is there a bibliography?
Is the information current?
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Writing a Review of Literature
Quantitative reviews
Group studies by topic
Write the review in three sections
Provide a brief summary of the major articles
Analyze the studies
Integrate in the discussion how the reviewed studies

are relevant to the current research
Avoid long quotations
Establish the length of the review depending on the
type of study, the intent to publish the research,
and the topic
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Writing a Review of Literature
Qualitative reviews
The purpose of a qualitative review is to introduce the
purpose and the very general questions of the study
Provides direction
Does not limit, constrain, or predict results of the study (i.e.,
a discovery orientation)
Allows participants views to emerge
Begins with an initial, preliminary review
Continues with supplemental reviews as the study
progresses
Provides understanding of the results
Provides meaningful analogies, scholarly language, for
synthesizing, or additional conceptual frameworks within
which the results become meaningful
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Evaluation Criteria
Does the review cover previous research

adequately?
Does the review cover the actual findings
from other studies?
Is the review current?
Does the review summarize and analyze
previous studies?
Is the review organized logically by topic, not
author?
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Evaluation Criteria
Does the review briefly summarize minor

studies and discuss major studies in detail?
Is the review of major studies related
explicitly to the current research problem?
Does the review provide a logical basis for the
hypothesis?
Does the review establish a theoretical
framework for the study?
Does the review help to establish the
significance of the research?
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Educational Research:

Fundamentals for the Consumer

General and specific purposes for

General purpose - to relate previous

New information or ideas unrelated to the current

Step 1 Select a Topic and Key Terms

Step 2 Identify Database and Access

Step 3 Conduct Search

Step 3 Conduct Search

Step 4 Identify the source as Primary

Step 4 Identify the Source as Primary

Step 5 Summarize and analyze the primary

Summarize the research problem

Identify all variables, subjects, and instruments

Describe the procedures

Summarize the results and conclusions

Record important quotes, weaknesses of the study,

Note the major focus of each article

Comparing ERIC and the Internet

Comparing ERIC and the Internet

Comparing ERIC and the Internet

Comparing ERIC and the Internet

The Internet provides many other types of information

Three search mechanisms

Meta Search Engines

US Department of Education (DOE)

E-mail and Social Networking

Analyze the studies

Integrate in the discussion how the reviewed studies

Does the review cover previous research

Does the review briefly summarize minor

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