Evaluating Research
Posted on June 28, 2009
Filed under Uncategorized
My recent posts have included a research plan I designed and may be interested in some day implementing. While I am not sure that I will be actively researching any time in the near future, I can be sure that it will be necessary for me to analyze and evaluate educational research and decide on the impact, if any, it will have on my practices. As a more cognizant consumer of educational research I can offer the following as advice for others looking for high quality research. 1. Look for who is conducting, publishing, and funding the research. If there is any indication of conflicts of interest or a sense of unprofessionalism, it is cause to question the research. 2. Be sure that the description indicates not just what was done but why it is important and why it was done the way it was. 3. The research should also clearly describe the conclusions and implications, and not confuse correlation with cause. 4. Be ware of the term scientific research, or overarching claims about what research shows. 5. The research should refer to other literature relevant to the topic, and should provide a variety of sources both in support and in opposition to the hypothesis.
Information summarized from CEP822 and Brian Carpenter’s podcast.
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