Methods and approaches
A wide range of educational research methods and approaches exists and the selection of resources presented here reflect this diversity.
Experimental design [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
Research Methods by Dummies contains a range of materials, which although introductory, provide good accounts of different aspects of experimental method and other research approaches.
The Psych files are created by Michael A. Britt, Ph.D, and this podcast series is useful if you wish to refresh your understanding of concepts in experimental research.
In this YouTube video Linda Centennial discusses the steps a researcher goes through in testing a hypothesis.
In this audio seminar Stephanie Lalonde discusses key issues in longitudinal research, in relation to professional interventions aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable children
Qualitative Longitudinal Methods and the Timescapes archive.
These two seminars introduce qualitative longitudinal research and the developing the secondary analysis of archived data.
DA On-Line is an interactive on-line journal publishing discourse analysis research. It is an excellent resource for different discourse analysis methods.
This is a collection of resources concerning the concepts and techniques of network analysis.
This is another introductory resource from Research Methods by Dummies, with links to examples of the method.
This article discusses the history, uses and limitations of participant observation as a research method. It is from the open access journal Forum Qualitative Social Research, an excellent resource for qualitative methodology research
Interviewing: Creating the Space for Views
John Schostak, reflects on the nature of interviews and inter-view methodology.
The open access journal Grounded theory review contains useful discussions of the application of this approach.
Practical guidelines for practitioner research
Educational research is very often carried out by teachers and educational practitioners. This section from the Research Methods in Education Handbook offers guidance for those working in this way.
Action research
- Action research in education: An introduction to action research and the action research cycle, with a bibliography of suggested future reading.
- Action research guide for associate lecturers: An introductory guide was written for Associate Lecturers that is useful for a wider audience. It also offers guidance on developing a collaborative action research project.
- Applied and action research: This collection of resources contains many downloadable resources on action research. For example:
‘Collecting, analysing and reporting data in action-research: some methods and techniques’ by John Elliot.
‘Action research: a contradiction in terms?’ by Martin Hammersley.
- The full collection can be accessed here.
Ethnography
- Ethnography: Professor Penny Harvey introduces ethnography as an anthropological research method in these videos.
- Using film in ethnographic research: Angel Torenson discusses the link in research between visual anthropology and ethnographic film-making.
Ethnography: a teaching resource.Here Dan Goodley examines ethnography in the context of disability studies and inclusive education. The associated readings are not open access but the overall content remains useful in considering the methodologies, methods and analyses of ethnography.
Case studies
- Case study method in anthropology: This presentation gives the background to the use of case study approach and some developments in how it has been used.
Case Studies in Education and Social Science Research .
Case studies are a popular research method in both the social sciences and education. These three readings consider the development of the case study method and how it relates to other research approaches.
- Using a case study approach to analyse data: In this video Vanessa May talks about analysing data from a life story archive and why she moved from a thematic analysis to a case by case analysis.
Questionnaires
Questionnaires in Education Research covers the ‘ground rules’ and processes of questionnaire design and analysis. It has useful links to related information, for example software for data analysis.
Grounded theory
- The literature review in grounded theory: This video presentation discusses how the literature review is used and integrated into research using a grounded theory approach.
- A historical and comparative note on the relationship between analytic induction and grounded theorising: Martin Hammersley examines and problematises the relationship between analytic induction and grounded theorising.
Focus groups
- Conducting focus groups: This video presentation by Kingsley Purdam describes the issues of setting up and running a focus group.
- Interviewing: The are many different forms of interviewing and this resource contains information on different methods.
Further resources
- Jorum: A collection learning and teaching resources, shared by the UK further and higher education community. Its search facility will allow you to look for specific methods and approaches.
- British Educational Research Association (BERA): The website includes a range of online resources, including information on research methods. These are part of a searchable database.
Methodologies: qualitative, quantitative and mixed