Sara Efrat Efron – författare

This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review--an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions, organizational tips, vignettes, and examples of student work. Also featured are excerpts from peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods articles. This is the first book to focus on crafting different types of reviews (systematic, traditional–narrative, or hermeneutic–phenomenological) that reflect the writer's research question, methodological choices, and approaches to knowledge. It describes what all reviews have in common and highlights distinct characteristics of each type. The book includes dos and don'ts for evaluating studies and constructing an argument, and software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources.Pedagogical FeaturesChecklists and "To Do" activities that break down key steps to take. Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, and summary tables. Group activities that invite students to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter. Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline. End-of-chapter summaries and "What's Next" sections. Assessment matrices for reviewing and refining the completed literature review. Winner (First Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category

This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review--an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions, organizational tips, vignettes, and examples of student work. Also featured are excerpts from peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods articles. This is the first book to focus on crafting different types of reviews (systematic, traditional–narrative, or hermeneutic–phenomenological) that reflect the writer's research question, methodological choices, and approaches to knowledge. It describes what all reviews have in common and highlights distinct characteristics of each type. The book includes dos and don'ts for evaluating studies and constructing an argument, and software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources.Pedagogical FeaturesChecklists and "To Do" activities that break down key steps to take. Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, and summary tables. Group activities that invite students to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter. Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline. End-of-chapter summaries and "What's Next" sections. Assessment matrices for reviewing and refining the completed literature review. Winner (First Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category

This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review--an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions, organizational tips, vignettes, and examples of student work. Also featured are excerpts from peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods articles. This is the first book to focus on crafting different types of reviews (systematic, traditional–narrative, or hermeneutic–phenomenological) that reflect the writer's research question, methodological choices, and approaches to knowledge. It describes what all reviews have in common and highlights distinct characteristics of each type. The book includes dos and don'ts for evaluating studies and constructing an argument, and software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources. Pedagogical Features Checklists and "To Do" activities that break down key steps to take. Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, and summary tables. Group activities that invite students to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter. Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline. End-of-chapter summaries and "What's Next" sections. Assessment matrices for reviewing and refining the completed literature review. Winner (First Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category

Acclaimed as a text and professional development tool, this user-friendly resource has now been revised and updated, and offers expanded coverage of collaborative action research (CAR) and participatory action research (PAR). Preservice and inservice educators get crucial step-by-step guidance for conducting classroom- and school-based studies to improve their instructional practices. Organized to mirror the full cycle of action research, the book provides balanced coverage of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Vivid vignettes and examples illustrate research approaches for a range of teaching and learning situations, school subjects, and age groups (PreK-12). Readers learn how research approaches are driven by the research question, as well as how to develop data collection strategies; design and/or evaluate assessment tools; interpret, analyze, report, and implement study results; and design a new cycle of research that builds on the previous one.New to This EditionIn-depth descriptions of CAR and PAR--which enable groups of teachers to work together to solve problems in a classroom or school--plus examples of both throughout the book. Expanded or new discussions (with examples) of such topics as how research approaches and methods are driven by the research question, how to assess different types of reliability and validity, the differences between analysis and interpretation, and how to use sequential cycles of research for continuous improvement and professional development. Fully updated references and resources. Pedagogical FeaturesBoth individual and group exercises and activities in every chapter. New and updated checklists and guidelines that enable busy educators to self-assess the progress and quality of their studies. Sample templates to assist in development of research instruments. Example boxes illustrating the components of an action research report. Summary tables highlighting key aspects of different research strategies. Chapter summaries (now shorter for ease of use) and suggestions for further reading.

Acclaimed as a text and professional development tool, this user-friendly resource has now been revised and updated, and offers expanded coverage of collaborative action research (CAR) and participatory action research (PAR). Preservice and inservice educators get crucial step-by-step guidance for conducting classroom- and school-based studies to improve their instructional practices. Organized to mirror the full cycle of action research, the book provides balanced coverage of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Vivid vignettes and examples illustrate research approaches for a range of teaching and learning situations, school subjects, and age groups (PreK-12). Readers learn how research approaches are driven by the research question, as well as how to develop data collection strategies; design and/or evaluate assessment tools; interpret, analyze, report, and implement study results; and design a new cycle of research that builds on the previous one.New to This EditionIn-depth descriptions of CAR and PAR--which enable groups of teachers to work together to solve problems in a classroom or school--plus examples of both throughout the book. Expanded or new discussions (with examples) of such topics as how research approaches and methods are driven by the research question, how to assess different types of reliability and validity, the differences between analysis and interpretation, and how to use sequential cycles of research for continuous improvement and professional development. Fully updated references and resources. Pedagogical FeaturesBoth individual and group exercises and activities in every chapter. New and updated checklists and guidelines that enable busy educators to self-assess the progress and quality of their studies. Sample templates to assist in development of research instruments. Example boxes illustrating the components of an action research report. Summary tables highlighting key aspects of different research strategies. Chapter summaries (now shorter for ease of use) and suggestions for further reading.

Acclaimed as a text and professional development tool, this user-friendly resource has now been revised and updated, and offers expanded coverage of collaborative action research (CAR) and participatory action research (PAR). Preservice and inservice educators get crucial step-by-step guidance for conducting classroom- and school-based studies to improve their instructional practices. Organized to mirror the full cycle of action research, the book provides balanced coverage of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Vivid vignettes and examples illustrate research approaches for a range of teaching and learning situations, school subjects, and age groups (PreK–12). Readers learn how research approaches are driven by the research question, as well as how to develop data collection strategies; design and/or evaluate assessment tools; interpret, analyze, report, and implement study results; and design a new cycle of research that builds on the previous one.   New to This Edition In-depth descriptions of CAR and PAR--which enable groups of teachers to work together to solve problems in a classroom or school--plus examples of both throughout the book. Expanded or new discussions (with examples) of such topics as how research approaches and methods are driven by the research question, how to assess different types of reliability and validity, the differences between analysis and interpretation, and how to use sequential cycles of research for continuous improvement and professional development. Fully updated references and resources. Pedagogical Features Both individual and group exercises and activities in every chapter. New and updated checklists and guidelines that enable busy educators to self-assess the progress and quality of their studies. Sample templates to assist in development of research instruments. Example boxes illustrating the components of an action research report. Summary tables highlighting key aspects of different research strategies. Chapter summaries (now shorter for ease of use) and suggestions for further reading.

Taking the stress out of a challenging process, the first book to focus on crafting different types of literature reviews (systematic, traditional–narrative, and hermeneutic–phenomenological) is now in a revised and updated second edition. Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid explain the integral role of the literature review in a thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal, and guide writers to develop reviews that reflect their research questions, methodological choices (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods), and approaches to knowledge. The text provides a roadmap for each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies. It features examples of student work; excerpts from peer-reviewed articles; software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources; templates, checklists, vignettes, and group activities; and writing and organizational tips.New to This EditionChapter-opening vignettes that draw readers in to each chapter's content.New section on using AI in literature searches and expanded guidance for using electronic sources, such as EBSCO and Google Scholar.New or expanded discussions of constant comparative analysis, qualitative comparative analysis, finding and using gray literature, differences between literature reviews for class papers and research papers versus dissertations, the literature review across different dissertation formats, and more.New and updated literature examples throughout the book.Updated guidance for reference lists and in-text citations.Pedagogical FeaturesChapter-opening vignettes that serve as advance organizers for each chapter.Checklists and To Do activities that break down key steps to take.Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, summary tables comparing techniques, and software suggestions.Group activities to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter.Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline.End-of-chapter summaries and What's Next sections.Assessment matrices for evaluating and refining the completed review.The first edition won the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category (First Place).