Understanding Research

Vicki L. Plano Clark is an Assistant Professor in Educational Studies in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. She teaches research methods courses, including foundations of research, qualitative research, and mixed methods research. Prior to joining the University of Cincinnati, she spent 19 years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), where she first focused on physics education as Laboratory Manager in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and then switched to a focus on research methodology, ultimately serving as the Director of the Office of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research in the Department of Educational Psychology. Dr. Plano Clark has authored and co-authored over 40 articles, chapters, and books.John W. Creswell is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He held the Clifton Institute Endowed Professor Chair for five years, and for the last five years he has served as a co-director at the Office of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research. He has held positions as Senior Fulbright Scholar (South Africa, 2008, and Thailand, 2012), as a consultant in the health services research area for the Veterans Administration, as Visiting Professor at Harvard's School of Public Health, and as Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan, among others. In addition to his teaching, he has authored numerous articles and books on mixed methods research, qualitative methodology, and general research design, and was the founding Co-Editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research. In 2014, Dr. Creswell will be awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

"Understanding Research is true to its name; it is much more user friendly, it explains WHAT research IS.  It does an EXCELLENT job of covering all of the material I currently cover.  I am not a huge fan of qualitative research, but you (fortunately) force me to provide a balanced, comparative description of both kinds of research...  I find the writing style to be clear, interesting and engaging. "  -- Carol A. Friesen, Ball State University  "The structure of the book is great.  The clear learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter is helpful and the graphics throughout and the connections between them add consistency and further add to understanding for the students.  I like the checking in on learning in the middle of the text and the little sidebars that help them apply their learning...[The authors use] language that helps the reader become engaged and invites them to start applying what they have learned to their situation immediately.  The examples of the journal articles with the notations is very helpful and we use these for discussion in the class quite a bit... I also like the reviewing what we’ve learned and practicing your skills at the end of the chapter.  I much prefer the consumer approach of this text over others on the market." -- Candyce Reynolds, Portland State University  "We adopted this text because all of the manuscripts used as examples are from the field of education.  Therefore, as students learn about the research construct being taught, they are better able to understand how the research construct works within educational contexts." -- Colleen Swain, University of Florida

• Table of Contents PART One: An Introduction to Understanding Research CHAPTER 1: The Process of Research: Learning How Research Is Conducted and Reported HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY REPORTS OF RESEARCH?WHY DO YOU NEED TO READ RESEARCH REPORTS?WHERE DO YOU FIND REPORTS OF RESEARCH?WHAT STEPS DO RESEARCHERS TAKE WHEN CONDUCTING THEIR STUDIES?HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE STEPS OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS WITHIN THE MAJOR SECTIONS OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE?LET’S APPLY THE RESEARCH PROCESS TO READING ACTUAL STUDIESAN EXAMPLE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH: THE PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY-IN—MIDDLE-SCHOOLS STUDYAN EXAMPLE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: THE PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY-AT-DAYCARE STUDYCHAPTER 2: Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Understanding Different Types of Study Reports HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH STUDIES?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDIES?PART Two: Understanding the Introductions to Research Reports CHAPTER 3: The Statement of the Problem: Identifying Why a Study Is Important HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM IN A RESEARCH STUDY?WHY DO RESEARCHERS NEED TO STUDY RESEARCH PROBLEMS?HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TYPES OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS FOUND IN QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDIES?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE ELEMENTS OF A STUDY’S STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM IN A RESEARCH STUDY?AN EXAMPLE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH: THE BULLYING-INTERVENTION STUDYCHAPTER 4: The Literature Review: Examining the Background for a Study HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE LITERATURE REVIEW IN A RESEARCH STUDY?HOW DO RESEARCHERS USE LITERATURE IN THEIR STUDIES?HOW DOES THE USE OF LITERATURE DIFFER IN QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDIES?WHAT ARE THE STEPS THAT YOU CAN USE TO REVIEW THE LITERATURE?HOW DO YOU SYNTHESIZE LITERATURE AND WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE A LITERATURE REVIEW IN A RESEARCH STUDY?AN EXAMPLE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: THE ADOLESCENT-HOMELESSNESS STUDYCHAPTER 5: Purpose Statements, Research Questions, and Hypotheses: Identifying the Intent of a Study HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE PURPOSE IN A RESEARCH STUDY?HOW DOES THE RESEARCH PURPOSE DIFFER IN QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDIES?HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY VARIABLES IN QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND PURPOSE STATEMENTS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS, AND HYPOTHESES IN QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH?HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY A CENTRAL PHENOMENON IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND PURPOSE STATEMENTS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE PURPOSE IN A RESEARCH STUDY?PART Three: Understanding the Method Sections and Results Sections of Quantitative Research Reports CHAPTER 6: Quantitative Research Designs: Recognizing the Overall Plan for a Study HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE RESEARCH DESIGN IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENT QUANTITATIVERESEARCH DESIGNS?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND FIVE COMMON QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS?HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE RESEARCH DESIGN IN A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE RESEARCH DESIGN IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?AN EXAMPLE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH: THE EARLY-INTERVENTION-OUTCOMES STUDYCHAPTER 7: Participants and Data Collection: Identifying How Quantitative Information Is Gathered HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE PARTICIPANTS AND DATA COLLECTION IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE SELECTION OF SITES AND PARTICIPANTS IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE INSTRUMENTS USED TO GATHER QUANTITATIVE DATA IN A STUDY?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE PROCEDURES THAT RESEARCHERS USE WHEN COLLECTING QUANTITATIVE DATA?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE PARTICIPANTS AND DATA COLLECTION IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?CHAPTER 8: Data Analysis and Results: Examining What Was Found in a Quantitative Study HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND A STUDY’S QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE RESULTS IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS IN A QUANTITATIVE STUDY?PART Four: Understanding the Method Sections and Results Sections of Qualitative Research Reports CHAPTER 9: Qualitative Research Designs: Recognizing the Overall Plan for a Study HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE RESEARCH DESIGN IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND FOUR COMMON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS?HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE RESEARCH DESIGN IN A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE RESEARCH DESIGN IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?AN EXAMPLE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: THE ADOPTION-OF-PEDAGOGICAL-TOOLS STUDYCHAPTER 10: Participants and Data Collection: Identifying How Qualitative Information Is Gathered HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE PARTICIPANTS AND DATA COLLECTION IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE SELECTION OF SITES AND PARTICIPANTS IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?WHAT TYPES OF QUALITATIVE DATA DO RESEARCHERS COLLECT?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE COMMON QUALITATIVE DATA-COLLECTION PROCEDURES?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES THAT ARE REPORTED ABOUT QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE PARTICIPANTS AND DATA COLLECTION IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?CHAPTER 11: Data Analysis and Findings: Examining What Was Found in a Qualitative Study HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND A STUDY’S QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE FINDINGS IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY?PART Five: Understanding Reports That Combine Quantitative and Qualitative Research CHAPTER 12: Mixed Methods Research: Studies That Mix Quantitative and Qualitative Research HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THAT A STUDY USED MIXED METHODS RESEARCH?WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR RESEARCHERS TO HAVE USED MIXED METHODS RESEARCH IN THEIR STUDIES?WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENT MIXED METHODS DESIGNS?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE COMMON MIXED METHODS RESEARCH DESIGNS?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE A MIXED METHODS RESEARCH STUDY?AN EXAMPLE OF MIXED METHODS RESEARCH: THE MIXED METHODS STUDENT NOTE TAKING STUDYCHAPTER 13: Action Research Designs: Research for Solving Practical Problems HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THAT A STUDY USED ACTION RESEARCH?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND ACTION RESEARCH DESIGNS?HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR OWN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY?AN EXAMPLE OF ACTION RESEARCH: THE LEARNING-BY-TALKING ACTION RESEARCH STUDYPART Six: Understanding the Final Sections of Research Reports CHAPTER 14: Conclusions: Identifying the Interpretations and Implications of a Study HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE CONCLUSIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION IN A STUDY REPORT?HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE ELEMENTS DISCUSSED IN A STUDY’S CONCLUSION SECTION?HOW ARE CONCLUSIONS SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT AMONG THE DIFFERENT RESEARCH APPROACHES?WHAT INFORMATION IS INCLUDED IN THE BACK MATTER OF A RESEARCH REPORT?HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE CONCLUSIONS AND BACK MATTER OF A RESEARCH REPORT?Appendix A-Suggested Answers to Short-Answer Questions from the Practicing Your Skills Activities Appendix B-Example of a Paper Written in the APA Style Glossary References Name Index Subject Index