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Introduction to Educational Research
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Introduction to Educational Research

Third Edition


January 2021 | 424 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

This Third Edition of Craig Mertler’s practical text helps readers every step of the way as they plan and execute their first educational research project. Offering balanced coverage of qualitative and quantitative methods, an emphasis on ethics, and a wealth of new examples and concrete applications, the new edition continues to use conversational, nontechnical language to help students clearly understand and apply research concepts, principles, procedures, and terminology. Expanded coverage of foundations of research, an increased focus on integrating qualitative and quantitative research, and updated coverage of research questions and the tools of qualitative research bring the book thoroughly up-to-date, while streamlined coverage of statistics shows students how to do quantitative analysis in a straightforward way.

 

 
Part I • Initial Research Considerations
 
Chapter 1 • What Is Educational Research?
 
Chapter 2 • Overview of the Educational Research Process
 
Chapter 3 • Identifying a Research Problem
 
Chapter 4 • Ethics in Educational Research
 
Chapter 5 • Reviewing Related Research Literature
 
Part II • Designing a Research Study
 
Chapter 6 • Qualitative Research Methods
 
Chapter 7 • Quantitative Research Methods
 
Chapter 8 • Mixed-Methods Research
 
Chapter 9 • Action Research
 
Chapter 10 • Writing a Research Proposal
 
Part III • Collecting and Analyzing Data
 
Chapter 11 • Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis
 
Chapter 12 • Quantitative Data Collection
 
Chapter 13 • Quantitative Data Analysis
 
Part IV • The Research Report
 
Chapter 14 • Writing a Final Research Report
 
Appendix A: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Understanding Teacher Motivation, Job Satisfaction, and Perceptions of Retention among Arizona Teachers
 
Appendix B: “It Is Who We Are. We Are Undocumented”: The Narrative of Two Undocumented Latino Male Students Attending a Community College
 
Appendix C: Dialogic Reading: Language and Preliteracy Outcomes for Young Children With Disabilities
 
Glossary
 
References

Supplements

Instructor Site
edge.sagepub.com/mertler3e 

It was easy to read and well organised. I felt this would help Year 3 undergraduates with their dissertation.

Mrs Louise Connolly
School of Teacher Development, Bishop Grosseteste University
October 1, 2023

I've used Mertler (author) previously in this introductory research graduate course. The table of contents is logically organized. The content is geared towards an introduction course to research process and options. Access to additional resources (test bank, slides, and tables & figures) helps to make the D2L online platform easier. Objectives are outlined at the beginning of each chapter.

Karen Matis
Education Dept, Westminster College
March 2, 2022

A comprehensive textbook that describes everything about research methodology in education.

Professor Parul Acharya
Counseling, Foundations, and Leadership Dept, Columbus State University
August 18, 2022

Accessible writing for inservice teachers.

Joshua Morris
College of Education and Human Services, Univ Of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
March 9, 2021
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • More in-depth coverage of the scientific method, research questions, and literature reviews gives students a solid grounding in the research process.
  • New and expanded coverage of stating and refining research questions, the features and qualities of good research questions, prepare readers to successfully plan and execute an educational research project.
  • Updated and expanded coverage of the history of research ethics involving human research participants and tips for completing IRB applications further emphasize the importance of ethics in all research projects. Incorporates the latest changes in the 7th edition of the APA Manual, including coverage of research report writing, bias-free writing, self-plagiarism, and citation style.
  • New research articles appear in appendices to demonstrate qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods and include annotations that highlight different parts of the research process.
  • Strong practical coverage of action research includes new discussions of problems of practice in action research and using action research as a means to pursue organizational change.
KEY FEATURES:
  • Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) list the four to eight major targeted learning objectives for that chapter and are ideal for review.
  • Chapter-ending Developmental Activities (five per chapter) give students opportunities to apply concepts and skills and can be used as course assignments, in-class activities, and discussions.
  • Chapter Summaries listed in bullet-point format provide focused reviews of chapter content.
  • Annotated published Research Reports in the appendices contain complete published survey research, qualitative research, and quantitative research articles which allow students to engage in critiques of three published articles, as well as to see different formats and writing styles appropriate for academic journals.
  • A glossary of more than 350 terms—highlighted in boldface when first introduced—offers access to one of the most comprehensive glossaries presented in any educational research textbook.

For instructors

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