7.3 Welcome to the World of Research

Continuing Education Option
Designing Instructional Units/Action Research
Welcome to the World of Research, Lesson 7. Section 3
 

Teachers often find themselves asking questions of varying degrees of complexity and importance. Reflective questions lead to research. Research may be defined simply as "the search for answers to questions" (Mason, 1997) or as a "systematic attempt to provide answers to questions" (Tuckman, 1994). Traditionally, teachers have been viewed as consumers of research rather than being involved in research.

Now you will begin a quest for knowledge through a systematic, organized search to confirm the impact of CEO activities on yourself, as the teacher, and your students, as the learners. According to Tuckman (1994), "basic research is concerned with the relationship between two or more variables." The following six steps will assist you with your basic research:

  • Identifying a problem

  • Examining relevant variables (characteristics) through a review of the literature

  • Creating a hypothesis when possible

  • Developing a research design to study the problem

  • Collecting and analyzing appropriate data

  • Developing a conclusion(s) about the relationship between the variables
Last modified: Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 10:07 AM