Updated August 2012 | Links updated, May 2013
Want the ABCs of the research process?
Authors
Dr. Barbara Smith & Kyrie Dragoo
Table of Contents
- The research process
- What’s in a research paper?
- Is this a good research paper?
- How do the pros define quality?
- Writing research reports
- How teachers can use research
There’s an ever-increasing emphasis on using research to make decisions regarding children with disabilities in all their aspects–best practices for educating them, raising them, training their teachers, and setting systems in place that run smoothly and accomplish results. But, unlike roses, research is not necessarily research is not always research, just because it claims to be research. There’s high-quality, well-designed, noteworthy research, and then…there’s research that may have serious flaws in its design, conclusions, or generalizability to other students or settings. How do you tell the difference? NICHCY’s Research Basics are intended to help you do just that.
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The Research Process, Start to Finish
Types of research and their roles in improvement of practice.
From the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD).
www.ncld.org/at-school/especially-for-teachers/effective-teaching-practices/types-of-research-and-their-roles-in-improvement-of-practice
Phases of research: Steps in gathering and evaluating evidence.
From the Cyberlab for Psychological Research.
http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/phases.html
Research methods: From question to conclusion.
From Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology/methods/index.html
What’s in a Research Paper?
The research paper.
From Trinity University.
http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/research.html
What’s a research paper?
From Empire State College.
http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/0/ddbc866bc537f67e85256a460066ab2d?OpenDocument
Understanding those medical & research articles.
http://www.craighospital.org/repository/documents/HeathInfo/PDFs/769.ResearchUnderstandingArticles.NOD.pdf
Understanding a typical journal article.
From Cyberlab for Psychological Research.
http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/journalarticles.html
Is This a Good Research Paper?
Ingredients of good research.
From Great Schools.
http://res2.greatschools.net/LD/managing/ingredients-of-good-research.gs?content=716
Assessing the methodological quality of published papers.
Don’t be thrown by the screen you’ll see. Click on “register for free access” and do so.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7103/305
Distinguishing scholarly journals from other periodicals.
From the Cornell University Library.
www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill20.html
Understanding research studies in the news.
A blog from NICHCY’s research analyst.
http://nichcy.org/research-studies-in-the-news
How Do the Pros Define Quality?
Quality standards.
From the RAND Corporation.
www.rand.org/standards/index.html
Writing Research Reports
The research paper.
From Trinity University.
http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/research.html
How to write an A+ research paper.
From a Research Guide for Students.
http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html
APA Format.
From Cyberlab for Psychological Research.
http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/apa.html
Communicating educational research data to general, nonresearcher audiences.
From the journal Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 6(7).
http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=6&n=7
Effective reporting (Resources in Institutional Research, Number 12).
From the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), ED 443 315.
http://searcheric.org/ericdc/ED443315.htm
How Teachers Can Use Research
How teachers can use scientifically based research to make curricular & instructional decisions.
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/pages/using_research_stanovich.aspx
Understanding the relationship between research and teaching.
A position statement.
http://www.ncte.org/cee/positions/researchandteaching
How teachers in elementary school can use research.
http://tinyurl.com/8ffysgm
How science teachers can use research evidence.
http://betterevidence.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/bettersciencesamplearticle.pdf
Would you like to visit another page in NICHCY’s series of Research Basics?
If so, use the links below to jump right there.
- Research 101 (you’re here!)
(What makes for good research?) - Research 102: Adding Up the Evidence
(How do you combine the findings of multiple research studies?) - Making Sense of Statistics in Research
(Don’t let stats throw you.) - Weighing Info for Its Worth
(Is this research well done?) - Special Education Research: Where to Start?
(How to begin finding and applying research.) - What Works: Can We Say?
(Where can I find information on evidence-based practices?) - Research-Based Resources on Specific Disabilities
(A starting place for research-based information on disabilities.)
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