1. EDFI 6420: RESEARCH
AND EDUCATION
2012 Summer Session 1
Dr. Sara Abercrombie

2. Welcome!
• Welcome to your online course on Research and
Education. This presentation will give you a general
introduction to the course including:
• Course policies and procedures
• Course assignments and expectations
• The assessment plan
• A general overview of educational research

3. Welcome to EDFI 6420!
• Before starting this powerpoint, please print out and have
in front of you the following documents:
• The Module 1 Guide
• The Course Syllabus
• Also, please read Chapter 1, The Nature of Research, in
your textbook prior to starting the slides
• As a reminder, the required textbook for this course is:
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2011). How to Design
and Evaluate Research in Education (8th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill.
ISBN-13: 9780078097850

4. What Is This Course About?
• This course is about the principles and practice of
conducting research in education.
• The Language of Research
• The Theories Behind Educational Research
• The Processes of Conducting Educational Research
In addition to teaching you about conducting research, this course
will help you better read, understand, interpret, and evaluate
research, which are critical skills for any educational professional!

5. Basics of the Course Structure
• Weekly folders – each week will have a dedicated folder
in the Course Documents tab. Within the weekly folder,
you will find:
• Topic Specific Learning Modules with presentations and notes
• Readings
• Assignments
• Quizzes

6. The Textbook and Materials
Textbook: Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H.
H. (2011). How to Design and Evaluate Research in
Education (8th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13:
9780078097850
All other materials will be provided for you in
Blackboard
Please note, the textbook is required for this course,
and you will be tested on the content in the reading in
your quizzes

7. Course Calendar
• Turn to page 7 & 8 of your course syllabus
• Here, you will find all the assignments and due dates for
the entire semester
• Example: In week 1, you have:
• 3 textbook chapters to read
• A journal article to read
• Discussion board posts due
• The HSRB training due (which will be explained in the slides on ethics)
• Your first quiz
• Take a few moments now to review the due dates for all 6
weeks of the semester.

8. Expectations
Now, turn to page 2 of the syllabus, and review the course
expectations:
• Participation – you are expected to participate in all aspects of
the course,
• Hard work – Remember, this course covers a semester’s worth
of content in 6 weeks!
• Peer collaboration – we will work together to support each
other in this course; your collaboration is expected!
• Openness to learn – this will be a great learning experience!

9. The Course Assessment Plan
At this time, please review the course assessment plan of
the syllabus, pages 3-6.
Your grade is comprised of the following parts:
• Discussion Board Participation (10%)
• HSRB Training (5%)
• Article Reviews (10%)
• Quizzes (20%)
• Research Proposal (55%)

10. The Research Proposal
• Part 1: Research Question(s) and Topic Summary (10%)
• Part 2: Literature Review (15%)
• Part 3: Method Section and Proposed Analysis (15%)
• Peer Feedback (15%)

11. About the Instructor
Sara Abercrombie
Assistant Professor, BGSU
Educational Foundations, Leadership
& Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Psychology,
University of New Mexico
Research interests: Learning &
Instruction, Case-based Learning,
Teacher Education, Assessment for
Higher Order Thinking
I look forward to working with you this
Semester!

12. Module 1 Guide
At this point, you should be familiar with the course policies
and procedures. Now, I’d like to give you a little
introduction into the course content. Review the following
slides with the additional information provided in the
module 1 learning guide.

13. What is Research?
A systematic process of steps used to
collect and analyze information in order to
increase our understanding of a topic or
issue.
3 basic steps
1. Pose a question.
2. Collect data to answer the question.
3. Present an answer to the question.

14. Why is Educational Research Important?
• Adds to our Knowledge
• Addresses Gaps in Knowledge
• Replicate Knowledge
• Expand Knowledge
• Broaden our Perspectives

15. What are Some Characteristics of
Research?
• Publicly Accessible Policies & Procedures
• Allows for “Progressive Discourse”
• Replicability of Findings
• Procedures thoroughly described in reports
• Research Does Not “Prove” Anything
• Research either disproves or supports
• Control for Researcher Errors & Biases
• All research has limitations

16. Who Consumes Educational Research?
• Policy makers
• Other researchers
• Principles, teachers, counselors, educational leaders, and
other educational professionals
• Parents and students!

17. Are there Different Types of Educational
Research?
• Quantitative
• Experimental, quasi-experimental, causal-comparative,
correlational, survey
• Qualitative
• Historical research, ethnography, case-study, phenomenology,
grounded theory
• Mixed-Methods
• Combination of quantitative and qualitative
• Action Research
• Research applied to specific setting for the purpose of addressing
an immediate problem (popular with teachers)

18. Which Types of Educational Research
Will We Learn About in this Course?
• We will learn the basics of each type of research
• This course is a beginning, and the topics discussed here
will set you on the path to thinking like a researcher