Doing Research: A New Researcher’s Guide

Description

This book is about scientific inquiry. Designed for early and mid-career researchers, it is a practical manual for conducting and communicating high-quality research in (mathematics) education. Based on the authors’ extensive experience as researchers, as mentors, and as members of the editorial team for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (JRME), this book directly speaks to researchers and their communities about each phase of the process for conceptualizing, conducting, and communicating high-quality research in (mathematics) education. In the late 2010s, both JRME and Educational Studies in Mathematics celebrated 50 years of publishing high-quality research in mathematics education. Many advances in the field have occurred since the establishment of these journals, and these anniversaries marked a milestone in research in mathematics education. Indeed, fifty years represents a small step for human history but a giant leap for mathematics education. The educational research community in general (and the mathematics education community in particular) has strongly advocated for original research, placing great emphasis on building knowledge and capacity in the field. Because it is an interdisciplinary field, mathematics education has integrated means and methods for scientific inquiry from multiple disciplines. Now that the field is gaining maturity, it is a good time to take a step back and systematically consider how mathematics education researchers can engage in significant, impactful scientific inquiry. Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Contents Prologue Chapter 1: What Is Research, and Why Do People Do It? Part I. What Is Research? Creating an Image of Scientific Inquiry Descriptor 1. Experience Carefully Planned in Advance Descriptor 2. Observing Something and Trying to Explain Why It Is the Way It Is Descriptor 3. Updating Everyone’s Thinking in Response to More and Better Information Doing Scientific Inquiry Unpacking the Terms Formulating, Testing, and Revising Hypotheses Learning from Doing Scientific Inquiry Part II. Why Do Educators Do Research? Part III. Conducting Research as a Practice of Failing Productively Part IV. Preview of Chap. 2 Chapter 2: How Do You Formulate (Important) Hypotheses? Part I. Getting Started Part II. Paths from a General Interest to an Informed Hypothesis Beginning with a Prediction If You Have One Developing a Rationale for Your Predictions Imagining Testing Your Hypotheses Cycles of Building Rationales and Planning to Test Your Predictions Beginning by Asking Questions to Clarify Your Interests Imagining Answers to Your Questions Shifting to the Hypothesis Formulation and Testing Path Cycles of Refining Questions and Predicting Answers Beginning with a Research Problem Part III. One Researcher’s Experience Launching a Scientific Inquiry Part IV. An Illustrative Dialogue Part V. Is It Always Possible to Formulate Hypotheses? Can You Always Predict What You Will Find? The Benefits of Making Predictions Even When They Are Wrong: An Example from the 1970s Suggestions for What to Do When You Do Not Have Predictions Should You Always Try to Predict What You Will Find? Making Your Predictions Explicit Increases Your Chances of Productive Observations Making Your Predictions Explicit Allows You to Guard Against Biases Making Your Predictions Explicit Can Help You See What You Did Not Predict Making Your Predictions Explicit Allows You to Plan in Advance Making Your Predictions Explicit Allows You to Put Your Rationales in Harm’s Way Making Your Predictions Explicit Forces You to Organize and Extend Your (and the Field’s) Thinking The Costs of Not Making Predictions Part VI. How Do You Formulate Important Hypotheses? Part VII. Beginning to Write the Research Paper for Your Study Part VIII. The Heart of Scientific Inquiry Chapter 3: Building and Using Theoretical Frameworks Part I. What Are Theoretical Frameworks? Definitions of Theories Theoretical Frameworks Are Local Theories Part II. Why Do You Need Theoretical Frameworks? Supporting Your Predictions Crafting Appropriate Methods Guiding Interpretations of the Data Showing the Contribution of Your Study Showing How Your Study Extends What Is Known Setting the Parameters for Your Contribution Anchoring the Coherence of Your Study (and Your Evolving Research Paper) Part III. How Do You Construct a Theoretical Framework for Your Study? Building a Theoretical Framework in Phases One Researcher’s Experience Constructing a Theoretical Framework: The Continuing Case of Martha Constantly Improving Your Framework Reviewing Published Empirical Evidence Examining Theories Focusing on Variables and Mechanisms How Do You Know When You Have Finished Building Your Theoretical Framework? Part IV. Refining a Theoretical Framework: A Scholarly Dialogue Part V. Distinctions Between Rationales, Theoretical Frameworks, and Literature Reviews Thinking Through a Study Writing the Evolving Research Paper Part VI. Moving to Methods Chapter 4: Crafting the Methods to Test Hypotheses Part I. What Does It Mean to Test Your Hypotheses? Part II. What Are the Best Methods for Your Study? Choosing the Design for Your Study Experiment Correlation Description Developing Measures and Procedures for Gathering Data Craft Measures That Produce Data at an Appropriate Grain Size Develop Your Own Measures or Borrow from Others? Using Data that Already Exist Choosing Methods to Analyze Data and Compare with Predictions Create Coding Rubrics Determine Intercoder Reliability Beyond the Three Phases Quantitative and Qualitative Data Defining a Unit of Analysis Ensuring Your Methods Are Fair to All Students Part III. Crafting the Most Appropriate Methods Write Out Your Methods Ask Others Conduct Pilot Studies Help Specify Your Predictions Improve Your Predictions Refine Your Measures Test Your Analytic Procedures Other Purposes of Pilot Studies Part IV. Writing Your Evolving Research Paper and Revisiting Alignment Advantages of Writing Your Research Paper While Planning Your Study Journal Reviewers’ Common Concerns Chapter 5: Significance of a Study: Revisiting the “So What” Question Part I. Setting the Groundwork Part II. Clarifying Importance by Revisiting the Definitions of Key Terms Significance Contributions Contributions Emerge from Revisions to your Hypotheses Contributions Answer the Question of Generalizability Contributions Are Assured When Hypotheses Are Significant and Methods Are Appropriate and Aligned Implications Implications for Future Research Implications for Practice Part III. The Role of Methods in Determining Contributions Coherence Across the Phases of Scientific Inquiry Methods Enable Significance to Yield Contributions Part IV. Special Considerations that Affect a Study’s Contributions Limitations of a Study Limitations Due to Unfortunate Choices Limitations Due to Missing Variables Dealing with Unexpected Findings Part V. A Few Suggestions for Structuring Your Discussion Section Epilogue Reflecting Back on the Three Phases of Scientific Inquiry Formulating Hypotheses—Making Predictions and Explaining Why Testing Hypotheses Revising Hypotheses The Challenging Life of an Educational Researcher References Index