This study was conducted to examine the promising practice of using technology in teaching math and science in a charter high school in California. The research employed an in-depth qualitative case study method. The main participants were principals, lead teachers, teachers, and support staff. Interviews, observations, and archival documents were…

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, together with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, set in motion policy changes that have allowed many thousands of children and youth with disabilities in the United States the opportunity to gain the educational and vocational skills needed to transition to living, working, and participating as…

This book is intended to explain principles of qualitative research to potential researchers and to provide them with a set of tools, and guidelines for critical thinking as they carry out such research. The chapters are organized around the elements of the research process which require decisions. Following an introductory chapter, Chapter 2…

This discussion of uses for audit trails in instructional research begins by pointing out that interactive media provide the learner with the opportunity to shape the program, and consequently, the learning experience. The paper focuses on one of the new questions for instructional designers that have come with the advent of these technologies,…

An overview of market research is provided, with advice about conducting market research for the educator. Market research is any kind of research that gives information about the current state of the market and offers guidance in improving one's position in that market. The relative advantages of conducting market research by oneself or by hiring…

The microcomputer offers social science field researchers a valuable tool for managing qualitative research data. In addition to the flexibility and efficiency of the microcomputer, the logic governing its programming and operation imposes a framework on the research process which necessitates that research decisions and strategies be explicit and…

Many evaluation researchers are now attempting to synthesize quantitative and qualitative approaches. Although such efforts appear to carry great promise, some subtleties and incompatibilities of these approaches are perhaps being overlooked. Implications for social inquiry are discussed. (Author/GDC)

This chapter discusses difficulties encountered in research on teaching and learning mathematics to illustrate a set of core problems with appropriate uses of video as data. Problems include: (1) processes of collecting video data and making selections from it are usually deleted from research accounts; (2) production values that are preserved in…

The purpose of this study was to augment current knowledge regarding the antecedents of statistics anxiety and negative attitudes toward statistics among graduate students. The researchers also sought to investigate and identify promising methods for gathering and analyzing data in order to advance study in this emerging domain. Initially, 3 focus…

This article explores two issues in conducting qualitative research: (1) the essentials of data collection, and (2) the unique role of the researcher in the data collection process. The author's own research study on use of health and medical information by various members of a classroom team for special education students is used to illustrate…

The authors of EC 610 841 comment on problems encountered in their research, such as difficulties in analyzing interview data, and discuss their ongoing three-year study of personal and environmental influences affecting attrition of special education teachers. (DB)

Provides an introduction to qualitative research methods. Describes principles of qualitative research and discusses appropriateness of qualitative methods for student affairs research. Explains qualitative methods, including design, data collection and analysis, and reporting of results. Identifies and addresses problems of trustworthiness of…

Quantitative and qualitative measures of patient satisfaction with psychiatric outpatient services were compared in interviews with 263 outpatients. Results indicate that expressions of dissatisfaction appear mainly in open-ended questions. Focus on the questions and acceptability of the data gathering procedure appears to influence responses…

Conducting qualitative research takes researchers to places and into lives to generate new knowledge. When researchers move beyond academic curiosity to caring, they cross a fine line. This article recounts a three-year study of middle-schoolers, in which subjects and researchers moved beyond invasive inquiry to develop common ground, mutual…

Illustrates the role of technology and multimedia in enhancing research through the use of examples from qualitative approaches to inquiry. Discusses characteristics of qualitative techniques; impact of technology and multimedia on data collection, analysis, and presentation; using research for educational change; and improving research practices.…