This article by Dr. Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah provides a comprehensive guide to formulating a research problem in education and language learning, particularly for TESOL/TEFL researchers. It emphasizes the importance of a well-defined research problem as the cornerstone of any research project, guiding the selection of methods, data collection, and…

Academic advising is one of the key practices in U.S. higher education institutions for supporting students' success. However, the complexity of academic advising program structures, the difficulties in identifying appropriate outcome measures, and the lack of inclusion of multiple stakeholders' perspectives continue to challenge scholars to…

This protocol guided the review of research that informs the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) practice guide entitled "Strategies for Postsecondary Students in Developmental Education -- A Practice Guide for College and University Administrators, Advisors, and Faculty." This protocol was used in conjunction with the "WWC Procedures…

This powerful resource is for researchers and educational leaders who are interested in understanding and applying research methods that emphasize youth voice. The authors argue that most educational research either omits critical understandings of youth or, even worse, presents inaccuracies due to faulty techniques. Researching how youth…

The push for evidence-based practice in education has led to a range of initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between research, policy and practice. Among these are the establishment of brokerage agencies with a mission to synthesise the findings of educational research. This development has been the subject of extensive controversy over the last…

This highly readable text demystifies the qualitative research process--and helps readers conceptualize their own studies--by organizing the different research paradigms and traditions into coherent clusters. Real-world examples and firsthand perspectives illustrate the research process; instructive exercises and activities build on each other so…

This guide presents many new experimental designs for data analysis and reviews certain standard procedures. It is hoped that the treatment of the material will stimulate new applications since the emphasis of the guide is on the problems encountered in running experiments rather than on an elaboration of mathematical models. Discussed are:…

The evaluation design, which prescribes when and from whom to gather data, is described as significant because it can lend credibility to evaluation results. The objectives of this booklet are to aid the evaluator in: choosing a design; putting it into operation; and analyzing and reporting the data. Examples include both formative and summative…

Techniques of sociological research--defined as the assembly, organization and interpretation of facts that help explain human activity--are described in this guide to community research strategies. In Part I of the booklet some basic aspects of research are examined, illustrating procedures of stating and examining a research problem. The scope…

Objectives: To provide recommendations that will build a better foundation for research on youth smoking cessation. Methods: The Youth Tobacco Collaborative Cessation panel evaluated youth tobacco cessation literature and convened meetings to reach consensus. Results: Methodological issues include design, recruitment and retention, follow-up,…

This guide for writing research or technical reports discusses eleven basic elements of such reports and provides examples of "good" and "bad" wordings. These elements are the title, problem statement, purpose statement, need statement, hypothesis, assumptions, procedures, limitations, terminology, conclusion and recommendations. This guide is…

Debate grows over the validity and reliability of college and university rankings, which judge rather than describe institutions, as the public's willingness to accept them increases. While many institutional characteristics can be measured, measurement methods need improvement. One solution is to publish the peer studies that the institutions…

This publication is primarily designed for educational practitioners who possess little or no training in conducting mail surveys or have not kept current on the present state of the art of survey methods and techniques. It is also intended to be a checking and comparing aid to ensure that important research considerations are taken into account.…

Directors of educational projects need to be aware of the consequences their decisions may have for evaluation and appreciate the need for working closely with their evaluators from the earliest planning stage. Attempting to address the needs of project directors and evaluators, this guidebook deals with one central aspect of project…

This guide is essentially designed as a teaching aid for those who would inform planners, officials of educational ministries, school administrators, principals, and teachers about educational outcome measurements. In outline and graphic form, the guide presents topics for discussion in a seminar dealing with the application of outcome…