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…

The article is a critical sociological analysis of current transnational practices on creating comparable measurements of dropout and completion in higher education and the consequences for the conditions of scientific knowledge production on the topic. The analysis revolves around questions of epistemological, methodological and symbolic types…

This "What Works Clearinghouse Procedures and Standards Handbook (Version 3.0)" provides a detailed description of the standards and procedures of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The remaining chapters of this Handbook are organized to take the reader through the basic steps that the WWC uses to develop a review protocol, identify…

Presented as part of a symposium on evaluation on juvenile diversion programs, this brief paper describes several specific research procedures which have been utilized to help decide which type of diversion approach is best for specific types of clients. Procedures discussed are the regression discontinuity design, the tie-breaker design, and the…

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…

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…

Twelve common errors which can invalidate an otherwise sound evaluation are identified, and ways to avoid them are presented. The hazards are: (1) grade-equivalent scores; (2) inappropriate statistical adjustments with nonequivalent control groups; (3) administering norm-referenced tests at inappropriate times of the school year; (4) inappropriate…

The uses and restrictions of commonality analysis are described. Commonality analysis has been increasingly used as a method to examine the relative importance of independent variables, through the partitioning of variance among the variables of the regression equation into unique and common components. The effects of all other independent…

This brief guide to interview training in survey research is designed for persons without previous training or experience in interviewing. Basic techniques of interviewing are presented in such a manner as to facilitate the training of persons with varying educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. Topics include: the interviewer's role in the…

"The International Handbook of School Effectiveness Research" (2000) by C. Teddlie and D. Reynolds is a searching, authoritative assessment of the SER field. However, the field should acknowledge its failures and lose its "schools make a difference" mantra. The "next wave" must grapple directly with implementing and…

Developed to orient the information seeker to the computerized literature search process, this guide provides background information that will help the user facilitate the search interview and the formation of a search topic, enabling him or her to focus on personal search needs and not on the fundamentals of online searching. Major purposes for…