An advantage of well-designed survey research is that, typically, it yields large volumes of quantitative and qualitative data. A key challenge researchers face is mining and reporting these data appropriately and promptly to inform research publications and presentations. When mixed methods are employed, and researchers attempt to master computer…

Measuring race and ethnicity for administrative data sets and then analyzing these data to understand racial/ethnic disparities present many logistical and theoretical challenges. In this chapter, we conduct a synthetic review of studies on how to effectively measure race/ethnicity for administrative data purposes and then utilize these measures…

Applied linguists have turned increasingly in recent years to meta-analysis as the preferred means of synthesizing quantitative research. The first step in the meta-analytic process involves defining a domain of interest. Despite its apparent simplicity, this step involves a great deal of subjectivity on the part of the meta-analyst. This article…

In this article, the authors discuss the utility of combining quantitative and qualitative methods in conducting intersectional analyses. First, they discuss some of the paradigmatic underpinnings of qualitative and quantitative research, and how these methods can be used in intersectional analyses. They then consider how paradigmatic pragmatism…

Researchers sometimes use stepwise methods to eliminate variables from analyses when the variables do not appreciably improve the ability to explain or predict inferences about the importance of various predictor variables. It is argued that stepwise methods are usually not appropriate for these purposes for three reasons. First, some researchers…

This paper addresses several issues in quantitative research that educational researchers should examine with more care. While the purposes of experimentation is to determine causality, the study of causal relations is difficult and problematic. Computational and conceptual errors in statistical analysis seem limited only by the creativity of the…

Discussed problems and deficiencies in past research on clinical diagnosis, pertaining to sampling problems with regard to clinical subjects studied, adequacy of control groups, base rates, clinical versus statistical significance, lack of cross-validation, and problems due to reliance on inadequate schemes of classification. Future research is…

This chapter serves as a guide for quantitative researchers who seek to approach their research questions critically.

This paper identifies major errors and myths perpetuated by educational research textbooks. The most pervasive errors and myths advanced by methodology textbooks at the following eight phases of the educational research process are described: (a) formulating a research problem/objective; (b) reviewing the literature; (c) developing the research…

Since the latter part of the 19th century, a fervent debate has ensued about quantitative and qualitative research paradigms. From these disputes, purists have emerged on both sides. Quantitative purists express assumptions that are consistent with a positivist philosophy, whereas qualitative purists (i.e., post-positivists, post-structuralists,…

Problems associated with the use of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) as a statistical control technique are explained. Three problems relate to the use of "OVA" methods (analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, multivariate analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of covariance) in general. These are: (1) the wasting of information when…

Evaluation Research Society members (n=160) assessed the attributes of research that produce credibility. The study focused on the acceptability of no-difference findings. Randomization, statistical power, number of measures reported, and equivalent groups were tested to determine their influence on acceptability of both no-difference and…

All social science serves some agenda: social science research is a value-bound, value-determined, context-situated, and ideologically loaded enterprise. Each researcher makes choices in the following areas, whether tacitly, implicitly, or deliberately: (1) a paradigm choice, either conventional (rationalistic) or emerging (naturalistic); (2) the…

This self-contained and self-instructional unit is intended for use by evaluation and development personnel and by students in introductory research and evaluation courses. The unit contains a discussion of the regression employing graphic illustrations with actual data. The user is introduced to the regression effect in the single group…

Discusses the features of feminist research in psychology. Evaluates proposals for distinctively feminist research methods. Refutes suggestions that experimentation and quantitative research are inherently less feminist than other approaches. Rejects criteria based on sex of participant or researcher. Concludes that any research method can be…