EDU 602 RESEARCH METHODS IN EDUCATION

Semester 1
Credits 4
Contact Hours per Week 4 (2Hrs lectures. 2 Hrs seminar)
Compulsory Course in MA Education
Elective Course in None
Mode of Delivery Lectures, Seminars and Case studies

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course has been designed for students pursuing Master’s Degree in Education. It
builds on theoretical foundation from research methods in education studied at an
undergraduate level. It exposes students to the concepts and types of educational
research, educational research philosophies and methodologies. The aim is to provide
students with opportunity to nurture foundational knowledge and skills on using research
techniques to solve educational problems in order to enhance teaching and learning as
well as conducting researches for both knowledge generation and acquisition of practical
experiences. The main emphasis is the application of learned theoretical tenets in solving
the challenges encountered in the field of education in general. The course is delivered
both in theory and practice employing the constructivist and transformative approaches
that allow effective participation of a student.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
The course aims at instilling the value of research in improving the quality of education
and the education process. At the end of this course students should be able to:-
 Explain the theory and practice of research in education
 Prepare effective research proposals
 Apply both qualitative and quantitative research skills for enhancing
education process and education in particular.
 Carry out researches in education.
 Write good research reports
 Prepare policy briefs generated out of the research process
 Disseminate effectively the educational research findings

Mode of Delivery
Lectures, seminars, individual and group assignments, role plays, peer teaching, projects
and case studies

Mode of Assessment and Evaluation

Assessment and Evaluation of the course will be through assignments, presentations,
controlled tests, and end of semester examinations as per Mzumbe University Student
Assessment Criteria By-Laws

Course Content

1. Understanding concepts in educational research

 Introduce the concept of research and education research
 Meaning of emerging terms from the concept of research

2. Search for the ‘truth” or knowledge

 Introduce the concept of knowledge
 The historical path to the search for truth
 The difference between epistemological and Ontological philosophical lens
 Approaches of acquiring knowledge
 Pros and cons of Non-scientific versus scientific approaches to knowledge

3. Scientific process and approach to educational research

 Scientific process
 Truth or valid scientific research results
(From sociological, methodological and ontological dimensions)
 objective inquiry from the scientific process
 systematic methods from scientific process
 Principles or merits of scientific approach to knowledge (empiricism)
 Limitations of empiricism

4. Search for the research problem

 Introduce the concept of a research problem
 A research problem from a de-construction dimension
 A research problem from a philosophical dimension
 Problematisation of a research problem
 Principles or merits of scientific approach to knowledge (empiricism)
 Limitations of empiricism
 The emergence of social science versus natural science

5. Types and Purpose of educational research

 Type of a research according to the contribution of knowledge
Pure/basic research versus applied research
 Type of a research according to the ability to control variables
Experimental versus non-experimental
 Type of a research according to the purpose of the study
Exploratory, explanatory, descriptive
 Theorising in Educational Reseach
From a theory (Real World) to observation (Given World) and back
Science without a Theory? Induction versus Deduction
 Purpose and Motivation of educational research
6. Research Methodology
 Meaning of research methodology
 Difference between research methodology and research methods
 Evaluate, select and apply different research philosophical or paradigmatic
lens
Positivism, interpretive, critical models
 Evaluate, select and apply different research designs/strategies
According to time for data collection, purpose of the study & sampling
strategy
 Evaluate, select and apply different research approaches
Quantitative versus qualitative approaches
 Evaluate, select and apply different research methods
 Research methods embedded in quantitative versus qualitative approaches
  Evaluate, select and apply different data collection techniques & tools

7. Research process
 Why education research is a process
 Stages in educational research
(i) Problem statement and justification
(ii) Review of the Literature
(iii) Develop Research Design from variables of a study
 Meaning of research variables
 Types of research variables and their measurement
 Conceptualization of variables
 Operationalisation of variables
 Hypothesis formulation, testing and interpretation
(iv) Data collection
 Techniques and tools
 Validity and reliability of data collection tools
 Meaning, types, & methods of determining them
(v) Data processing and analysis
(vi) Presentation and discussion of the findings
(vii) Use and dissemination/communication of research findings
 Difference between research findings and research results

8. Writing a research proposal

 Meaning of research proposal
 Components of a research proposal
 The introduction section
 The literature review-the thinking gap
 The research methodology
 Ethics in educational research
 Meaning of ethics and its ethical considerations in research
 Ethical issues to be considered in educational research
 Dangers for ignoring ethical issues in research
 Research activities and timeframe
 Resources and budget

9. Current issues related to educational research

 Emerging issues and theories in educational research
 The internet and computer effects on the quality of educational research
 Re-thinking a role of a teacher as a curriculum implementer, researcher, as
well as policy maker
 Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
 Plagiarism in research activities

Required Readings
Allison, P. & Pomeroy, E. (2000). How shall we 'know?' Epistemological concerns in
research in experiential education. Journal of Experiential Education, 23(2), 91-97.
Babbie Earl (2000); The Practice of Social Research, South Africa Oxford University Press
Babbie, E & Mouton, J. (2001) The Practice of Social Research. Cape Town: Oxford
University, Press.
Bailey, K., (1987) “Methods of Social Research, 3rd ed. New York: Free Press
Berg, B. (2007) Qualitative Research methods for Social Sciences. 6th ed. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon
Bryman, A. (2001) Social Science Research Methods. Oxford University Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches. London: Sage.
Creswell, J.W., (1994). Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.
Thousand Oaks,CA:Sage
Denzin, N.K, and Lincoln, Y.S. (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks,
CA:Sage
Flick, U.,(2006). An Introduction to Qualitative Research, 3rd (ed) Thousand Oaks, Calif:
Sage
Houser, R.,(1998) Counselling and Educational Research: Evaluation and
Application.Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1998.
Kothari,C.R (2004).Research Methodology. Methods and Techniques. 2nd Ed. Delhi New Age
Publishers.
Krishnaswami, O.R., (2003). Methodology of Research in Social Sciences. Delhi: Himalaya
Publishing House
Mason, J., (2002) .Qualitative Researching. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage
Neuman L. W., and Robson, K., (2009) Basics of Social Research. Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches, Toronto:Pearson Education Press.
Neuman, W.Lawrence (2000).Social Research Methods 5th Ed.Boston:
Stake, R., Case Studies. In Denzin, V and Lincoln, Y. (eds). Handbook of qualitative
Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1994 Pp 236-297
Elster, Jon (1989) Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences Chapter 1: "Mechanisms" pages 3-
10 and "Bibliographical Essay" pages 173-182

Recommended Readings

Allwright, D and K Bailey. 1991. Focus on the Language Classroom: an introduction to

classroom research for language teachers. Cambridge: CUP.
Allwright, D. 2007. “Practitioner Research”, in Language Teaching Research, vol 10
Brown D. J. 1988. Understanding Research in Second Language Learning: a teacher’s guide
to statistics and research design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Burt-Thomas, Wendy. (2008). The Writer’s Digest guide to writing query letters.
Cincinnati,OH: Writer’s Digest Books.
Camic, P.M., Rhodes, J.E., Yardley, L. (Eds.). (2003). Qualitative research in psychology:
Expanding perspectives in methodology and design. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Clark-Carter, D. 2004. Quantitative Psychological Research Textbook: A Student’s Handbook,
(2nd revised edition). Psychology Press.
Cohen, L., C.Manion and K. Morrison. (2005). (6th edition) Research Methods in Education.
London: Routledge.
Daston, L. (Ed.). (2004). Things that talk: Object lessons from art and science. Cambridge,
MA:The MIT Press.
Drever, E. 1995. Using Semi-Structured Interviews in Small-Scale Research: A Teacher’s
Guide. Edinburgh: Scottish Centre for Research in Education.
Fowler, F. J. Jr (1988) Survey Research Methods. Beverly Hills (CA): Sage
Frankel, J. R. and Wallen, N. E. (1990). How to Design and Evaluate Research in
Education . New York. McGraw Limited.