A functional approach to educational research methods and statistics : qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches / Laban P. Ayiro ; with a foreword by Richard K. Mibey.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"An engaging and informative text on educational research and statistics, this book tries to utilize outcomes of research for the benefit of humanity. The text examines how research is conducted across the major traditions of educational research (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods). It is designed for graduate students who want to pursue statistics, and it will help them to write their thesis. The book fulfills a need for a systematic account of research concepts and the use of statistics for advanced students. The fact is that research involves interrelated activities and educators research following a general sequence of procedures. This book is demarcated into sections that reflect each step in the process of doing a study"--Provided by publisher.

Print version record.

Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; List ofFigures; List of Tables; Abstract; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; Chapter One: Research: Meaning, Types and Language; Introduction; Research is a Way of Knowing; Broad Ctegorization of Research: Basic and Applied Research; Where Would the World Be Without Curiosity?!!!!!!; Types of Educational Research; Similarities and Differences Between Quantitative and Qualitative Research; The Langugage of Research; Association and Causation; What is Research Design?; A Look at Philosopical Paradigms in Research; Philosophical Worldviews.

The Post Positivist WorldviewThe Interpretivism Worldview; Meaning and Meaning Making; Research Ethics; Untitled; Chapter Two: Identifying A Research Problem; Problem Statement; Problem Statement: A Summary; Problem Statement Examples; The Problem Statement: A Philosophical Take; Brain Teasers and Stretchers 2; Chapter Three: Literature Review; Introduction; What is a Review of the literature?; Strategies for Writing the Literature Review; How Does the Literature Review Differ For Qualitative and Quantitative Studies?; Obtaining and Evaluating the Literature.

The Construction of the Literature ReviewConceptualization of the Literature Review Path; The Actual Writing of the Literature Review; Form of Referencing; Brain Teasers and Stretchers 3; Chapter Four: Specifying Purpose for Researchand Research Questions or Hypothesis; Purpose Statement; Research Questions; Descriptive Questions; Causal Questions; Attributes of a Good Research Topic; Writing Research Objectives; Educational Research as a Tool; Research Variables Revisted; Stating Research Questions and Research Hypotheses; Types of Research Studies; Moderator Variables; Control Variables.

Intervening VariablesExtraneous Variables; Differences Between Quantitative and Qualitative Purpose Statements and Research Questions; Brain Teasers and Stretchers 4; Chapter Five: Collecting Data; Quantitative Research; Structured Interviews; Service Statistics; Situation Analysis; Probability Samples and Non-Probability Samples; Qualitative Data; Focus Group Discussion; Questionnaire Design; The Codebook; Brain Teasers and Stretchers 5; Chapter Six: Basic Statistics; Introduction; Descriptive Statistics; Discrete Data; Stem and Leaf Diagrams (Stemplots); Bar Charts; Skewness.

Measures of VariabilityComputing the Standard Deviation in SPSS; Computing Correlation Coefficients; A Determined Effort: squaring the correlation coefficient!!; Validity and Reliability Again?!!; Different Types of Realiabibity; What is Cronbach Alpha Coeffcient?; Probability and Why it Counts; Properties of the Normal Curve; Hypotheses Revisited Statistically!; Multiple Regression with Many Predictor Variables; Chi-Square and Some Other Nonparametric Tests; Tests Involving Nominal Variables; Tests Involving Ordinal Variables; Yes Brain Teasers & Stretchers Again!!!!! (6).

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide