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There
are two major categories of research studies used to validate
educational products:
Experimental
- Randomized
experiments in which participants are randomly assigned
to treatment and control groups.
- Quasi-experimental
studies in which participants are matched on a list of criteria
to equate treatment and control groups.
Descriptive
- Outcomes
are measured and compared before and after treatment (Quantitative).
- Correlational
studies in which associations between two or more variables
are examined. This type of study includes “best practice”
studies that describe the characteristics of high-achieving
sites (Quantitative).
- Case
studies in which particular sites are examined in detail
(Qualitative).
Any one
of these methods may be appropriate, depending on the research
question. However, the study must have a strong research design.
The following
are brief descriptions of four major kinds of studies you
will encounter. We have limited our description of these designs
to their barest essentials for your understanding. Researchers
employ much more elaborate designs, with multidimensional
interventions and elaborate statistical analyses in areas
in which experimentation is common, such as medicine, psychology,
and agriculture.
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