Making Sense of Research

Foreword - Henry M. Levin Preface The Goals of This Book Who This Book Is For What This Book Is Not Overview of the Contents A Few Words of Explanation About the Authors 1. Asking the Right Questions What Is Our Approach to Making Sense of Research? Five Questions About Research Four Case Studies of Education Research Further Reading 2. Behind the Scenes in the World of Education Research The World of Education Research Who Does Education Research? Who Pays for It? Where Is It Published? Can You Trust Education Research? What Does the Future Hold for Education Research? Does Education Research Really Matter? Further Reading 3. The Causal Questions: Does It Work? (Part I) The Causality Conundrum Simple (Minded) Methods of Establishing Causality What Can Go Wrong With Experiments? Why Are Experiments So Unpopular With Education Teachers Further Reading 4 The Causal Question: Does It Work? (Part II) Quasi-Experiments and Non-Experiments The Researcher's Bag of Tricks Quasi-Experimental Approaches Non-Experimental Approaches Further Reading 5. The Process Question: How Does It Work? What Is Qualitative Research? The Qualities of Qualitative Research The Power of Qualitative Research Qualitative Research Methods From Whence Comes the Quality in Qualitative Research? Further Reading 6. The Cost Question: Is It Worthwhile? The Concept of Costs The Ingredients Method of Cost Analysis Two Important Cost Questions Further Reading 7. The Usability Question: Will It Work for Me? Will it Work in My Setting? Some Rules of Thumb for Making Generalizations Research Reviews and Meta-Analysis Special Considerations for Qualitative and Cost Studies Making Trade-Offs Further Reading 8. The Evaluation Question: Is It Working for Me? What Is User-Driven Research? User-Driven Research at Lincoln Middle School Asking the Right Questions Refocusing on Outcomes Defining the Problems Exemplars of User-Driven Research Further Reading Resource: Bibliographies for Case Studies Class Size Reduction Phonics Instruction Private-School Vouchers Whole-School Reform References Index