Types of

Methods
The Historical Method

 Historical research comes from deep traditions and differs from

the other methodologies in the way the methodology section is
written.
 In most historical research, the methodology is integrated into
the body of the report.
 Sometimes it is included in the introduction and at other times,
the various elements of methodology are integrated throughout.
 The historian would be concerned with how we treated disabled
children in the past, perhaps looking for differences across
jurisdictions or for children with differing sorts of handicaps.
Descriptive Methods

 Just as data are fundamental to research, description is an

essential extension of data.
 There are many types of data and many ways to describe, but we
need accurate and understandable description in order to
communicate what we observe.
Experimental and Quasi-
experimental Methods
 These are comparative methods in which different groups of
people or organizations receive different opportunities and the
researcher attempts to demonstrate the differences among the
groups on some type of quantitative measure such as student
examination results.
 These methods have dominated educational research for much of
the century, though they are now being supplanted by more
eclectic methods.
 In the example, there could be a range of comparative questions
asked.
Correlational Methods

 Correlational methods attempt to explore relationships between variables

 Note that you need quantitative data in order to conduct correlational
research. Correlational research relies on pairs of observations, each related to
an individual or other unit of analysis.
 Be sure you understand the fact that correlation does not mean that one
variable causes another.
 It only means that there is a relationship.
 The cause may be something else entirely.
 Although one variable does not necessarily cause the other, knowledge of a
first may allow prediction of a second.
 That opens up a whole field of prediction studies and the use of mathematical
models and equations to predictfuture states. The example related to disabled
children defines a typical question that attempts to predict success factors.
Qualitative Methods

 Ethnography, phenomenology, case study, biographical,

grounded theory and applied/action research are among the wide
range of qualitative approaches used to study phenomena.
 The intent is to uncover the implicit meaning in a particular
situation from one or more perspectives.
 The data may include dynamic interaction such as one observes
or analyzes through discourse, semiotics, narrative and content
analysis.
 In studying disabled children, one focus that may interest the
qualitative researcher is the meaning various stakeholders attach
to integrating disabled children into the classroom.
Program Evaluation Methods

 Evaluation research combines both qualitative and quantitative

methods to address questions about programs generally related
to an overall framework.
 In the disabled child example, the evaluator would examine the
program and evaluate its rationale, efficiency, effectiveness,
effects and impacts.
Case Study Methods

 The case study examines some significant incident or series of

events to clarify what happens in such situations.
 These methods are also eclectic, though like program evaluation,
they follow models and frameworks that have become somewhat
standard.
 The case study considers what happened to a single child.
Another approach might study educational change exemplified
by the introduction of the new program.
Policy Research

 Policy research is a field concerned with research about various

aspects of policy.
 In some cases the focus is retrospective and examines the results
of policy (sometimes referred to as ‘policy in implementation’),
while in others, the researcher is concerned with the prospective
aspect (the ‘what if’ question).
Organizational Evaluation

 Organizational evaluation is concerned with research that helps

to clarify certain dimensions of organizations such as their
capacity and their performance.
 The whole organization is the unit of analysis in such research
which can effectively produce an evaluative case study of the
organization.
 My colleagues and I have developed a framework for assessing
the motivation, capacity and performance of organizations and
we have conducted extensive work on self-assessment
processes.