Research Basics
Research 101
These resources will answer the question: What makes for good research?
Research 102: Adding Up the Evidence
It’s a standard research practice to look across a variety of studies to see what kind of conclusions we can draw from the body of research on a subject. The resources in our Research 102 explain how researchers combine the findings of multiple research studies to draw more solid conclusions than any one study can tell you.
Research-Based Resources on Specific Disabilities – Here’s a multitude of educational research connections you might find useful as you plan and deliver services to children with disabilities.
Weighing Info for Its Worth
As we’ve mentioned, it’s not a good idea to take research purely at its face value. But how do you weigh what you’re reading to judge its credibility? Here are some tips to help you become a savvy consumer.
Scientific Research in Education.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10236
Understanding and Using Education Statistics: It’s Easier (and More Important) Than You Think. www.ers.org
Finding Information
Where can you find research information?
www.monroecc.edu/depts/library/resour.htm
Here’s a quick list to jog your thinking, part of Monroe Community College’s online guide to help students prepare research papers.
Think about biases in point of view–both yours and the info’s.
www.virtualsalt.com/infobias.htm
Evaluating Information a Book or Journal
Evaluate information for its authority and appropriateness for your research.-From the library at UC Berkeley.
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Evaluation.html
How to critically analyze information sources.-From the Cornell University Library.
www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm
Is this a scholarly journal or some other kind of publication?-From the Cornell University Library.
www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill20.html
Trusting Information from a Web Site
Find out who owns the site–is it who it seems to be?
The WHOIS public database displays a domain name holder’s contact information.
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp
Tips for evaluating the quality and reliability of Internet resources.
www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
More tips–techniques to apply & questions to ask.-From the library at UC Berkeley.
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
Help with evaluating and selecting resources.-More from Monroe Community College to guide users of research.
www.monroecc.edu/depts/library/eval.htm
Resource Tools-Print and use this Web site checklist.
From the library at UC Berkeley.
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/EvalForm.pdf
Applying Research
Using data to drive and inform school change. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Educational-Reform-Network/192872871332?v=wall
The Education Reform Network (TER Netrwork) connects you to resources and publications on how and why to use data as the basis for decision making. The materials are organized into the following categories: accountability systems; analyzing school data; building capacity for data use; standards-based instruction; standardized testing; state standards; success indicators; public engagement; technology; and school, district, and state report cards.
Implementing results-based decisionmaking: Advice from the field.
www.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/pdfs/1999WELFAREBARRIERS.pdf
This report was published jointly by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and The Finance Project. More than 50 leaders in the field provide advice on measuring the success of their supports for children and families by the results or outcomes they achieve for individuals, families, and communities. It covers various dimensions of results-based decision-making, including strategic planning that logically connects strategies to the outcomes.
Help for schools
http://www.mc3edsupport.org/community/knowledgebases/Project-14.html The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that schools take certain steps towards improvement. The School Improvement KnowledgeBase at the link above contains information and resources to help schools accomplish these tasks using a step-by-step, well-designed process. If you’re in the driver’s seat—or anywhere in the car!—you’ll wanna come here.
It’s a workshop online, not a publication, but have you heard… ?
PDF File- Click Here The National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform offers Identifying Research-Based Solutions for School Improvement, a workshop that aims to provide educators with the skills they need to find, identify, and make good use of the best available educational research.
A Policymaker’s Primer on Education Research: How to Understand, Evaluate, and Use It.
PDF File- Click Here from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2003. Guide seeks to provide educational practitioners with user-friendly tools to distinguish practices supported by rigorous evidence from those that are not.
Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: A User Friendly Guide.
Improving Student Learning: A Strategic Plan for Education Research and Its Utilization.
Available from the National Academies Press.
http://books.nap.edu/catalog/6488.html
The Importance of Research into Practice
The Children in Special Education
Read about the SEELS study, a 5-year investigation of the children receiving special education services, ages 6 to 12. The SEELS Web site is found at: www.seels.net/
The Children in Early Intervention.
SRI is also conducting the NEILS study, which is following more than 3,338 children with disabilities or at risk for disabilities and their families through their experiences in early intervention and into early elementary school. Visit the NEILS site and see what SRI is finding, at: www.sri.com/neils/
Transition Services
SRI follows up their previous transition studies with this new one–the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2)! Over the next several years, NLTS2 will document the experiences of a national sample of students as they move into adult roles.
Read about the study and track its results at: www.nlts2.org/. The first wave of reports emerged in January 2004. These provide information on the characteristics and experiences of youth with disabilities in secondary school.
As of May 2004, NLTS2 data tables have been made available on-line. Users can view and download the tables, which cross-tabulate a large number of selected variables by disability, age, gender, income, and ethnicity. All NLTS2 data are weighted estimates for students receiving secondary special education and generalize to the national population. Find the data tables at: www.nlts2.org/
Check out NLTS2’s reports exploring important findings from the parent interviews and school data collection activities. In 2004, these include: Services and Supports for Secondary School Students with Disabilities (May 2004) and Changes Over Time in the Secondary School Experiences of Students with Disabilities (April 2004). Both are online at: www.nlts2.org/reports/reports_collapsed.html
Summing it all up
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/research.html
Every year, Congress receives an annual report on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), our nation’s special education law. Wanna know who’s being served, for what disability, by whom, where, and to what outcome? Visit the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which oversees implementation of the law and reports the state of affairs to Congress. You’ll find the last eight annual reports to Congress online as well as the annual data tables.
Where to Look First
So…we know why it’s important to care about research and who we’re caring for. Now where do we find special education research? Disability-related research? What are the primary sources we can turn to, for these initiatives? Where’s the research happening? And what’s it focusing upon? (What it’s finding is a whole separate section!)
Government-funded research into disabilities.
Did you know that a searchable database exists online of the discretionary projects supported by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) under IDEA? Nearly 1100 projects are included. Find out what’s being investigated by these projects, at: www.cec.sped.org/osep/database/
NIDRR research can be helpful, too.
NARIC, the National Rehabilitation Information Center, offers an online searchable database of more than 300 projects funded by NIDRR (National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research), including their products. If you want to know about disability, rehabilitation, and promoting independence and employment for individuals with disabilities, NARIC is the place to visit. Search the database, at: http://www.naric.com/research/
ERIC system
And don’t forget the ERIC system when you’re looking for research on an educational subject.-ERIC is an acronym for the Educational Resources Information Center. The ERIC database contains descriptions of over 1 million educational materials, including research-based findings published in journals and related to children with and without disabilities. Search the database for the research that interests you, at: www.eric.ed.gov
Try this database of interventions and policy evaluations.
Its acronym is C2-RIPE, which stands for Register of Interventions and Policy Evaluation. Developed by the Campbell Collaboration (get it? C2?), the database provides researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and the public with access to reviews and review-related documents in the following areas: Education, Crime and Justice, Social Welfare, and Methods. Go to:
http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/library.php
Scientific research related to schools and education.
Visit the Child Development Center, which organizes and briefly describes current research related to schools and education according to the following groupings: learning research, educational issues, school curriculum issues, and school governance and safety issues. Choose which one you’d like to view at:
www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/ scientific_research_schools_education.shtml
Try These Web Sites
There are many great research journals, associations, and organizations, all working to further the knowledge base of educational research we have. We’ve listed some primary participants below, in alphabetical order.
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
www.aera.net/
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
www.ascd.org/
Divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children
www.cec.sped.org/dv/
Educational Research Network
www.ernweb.com/
Educational Research Service
www.ers.org/
Journal of Educational Research
www.heldref.org/index.html
Practical Research, Assessment, and Evaluation
A peer-reviewed journal online at:
http://pareonline.net
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
www.wcer.wisc.edu/
First Toe in the Water
Scientifically Based Research
What is Scientifically Based Research?
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) calls for the use of “scientifically based research” as the foundation for many education programs and for classroom instruction. Leading experts in the fields of education and science came together at a seminar hosted by the Department of Education and discussed the meaning of scientifically based research and its status across various disciplines. Find out what they said in these transcripts, available online at: www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/whatworks/research/index.html
What works in education?
The WWC—the What Works Clearinghouse—has been established to answer that very question. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the WWC is expected to serve as a central source of scientific evidence of what works in education. They are starting off their investigations by focusing on seven topics of high interest (for example, interventions for beginning reading). Read all about the WWC and follow their findings as they emerge, at: www.whatworks.ed.gov
Research Connections in Special Education
http://cecp.air.org/resources/recon/recon.asp This is a publication reviewing OSEP-sponsored research on topics in special education. As such, it may very well be the first toe you put in the research waters of special education. Thirteen issues are currently available online at the OSEP/ERIC Special Project site, linked above.