This invaluable, highly successful volume presents an integrating framework that will improve readers’ understanding of the research process. The author outlines four important goals for those interested in educational and social science research: to understand science as a social process through which findings become accepted as knowledge; to comprehend how the criteria by which research is judged flow from the knowledge development process, with implications for how research is done and reported; to be able to read, analyze, understand and evaluate research using a variety of approaches; to understand the importance of responsibly ethical research and value choices involved therein. To achieve these goals, a variety of learning aids are incorporated into this comprehensive text, including hallmark sections (signals of research quality), tips sections (actions that improve research quality), and key terms, application problems and exercises for each chapter.

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Product Description: This hands-on guide explores the why of research methods and constructs a new framework to help researchers conduct effective studies.