This text brings research alive for educators by introducing readers to people who actually "do" research. It is intended for instructors who emphasize teaching students how to locate, read, and interpret and apply the findings of educational research studies. The revision addresses how to design and conduct a research study in more detail. The text includes numerous recent, published research articles involving high-interest problems of educational practice. The chapters, which treat quantitative, qualitative, and applied forms of educational research, stand alone, allowing instructors to choose those they want to cover. Designed for courses focused primarily on applying, rather than conducting research, this text includes 13 actual research articles, reprinted in their entirety. The primary author of each article then offers original commentary on his/her piece. Through this format, the text presents a comprehensive explanation of the methodologies used by present-day researchers, data-collection challenges, and the meaning of the results. The book makes no assumptions about readers' prior knowledge of research or statistics. This text builds students' confidence so that they are able to successfully read research reports and research. Through its clear yet scholarly treatment and numerous examples of educational research the text addresses the learning and application needs of an increasingly wider spectrum of students and practitioners in the field of education. For the first time, readerswill see the relevance of research to educational practice.

PART I: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 Using Research Evidence to Improve Educational Practice Chapter 2 Doing Your Own Research: From Proposal to Final Report PART II: APPLYING EXISTING RESEARCH STUDIES TO PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE Chapter 3 Conducting and Writing Your Own Literature Review Chapter 4 Using Search Engines in a Literature Review Chapter 5 Making Use of Available Literature Reviews PART III: USING QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY TO STUDY PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE Chapter 6 Analyzing and Evaluating Reports of Quantitative Research Studies Chapter 7 Using Descriptive Statistics to Study Problems of Practice Chapter 8 The Practical Significance of Statistical Results Chapter 9 Tests of Statistical Significance Chapter 10 Descriptive Research Chapter 11 Group-Comparison Research Chapter 12 Correlational Research Chapter 13 Experimental Research PART IV: USING QUALITATIVE METHODOLOGY TO STUDY PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE Chapter 14 Case Study Research Chapter 15 Narrative Research Chapter 16 Ethnographic and Critical Ethnographic Research PART V: USING OTHER METHODOLOGIES TO STUDY PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE Chapter 17 Action Research SELF-CHECK TEST ANSWERS APPENDICES 1. Guide for Outlining a Quantitative or Qualitative Research Proposal 2. Questions To Ask Yourself When Evaluating a Report of a Quantitative Study 3. Questions to Ask Yourself When Evaluating a Report of a Qualitative Study 4. Design-Specific Questions to Ask Yourself When Evaluating a Research Report