Education is increasingly regarded as an evidenced based profession and the concept of practitioner research has become an important part of teacher development. Developing Practitioner Researchers is a significant text for teachers involved in practitioner research. It discusses how the concept of classroom research has evolved from previous ......
Written by a master writer and evaluator, this text explores the many conceptual choices an evaluator needs to make--from attention to stakeholders, to weighing ethical risks, to writing a useful report--when doing an evaluation. The book begins with the main strategic choices an evaluator needs to make between approaches: quantitatively,by ......
"I do not believe I have ever seen a work of this kind that so thoroughly and so carefully examines the important consideration of working with the students' advisor, relationships with the students' supervisory committee, and the oral defense. Students using this text will certainly applaud this work." M. Scott Norton, Professor Arizona State ......
"We can be grateful that Dr. Stake decided to cap his distinguished career by sharing his ideas in writing. This is a book that evaluators will want to have in their personal library. It tells us a lot about our field, highlights contrasting ways of evaluating without pitting one against the other, and manages to remind us why many of us chose ......
The variety of innovative techniques and theoretical perspectives offered in this volume should challenge readers to think about and expand on their understanding of qualitative research and its continually emerging applications.
"The writing style is good, clear, and accurate, with a logical presentation of material. The checklists are effective learning aids." --Carol J. Lancaster, Medical University of South Carolina When should you use a telephone survey, and how do you transform completed telephone interviews into an analyzable, machine-readable data file? ......
The Use of Factor Analysis for Instrument Development in Health Care Research
Many health care practitioners and researchers are aware of the need to employ factor analysis in order to develop more sensitive instruments for data collection. Unfortunately, factor analysis is not a unidimensional approach that is easily understood by even the most experienced of researchers. Making Sense of Factor Analysis: The Use of Factor ......
What's Good, What's Not, and How To Tell the Difference
In Making Sense of Research, the authors bring the best of two worlds to the writing of this book - the "real" world where education is practiced daily and the "research" world where the "disciplined search for knowledge" (Smith & Glass, 1987, p.6) is ongoing. Making Sense of Research is for those who make decisions - from the seemingly smallest teacher-made decision regarding time allocation during reading instruction to major national policy decisions such as reducing class size. When carefully read and thoughtfully considered, quality research can inform, enlighten, and provide direction to practitioners that will save time and money, but more importantly enhance the effectiveness of schools and increase the opportunities for student. Making Sense of Research is also about doing your own site-specific, user-driven research as a way of sustaining school improvement, keeping vision alive, and attaining your mission.
