 |
|
|
|
|
Home
»
Research
»
Research Review Tips
RESEARCH REVIEW TIPS
The medical field is famous for clinical trials. The consumer marketplace relies on testing by Consumer Reports. Why should education be any different?
In an attempt to chart a new course, the No Child Left Behind Act repeatedly calls for the use of educational practices backed by gold-standard, scientifically based research. Unfortunately, new language only goes so far. Look closely at our competitors and you’ll see that most research raises more questions than it answers. Here’s our 3 top tips to sort the gold from the silver, the copper and the counterfeit.
-
Who wrote the study and where do they work? Reliable research is usually written by respected scholars or researchers working within a research institution, think tank or university. Check out the researcher’s pedigree to see if they’ve written books and articles in peer-reviewed journals. This gives you a sense of their prominence in their field.
-
Does the research directly address the impact of the intervention? It’s important to show that a wide body of past research supports one or another aspect of an educational practice or product. But do keep in mind: it’s not the same as new and original research documenting whether or not this approach actually made a difference for students.
-
Does the study use control and treatment groups? A lot of research involves just one group of students taking pre-tests and post-tests to determine the impact of a teaching method, a reform model or educational software. This information is informative but it is not conclusive. Without a carefully matched comparison group, there’s no way to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the results and the intervention.
Ready to learn more? The No Child Left Behind Act defines scientifically based research in education as “research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs.” It mentions scientifically based research more than 100 times!
For more in-depth information on the defining characteristics of scientifically based research, the ERIC Digest, a publication of the Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse, offers an excellent, easy-to-understand summary. To read the full text, reprinted on the website of the Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management, click here.
|
|
