14009 Research Methods in Education

Credits: 4 graduate credits in Education: Technologies and Learning Systems or in Educational Administration, Policy and Leadership

Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate program in Education: Technologies and Learning Systems or in Educational Administration, Policy and Leadership or admission to the Certificate Studies Program in School Assessment and Measurement.

The course is based on topics from the course Research Methods in Social Sciences: Guiding Principles and Research Styles (10285); on Words of Meaning: Qualitative Research – Theory and Practice, by A. Shkedi (Ramot, 2003, in Hebrew); on a reader edited by Avishai Antonovsky and Ruth Beyth-Marom; and on a recorded lecture on qualitative research (on the course website).

Objectives: To acquaint students with quantitative and qualitative research in the social sciences in general and in education in particular, and present their common and distinguishing characteristics on the conceptual and practical level; To impart tools for critical evaluation of studies conducted in various areas of education; To provide tools for designing research studies relevant to the field of education, as a basis for their future implementation in the areas of learning systems and learning technologies.

Topics: The fundamental difference between two research paradigms discussed in the course – quantitative-positivist and qualitative-constructivist; Quantitative research – basic concepts in quantitative research; measurement principles; the survey; the experiment; Qualitative research – the conceptual foundation and basic assumptions underlying qualitative research; data collection and analysis in qualitative research; the case study and action research; Epilog – ethics in research; standards for assessing research; mixed methods.