Ten+Research+Studies

The best way to learn about research is to read and critique research as much as possible. To help apply your readings and class discussions to your area of research, you will be asked to compile ten high-quality journal articles published in a range of peer-reviewed journals (if possible) related to your potential research topic. We will use the articles multiple times during the semester for various purposes, and they will also help you become familiar with different studies conducted around your interest area.

You should include the following in this set of ten articles:
 * 2 experimental studies (e.g., using randomly selected and assigned participants and exploring issues of causation)
 * 2 correlational studies (e.g., using a correlation statistic to examine the relationship between variables)
 * 2 survey studies (e.g., using different survey methods to collect data)
 * 2 qualitative studies (e.g., using different types of qualitative analyses)
 * 2 mixed-method studies (e.g., having both quantitative and qualitative analyses/findings)

The studies you collect may not be on exactly the same topic that you are interested in, but it should somehow connect to your topic, if possible. If you can’t locate a study related to your topic, then find what you consider a strong study using a particular design (fitting one of the five areas) that might be able to inform the design of your own proposal/dissertation.

Some of the best journals in Education to skim for consistently high quality work across many different topics include: (all are in the URI/RIC library database)
 * //American Educational Research Journal// (published by AERA)
 * //Educational Researcher// (published by AERA)
 * //Learning and Instruction// (published by Elsevier)
 * //Cognition and Instruction// (published by Taylor & Francis)
 * //Computers & Education// (published by Elsevier)
 * //Educational and Psychological Measurement// (published by Sage)
 * //Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research//
 * //International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education// (published by Taylor & Francis)

As you locate your ten quality articles, please print them and put them in a binder. You will be asked to bring this binder to class with you to revisit parts of the articles during class with different partners and for homework to understand and critique examples of various design methods and overall quality. These studies will also help you get started on your draft of a research proposal and your research critique, which are the two major assignments for this course.