Introduction to Educational Research

"This is an excellent textbook that covers information on educational research in a comprehensive style. The textbook's logical format, accuracy, and many clear examples, relevent to educational research, provide students and any reader with samples to more easily familiarize themselves with the tools needed to conduct a research investigation."

-- Laura J. Shea Doolan, St. Joseph's College

"[Mertler] provides a very organized, non-technical introductory text to enhance students' comprehension and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitiative techiques in educational research."

-- Li-Ling Chen, California State University at East Bay

This text balances quantitative and qualitative research methods and guides learners through nine research methods to help plan and compose their first educational research project. Through chapter content and in-text exercises, readers simultaneously learn how to prepare a research plan, gather and analyze data, address research questions and hypotheses, and organize a research report. In keeping with the main purpose of helping students clearly understand and apply research concepts, the language of the text is non-technical and every chapter contains multiple pedagogical supports.

MyEducationLab for Research is integrated throughout the seventh edition. Every chapter contains margin icons that correlate chapter topics to assignments and activities within the MyEducationLab website. MyEducationLab is an interactive learning website that helps students practice and strengthen skills that are essential to understanding and producing good research.

This graduate textbook shows educators how to design their own research projects, gather data in their investigations and present their findings, and defines the characteristics of ethnographic, action, evaluation, descriptive, historical, correlational, experimental, and casual-comparative research styles. The fifth edition adds an appendix on TakeNote! research report writing software. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Dr. Craig A. Mertler is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Assessment and Research Methodologies at Bowling Green (OH) State University. Dr. Mertler teaches graduate courses in quantitative research methods, introductory and multivariate statistical analysis, and assessment methods. He is currently the author of 5 books, 2 invited book chapters, 12 refereed journal articles, 2 instructors’ manuals, and numerous nonrefereed articles and manuscripts. His books include:

§ Mertler, C. A. (in press). Interpreting standardized test scores: Strategies for data-driven instructional decision making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

§ Mertler, C. A. (2006). Action research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

§ Mertler, C. A. & Vannatta, R. A. (2005). Advanced and multivariate statistical methods: Practical application and interpretation (3^rd ed.). Los Angeles: Pyrczak.

Mertler, C. A. (2003). Classroom assessment: A practical guide for educators. Los Angeles: Pyrczak.