Generalizing from Educational Research: Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Polarization

"This book frames the major challenge facing educational researchers as one of going beyond the mindless qualitative-quantitative divide and addressing the overarching/fundamental challenge of enriching and enlarging educational inquiry. It is a signature contribution to the field." - Clifton F. Conrad, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Tackling one of the most critical issues in education research today - how research methods are related to value and meaningfulness - this frontline volume achieves two purposes. First, it presents an integrated approach to educational inquiry that works toward a continuum instead of a dichotomy of generalizability, and looks at how this continuum might be related to types of research questions asked and how these questions should determine modes of inquiry. Second, it discusses and demonstrates the contributions of different data types and modes of research to generalizability of research findings, and to limitations of research findings that utilize a single approach. International leaders in the field take the discussion of generalizing in education research to a level where claims are supported using multiple types of evidence. The volume pushes the field in a different direction, where the focus is on creating meaningful research findings that are not polarized by qualitative versus quantitative methodologies. The integrative approach allows readers to better understand possibilities and shortcomings of different types of research.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Introduction Wolff-Michael Roth and Kadriye Ercikan SECTION I: GENERALIZING WITHIN AND BEYOND POPULATIONS AND CONTEXTS Overview 2. GENERALIZABILITY THEORY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCUSSION OF THE GENERALIZABILITY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS Rich Shavelson amp; Noreen Webb 3. THE TESTING OF ENGLISH LANGAUGE LEARNERS AS A STOCHASTIC PROCESS: POPULATION MISSPECIFICATION, MEASUREMENT ERROR, AND OVERGENERALIZATION Guillermo Solano-Flores Section I Highlights SECTION II: COMBINING AND CONTRASTING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE EVIDENCE Overview 4. GENERALIZATION FROM QUALITATIVE INQUIRY Margaret Eisenhart 5. ON QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE REASONING IN VALIDITY Robert J. Mislevy, Pamela Moss, James J. Gee 6. GENERALIZABILITY AND RESEARCH SYNTHESIS Betsy Becker amp; Meng-Jia Wu Section II Highlights SECTION III: HOW RESEARCH USE MEDIATES GENERALIZATION Overview 7. GENERALIZABILITY AND RESEARCH USE ARGUMENTS Lyle F. Bachman 8. REPETITION, DIFFERENCE, AND RISING UP WITH RESEARCH IN EDUCATION Kenneth Tobin 9. CRITICAL REALISM, POLICY, AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH Allan Luke Section III Highlights SECTION IV: RETHINKING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GENERAL AND THE PARTICULAR Overview 10. Limitations in Sample to Population generalizing Kadriye Ercikan 11. PHENOMENOLOGICAL AND DIALECTICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE RELATION BETWEEN THE GENERAL AND THE PARTICULAR Wolff-Michael Roth Section IV Highlights 12. DISCUSSION OF KEY ISSUES IN GENERALIZING IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH Edited by Wolff-Michael Roth and Kadriye Ercikan, with Contributions from Lyle F. Bachman, Margaret Eisenhart, Robert J. Mislevy, Pamela Moss, Guillermo Solano-Flores, Kenneth Tobin Contributors Index

About the Author :
University of British Columbia, Canada University of Victoria, Canada