Errors in Evidence-Based Decision Making: Improving and Applying Research Literacy

Existing research methods textbooks emphasize the mechanics of HOW to conduct research studies. However, many students fail to see WHY it is important to learn about research because they will never conduct research studies. These students do not become engaged in learning and believe that research courses and textbooks are useless. They do not see the need of developing “research literacy” to understand the applications and limitations of research to their daily lives. This book engages students with a nonmathematical presentation that includes real examples of the consequences of research errors in daily life. The organization facilitates learning with objectives, concepts, description of errors, best practices, and examples. This is a research methods textbook for students who fear research textbooks. The diversity of topics in this book permits application to research methods courses in these academic fields: Economics, Education, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. This should be the first book for all students to introduce research and develop “research literacy”.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Identifying Errors Chapter 2 Dispositions and Ethics Chapter 3 Problem Development Chapter 4 Variables Chapter 5 Measurement Foundations Chapter 6 Data Collection Instruments Chapter 7 Sampling Methods Chapter 8 External and Internal Validity Threats to Evidence Chapter 9 Research Design Chapter 10 Data Analysis Chapter 11 Statistical Probability and Interpretation Chapter 12 Personal Biases in Interpretation Chapter 13 The Age of Misinformation Chapter 14 Religion and Science Epilogue--- How Will We Apply Research to Improve Our Lives?

About the Author :
Robert W. Janke has a PhD from the Combined Program in Education & Psychology at the University of Michigan. He is Professor of Education at Baldwin Wallace University and has 45 years of practical experience as a teacher, professor, researcher, and licensed psychologist. Bruce S. Cooper is Professor of Education Leadership, Administration and Policy at Fordham University. He received a PhD from the University of Chicago and has published over 35 books on policy, finance, leadership, and school improvement--- including a book for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, and as a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education at the University of London. He also worked with Lord Kenneth Baker, then Secretary of State for Education and Science. He continues to study and write about school reforms, including truancy from schools.

Review :
Important book to read, as Bob Janke and Bruce Cooper warn us, that: “Individuals and groups purposively create misinformation through distortion or manipulation to influence the beliefs and behaviors of others.” Truth matters in everyone’s life, as this book shows. I enjoyed the thorough listing of best practices, common errors, and the like. Yet another great book by Bruce Cooper and his colleague, Robert Janke, one of the most sensible and realistic observers of the American education scene for the past 40+ years. This book is readable and on-target. Drs. Janke and Cooper's book is essential reading for students and laypeople alike. The world of big data is giving the impression that all analysis is research and all research is valid and reliable. The book offers an understanding of how to strengthen research and reduce errors. Readers will benefit from a close read, in both wisdom and humility. A comedy of errors in education is not funny! Decisions and polices must be based on honest investigation and clear, critical thinking. This book is invaluable in pointing the (best) way to improving our schools for all children. A non-traditional text that engages students with humor and provocative real-world examples of the consequences of research errors in many academic areas. This text shows why it is important to be able to separate accurate from inaccurate research evidence. At a time when “scientifically proven methods” and “data driven instruction” have become catchwords in education, this bookis essential reading for students, teachers and anyone interested understanding research. Written in language that is non-technical and easy to read, Errors in Evidence-Based Decision Making helps users of research to understand and identify bias and misinformation, while also providing an excellent foundation for advanced courses in research. An increasingly common bureaucratic imperative in selecting policies is that they be "research based," "proven," and in accord with "best practices." While politics requires that sort of justifying evidence, many political scientists observe that choices are usually made on the basis of unrealistic expectations, uncertain technologies, and unreliable implementation scenarios. This book provides useful ways of better evaluating evidence and thereby moving the exercise beyond justification.