Doing Your Education Research Project

Neil Burton is Partnership Manager and Associate Tutor of education masters courses with the University of Leicester, having worked in teacher education for several universities for the past 20 years. He is a member of the editorial board of Education 3-13 and is a recent past Chair of the Association for the Study of Primary Education. In addition to working with several school-based initial teacher training providers, he also teaches children (6-18 years-old) in schools on a regular basis for the joy of it. Professor Mark Brundrett is Professor of Educational Research and Director of the Centre for Educational Research and Evaluation Services at Liverpool John Moores University (CERES).

• PART ONE: THINK BEFORE YOU DOThe Place of Research Within the Classroom and SchoolAnalysing the Context in Order to Ask the Right QuestionsReviewing Existing Theories and FindingsPART TWO: GATHERING EVIDENCE: WHAT EVIDENCE, WHO FROM, AND HOW TO COLLECT ITModels of ResearchIdentifying SourcesDocumentation: Examining Existing EvidenceObserving: Individuals, Groups and EnvironmentsDirect Questioning: Surveys and QuestionnairesA Cyclical Model of Research: Action ResearchPART THREE: MAKING SENSE OF THE OUTCOMESCollating and Reporting Qualitative EvidenceCollating and Presenting Quantitative EvidenceQualitative Data AnalysisQuantitative Data AnalysisDrawing Conclusions and Making RecommendationsDeveloping Academic Skills

′Key strengths of this text are its clearly structured layout, and accessible style.  The introductory chapter effectively updates this book, locating it firmly in the current complex and changing environment.Written specifically for the practitioner-researcher, the book makes clear and explicit links between the practices of teaching, and the practices of education research.  Short case studies throughout are realistic in their message, and will be instantly recognisable to teachers at a range of stages in their careers.It’s good to see a user-friendly approach to quantitative data analysis for non-mathematicians; something that’s not often found in a book of this nature.′