Reading and Understanding Research

Lawrence F. Locke is Professor Emeritus of Education and Physical Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. A native of Connecticut, he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Springfield College and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has written extensively on the production and utilization of research on teaching and teacher education. He has authored a number of books designed to assist non-specialists with the tasks of reading and understanding research. After many years residing in Sunderland, MA he now makes his home on Cape Cod, but with his wife, Professor Lorraine Goyette, he has spent much of each year writing, running, and exploring the Beartooth Mountains at Sky Ranch in Reed Point, MT. Stephen J. Silverman is Professor of Education and Chair of the Department of Biobehavioral Sciences at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a native of Philadelphia and holds a bachelor’s degree from Temple University, a master’s degree from Washington State University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His research focuses on teaching and learning in physical education and on methods for conducting research in field settings. He has authored numerous research articles and chapters, and is coauthor of a number of books. He has served as editor of two research journals, is an experienced research consultant, has directed graduate students, and has, for many years, taught classes in research methods, statistics, and measurement. He enjoys running, following politics, and aquatic sports, and lives with his wife, Patricia Moran, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. His website is: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/faculty/ss928 Waneen Wyrick Spirduso is the Mauzy Regents Professor Emerita in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a native of Austin and holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from The University of Texas and a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research focuses on the effects of aging and the mechanisms of motor control. She has been a prolific contributor to the research literature and has authored textbooks related to research methods and aging. She taught research methods and directed student research for more than four decades and has received numerous research grants from the federal government and foundations. She plays golf and rows, and lives with her husband, Craig Spirduso, in Austin, TX. Her website is http://www.edb.utexas.edu/coe/depts/kin/faculty/spirduso/index.html

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I: The Nature and Uses of Research ReportsChapter 1: The Research ReportChapter 2: When to Believe What You Read: The Sources of CredibilityChapter 3: How to Select and Read Research ReportsChapter 4: The Use, Misuse, and Misunderstanding of ResearchChapter 5: Types of Research: An Overview of VarietyPart II: Quantitative ResearchChapter 6: Quantitative Research DesignsChapter 7: Staying Organized When Reading a Quantitative ReportChapter 8: Explaining as a Tool for Learning to Read ReportsChapter 9: Reading Reports of Quantitative Research-Critically: Things to Notice and Questions to AskPart III: Qualitative ResearchChapter 10: The Paradigms for Qualitative ResearchChapter 11: Staying Organized When Reading a Qualitative ReportChapter 12: Reading Reports of Qualitative Research-Critically: Things the Reader Should ExpectPart IV: Reading Research ReviewsChapter 13: Staying Organized When Reading Research ReviewsAppendix A: Annotated Bibliography of Supplementary ReferencesAppendix B: Statistics: A Beginner′s GuideReferencesName IndexSubject IndexAbout the Authors