Research is a "systematic process by which we know more about something than we did before engaging in the process" (Merriam and Simpson, 1995 p. 2). Two ways of categorizing research are as basic research and applied research. In a field such as adult education, which is an applied field of practice, most research falls within the latter category: the knowledge gained is intended to be applied in order to improve practice. Basic research, which is most often associated with the "hard" sciences, is motivated by intellectual interest and has the goal of advancing or extending knowledge in a particular discipline (Merriam and Simpson, 1995). Within each of these categories are a number of ways of conducting research, or research methods, which we will discuss as the course progresses.

Most research approaches, whether basic or applied, have several elements or stages in common:

• Identifying a problem or question
• Establishing a conceptual and theoretical framework
• Framing the research question
• Deciding which research method is most appropriate
• Analyzing and reporting results

Later in your master's program, in ADTED 588, you will develop and conduct your own study. (This project is described in detail in Unit 10). Although this later project will not be a "full blown" research study, it will include some of the elements above. However, even if you will not be going through all the steps of a formal study, it's important that you understand them and be able to evaluate them in research studies you will read in your courses, as well as those you read as a practitioner. Understanding the research process will ensure that you are a knowledgeable consumer of educational research conducted by scholars in the field and therefore better able to use such research to help you improve your own practice. It will also give you guidance for conducting research from a practitioner standpoint. We'll talk more about this later.

Your Tasks

Read the Preface and Chapter 1 in your textbook (McMillan and Wergin).

Continue working with your Adult Education Research Critique teams. At this point each member of your team should be reading the articles listed for the critique team assignments on the Course Requirements section of our course Syllabus.

Reference: Merriam, S. and Simpson, E. (1995). A guide to research for educators and trainers of adults. Malabar, FL: Krieger.