In this unit, we're going to be looking at some of the philosophical concepts and ideas that underpin research today. In the last couple of decades in particular the practice of research has become both more confusing and more liberating. One of the bigger challenges in research today as a result of these changes is that the researcher must be quite clear about his/her own personal beliefs since these guide the choice of methods that best fit his/her purpose. Research is generally undertaken for the fairly simple purpose of answering a question--seeking to extend the knowledge base in a particular area.

Let's look at some amusing examples of research. One was an AP news story about a group of researchers who discovered a "dirty little secret": Millions of Americans routinely don't wash their hands after using the toilet. So, what was their research question? (How often do Americans wash their hands while in the bathroom?) How would you answer that question? How did the researchers come to that conclusion? The researchers really did hide in the stalls and observe people in action! Guess where the dirtiest hands are? (New York City) How about the cleanest hands? (Chicago) Which gender engages in hand washing more often? (Women, of course! ;-)

I hope you will look for examples of interesting research or research fallacies on TV, radio, and in the newspaper. Please post them on the Main discussion forum for all of us to enjoy. For those of you who listen to National Public Radio (U.S.), you may have heard Garrison Keillor sign off from his stories about Lake Wobegon by saying, "...where all the women are strong, all the men good-looking, and all the children above average." Is that humorous statement possible? (Yes, in one community that could be possible. However, if you are dealing with national statistics, this would be impossible since the "average" is the mean of scores in any distribution.)

One of my colleagues has a story from a friend's military days. This friend was serving as a personnel psychologist at an Armed Forces Examining Station, where he was responsible for administering and reporting the standardized qualification tests for inductees and enlistees. His new supervisor (who didn't know about psychometrics!) stated emphatically: "I've been reviewing these test results and I'm shocked to find out that about half the men who took these tests are below the 50th percentile in math and reading! I want that improved. What are you going to do about it?" (Well, sir...).

(Want to hear a silly, but accurate, portrayal of statistics? Listen to "The Statistics Song"!) <http://www.teachtsp.com/products/productextras/scisci/statisticslyrics.html>

Your Tasks:

1. As a way to begin thinking about how to evaluate educational research, please critique the article "A 'gender effect' in college learning?" a the following Web site: http://csmonitor.com/2001/1127/p14s1- lehl.html.
   
   A critique does NOT mean that you summarize what was done, nor does critique mean "criticize." When you critique, focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the research design of the study, as reported in the article. Please reflect on what was done and think about whether or not the conclusions are warranted. Please post your brief reactions to the Unit 2 - Gender Effect Article discussion forum and discuss with your classmates.

 

2. What are some questions from your own adult education practice that you are interested in and that you think could be answered through educational research? (If you’re not currently a practicing educator, think of a question about something that goes on in your workplace that could be answered with a research project.) Please post your questions to the Unit 2 - My Research Questions . Then read the research questions posted by your classmates to see who else in the class shares your interests. Feel free to respond with any questions or comments you may have. You'll probably want to check back several times during the first week of class to see new postings from your classmates!

    

3. Carefully review the "Adult Education Research Critique Teams" assignment from the "Course Requirements" section of our course syllabus. I will post your team assignments to the Main discussion forum at the beginning of this Unit's week of study. Your team should begin working on this assignment as soon as that posting is made. Each team has a private discussion forum to use for team communications. Your team's forum is called "Research Critique Team X," where "X" is the number of the team to which you are assigned. That discussion forum is a space that only you and your fellow team members can access. I may access it, too, from time to time to see how you are progressing, but you should send any questions you have for me directly to my course e-mail account to make sure I see those.