Foundations of Education Research: Understanding Theoretical Components

by Joy Egbert, Sherry Sanden

Now in its second edition, Foundations of Education Research defines, discusses, and offers applications for the central components of educational research, providing both novice and experienced researchers with a common ground from which to work. Fully updated throughout, the second edition adds a glossary of terms, additional examples, and includes a discussion of similarities and differences in education research. Eight concise, accessible chapters cover conceptual framework, epistemology, paradigm, theory, theoretical framework, and methodology/method. This unique primer demystifies jargon and makes the theoretical components of research accessible, giving students the tools they need to understand existing education research literature and to produce theoretically-grounded work of their own. Each chapter begins with perspectives from both novice and experienced researchers, whose guiding questions assist researchers engaging with theory for the first time and those looking to improve their understanding of the fundamentals. Practice exercises, examples, and suggested reading lists at the end of each chapter offer students resources they can apply to their own research and thinking in concrete ways. A perfect accompaniment to standard research courses, this book is designed to help students achieve a deeper understanding of what is expected of them and ideas about how to achieve it.

Genres: School

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Bryan Lindstrom-Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-
10 pages in, I was dreading this book. It felt dry, the structure of the book is not user friendly, the guided questions are often weak, and there’s nowhere (that I’m aware of) the check your answers to ensure you’re understanding what you read.

Once I got into the book, it got better. It began to reinforce that I do have a solid starting point for research and it got me excited to dive into my dissertation. I also feel like the book helped me get ahead of the curve on where I should be during my first semester of my doctorate.

I still hate the structure of the book but the material is solid.

[Joelle Tidwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this book for course use, particularly for a doctoral course. My students complained the entire time about how using this book along with other core texts around theory in education research was extremely confusing. The book has to be supplemented because it is so short and lacks detail. Next time I will not use it at all.

[Andi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of a snooze-fest, but a good introduction to theoretical components.