LibGuides: PSY-7103 v3: Lesson 6 Resources

Lesson 6 Required Resources

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Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology. Integrating Diversity with Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods

Mertens, D. M. (2019). Research and evaluation in education and psychology. Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods (5th ed.). Sage Publications.

Read Chapter 12; please pay particular attention to how existing measurement instruments may be selected for use in quantitative research, and how qualitative data collection approaches define key concepts to ensure participants and researchers share understanding of those concepts. This will be important information to consider for your Lesson 6 Assignment.

Research Design
Jensen, E., & Laurie, C. (Academics). (2017). An introduction to research design [Video]. SAGE Research Methods.
Watch Segment 4: Operationalize Key Concepts [7:16-9:47].
This brief segment provides examples of how the process of operationalization in quantitative research involves determining how to measure abstract concepts (such as learning or understanding).
Operationalization
Burnette, J. (2007). Operationalization. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social psychology (pp. 636-636). SAGE Publications.
This entry provides a definition and detailed examples of operationalization, including how operationalization helps connect theory and measurement.
Research Methods in Psychology
West, K. (Academic). (2016). Research methods in psychology [Video]. SAGE Knowledge.
This 12-minute video will help you see the alignment between different aspects of research.

Lesson 6 Assignment Additional Resources

How Should Researchers in Education Operationalize On-task Behaviors?
Gill, P., & Remedios, R. (2013). How should researchers in Education operationalise on-task behaviours? Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(2), 199–222.
This article provides an interesting illustration of the different ways that researchers have operationalized (define and measure) the same variable in very different ways. The authors also present some guidelines to help future researchers use more consistent measures so that the results of various studies can be more easily compared.