جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « Research methods » در نشریات گروه « علوم تربیتی »

This study aims at identifying major challenges in teaching research methods in the fields of education and psychology. The research followed a qualitative approach where semi-structured interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Based on purposeful sampling, twenty experts who had several years of experience in teaching research methods in the fields of education and psychology were interviewed. The data were then analyzed through the thematic analysis method based on the six steps suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006), namely acquainting researcher with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report. With regard to challenges of teaching research methods, three main themes have emerged from interviews: curriculum, commonplace and structural problems. The curriculum challenges include issues pertaining to the course and number of units, content and resources, teaching and evaluation. The commonplace challenges include the student and the instructor-related issues, and the structural challenges include unprecedented expansion of higher education, requirements and infrastructure.

Developing qualified researchers is one of the principal functions of higher education systems in order for the mission of knowledge production and dissemination to be accomplished. To this end, research methods are taught at all levels of higher education systems across a wide range of disciplinary contexts. Honing research skills is a key to educational and career success of students, making them trained information consumers. Hence, developing a relevant, well-defined research method curriculum has become a global concern of higher education systems. Despite its importance, there is a dearth of literature on education and curriculum of research methods, calling for more scientific efforts on the pedagogy of research methods. Therefore, in this study, we examined elements of research methods curricula of graduate programs in the field of education. Particularly, we reviewed the research methods syllabi of graduate programs in the field of education of 10 out of 100 top universities of the world in terms of goals, contents, teaching methods, learning activities and assessment methods. Research questions Which goals do the top universities seek from teaching research methods in graduate programs in the field of education? What are the contents of research methods curricula in graduate programs in the field of education at the selected top universities? Which teaching methods are used in the selected universities to teach research methods in graduate programs in the field of education? Which learning activities are involved in research methods in graduate programs in the field of education at the selected universities? Which assessment methods the selected universities use in research methods in graduate programs in the field of education? Methods We followed a qualitative approach. Implementing content analysis, we analysed several syllabi of research methods of graduate programs at the world top universities. Using purposive, intensity sampling method, we selected 10 universities out of 100 top universities of the world ranked based on Shanghi university ranking. The syllabuses of the most recent courses of research methods in the field of education were collected from the websites of the universities. This resulted in a pool of 13 syllabuses dated from spring semester of 2010 to the fall semester of 2019.  We then analyzed the main curriculum elements of the syllabuses; i.e., the goal, content, teaching method, learning activities, and assessment method.        Results The most important goals of teaching research method at the selected universities were learning about various research methods in educational research and reviewing the pros and cons of each method; improving research procedural skills including identifying and formulating research questions; enhancing the capability to read and review the literature; promoting the understanding of philosophical foundations of research; improving the skills of planning and doing the research; and enabling students to correct their mistakes in their research projects throughout the course. As with content, the quantitative research methods curricula contained identifying the problem and research questions; research design; research variables; reviewing literature and theoretical frameworks; various types of quantitative research methods; measurement instrument; sampling; experimental design; data collection and analysis; descriptive and inferential statistics; and writing research report. Identifying research problem and questions; different types of quantitative research methods; measurement instruments; and data collection and analysis were the most important topics. Qualitative research methods content included characteristics of qualitative research; types of qualitative methods; research questions; research design; sampling; data collect tools; data analysis and research report among which qualitative data analysis and different types of qualitative research methods were of paramount importance. The syllabuses shared several common subjects regarding both qualitative and quantitative approaches including various classifications of methods and approaches to research; research principles and process; philosophical and theoretical foundations of research; and research ethics, the two latter being the most important issues. The selected universities used combinations of various teaching methods, among which problem-based and project-based learning were the most prevalent method to teach research methods. The curricula involved multiple types of learning activities such as preparing research proposal during semester; assessing and criticizing published articles; team-based and individual-based research projects; data analysis and reporting research findings; writing up an academic article based on the class project; and submitting weekly assignments with respect to various topics including effect size, random sampling, autobiography, obtaining research permission from university ethic committee and undertaking self-assessment. The most important topics were writing a research proposal and reviewing prior studies, respectively. Although the selected universities used mixtures of methods for assessment purposes, the most-emphasized criterion was the quality of the submitted research proposal. Discussion Learning research methods to be able to undertake a research is an all-important educational outcome for students of any discipline including education. Pedagogy developers and teachers should pay heed to the synchrony of all curriculum elements. Taking a balanced approach towards qualitative and quantitative research methods is a must to develop a high quality research methods curriculum. Regarding quantitative research method content, curriculum developers need pay more attention to the subjects of research problem identification; experimental and quasi-experimental research designs; validity and reliability of measurement instrument; and methods of data analysis. As with qualitative approach, providing a deeper understanding of the qualitative research methods; what distinguishes the methods from each other; and their applications in real world should be a vital concern of both planners and teachers. Philosophical and theoretical foundations of research and research ethics are also very important to be covered. Furthermore, active teaching methods are recommended to engage students in real research projects. Finally, process-based evaluation methods, e.g. assessing a research proposal submitted by student, critical contemplation on existing studies, etc., are advised in order to encourage learning.

In addition to explaining the empirical method used in contemporary psychology and exposing shortcomings, limitations, and advantages; this article explores the role and position which empirical method has in Islamic psychology. Using a descriptive-analytical method and a library-based technique, this study is the outcome of an inquiring to authentic Islamic psychological sources and reliable methods. The findings show that, first, the empirical method based on sensory findings is the only way by which man acquires knowledge and there are three other methods by which one can grasp human psychological realities: intuitive method, revealed method and rational method; secondly, psychology considers man as a multidimensional creature and an especial method should be used for exploring every human. considering human nature, dimension. Man’s deep interested in physical phenomena, and his strong reliance on sensory findings in his everyday life, Islamic sources also emphasize on the experience of sensory findings. In some cases, when the researcher fails to achieve reassured realism by using other methods, the empirical method can be used to increase the level of reality. Therefore, the empirical method along with the other three main methods used for examining the psychological organization form the underlying bases and their behavioral aspects

The present paper seeks to identify the role of epistemological foundations in psychology. Using a descriptive-analytical method, relying on Islamic sources and referring to psychology sources, it reviews two foundations: "the possibility of cognition" and "diversity of the ways of cognition", and then examines their role in discovering psychological realities.The research findings show that establishing the foundation of "possibility of cognition" shows that it is possible to have absolute, unchangeable and beyond time- place kinds of cognition about human acts under certain conditions. This helps, psychology to get out of its insecure and unstable condition and achieves principles which have high confidence. Similarly, accepting this foundation strengthens the critical attitude about the human sciences and urges scientists to make greater efforts to acquire professional kinds of knowledge. According to the "diversity of ways of cognition", man’s widespread and comprehensive cognition and his characteristics will be possible by using all the available methods and it will be possible to have true and comprehensive knowledge of man by relying on one single method. With the diversity of methods, it is possible to produce religious science, including Islamic psychology, especially on topics or concepts referred to religious texts.

Research is an important aspect of academic disciplines. In this paper Curriculum Research (CR) has been discussed in several sectors. After an introduction، attempts have been made to mention past and present efforts and scientific literature on the basis of historical trend. Then، from the perspective of four active traditions in CR and based on the experts in each tradition، CR are discussed. In the tradition of recognizing framework and defining the variables of CR، views of Johnson، Kimpston، Rogers and Posner; in the tradition of empirical research in curriculum، Walker views and in the tradition of perspectives or paradigms of CR، views of Schubert، Haggerson، Connelly، Clandinin، Aoki and Reid are discussed. Finally in the tradition of forms or methods of CR، Edmund Short academic works and perspectives are discussed and development of his ideas have been proposed. In the last section، referring to the emergence of new perspectives in curriculum research، presented topics are summarized.

Science education and engineering education as recently established fields employ the same approaches and methods in research. The main theme of these two fields, “education”, which deals with teaching and learning in science and engineering sciences, has led to many similarities in the research approaches of the two fields. Besides, the closeness of nature and scientific content of science and engineering science makes the two fields closer to each other regarding curriculum development, instruction and evaluation methods. All of these provide a lot of areas for researchers in these new fields. In this paper, first we examine general research methods in education and then we define, analyze and explain the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods employed in researches of these fields in higher education