Education Commons^™

On "Literature Reviews Of, And For, Educational Research": A Response To The Critique By Joseph Maxwell, David Boote, Penny Beile

Penny Beile

The Hidden Advantages Of Focus Group Interviews In Educational Research, Lisa Shoaf, Michael Shoaf

Lisa M. Shoaf

In the field of education, success of a school system has traditionally been determined through quantitative methods, such as through scores on achievement tests and survey results. In short, the quantitative method can determine if a school is failing or not. However, it does not answer the question of why a school is failing, a particularly important question for school administrators who hope to make positive changes in their districts. Focus group research, or qualitative analysis, is an underutilized method for gathering data in schools. Focus group methodology offers a more in-depth understanding of participants' perceptions than do quantitative measures …

Sampling For National Surveys In Education, Martin Murphy, Wolfram Sculz

Martin Murphy

The aim of this paper is to provide PMRT and its subgroups with information about the sampling processes used in surveys conducted under its National Assessment Plan (NAP). The design of national surveys in education in recent years has been strongly influenced by the methodologies used in major international surveys, particularly TIMSS and PISA. In the discussion below, reference will be made to the methods used in these surveys, and their application in the context of Australian national surveys. The intention of this paper is to explain the major steps in the survey sampling process, the reasons for the methods …