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ED 605: Research Methods

Academic Databases for Your Search

CQ Researcher is a great starting point to find current, relevant topics for your literature review. When you click on the database, you'll go to CQ Press. Make sure to then select CQ Researcher, and consider browsing by topic 'Education'! Check out the tutorial below for a quick how-to navigate CQ Researcher!

This is where your research can get tough. My top recommendation is to use Academic Search Premier as part of the EBSCO Platform. This lets you search multiple databases at the same time, including ERIC and PsychINFO. I'm including a short tutorial on effective tips to filter your search to the most relevant sources. 

Don't forget to collect various and diverse viewpoints on your topic. You can do this by exploring other social science databases, and/ or by using keywords in all of your searches. Consider examining the education landscape around your topic as it looks locally, nationally, and internationally, as well as the impact or relationship this topic has with diverse populations or how diverse populations view the topic. 

State Data National Data International and World

Maryland State Data Center Monitors development trends; analyzes social, economic and other characteristics and prepares population, housing, employment, labor force, and income projections.

Maryland Report Card

Report on the performance of the state and its school districts. Used to measure student achievement.

Education Counts

State-level K-12 education indicators, many spanning multiple years. Included are data collected for Education Week's annual reports, Quality Counts and Technology Counts

Education Counts
State-level K-12 education indicators, many spanning multiple years. Included are data collected for Education Week's annual reports, Quality Counts and Technology Counts.

Kids Count
KIDS COUNT provides legislators, public officials and child advocates with reliable data, policy recommendations and tools to advance policies that benefit children.

National Center for Education Statistics
Rich source of statistics and data from the primary entity collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States.

National Center for Education Statistics Fast Facts
Concise information on educational issues from early childhood to adult learning.

Condition of Education
Annual information on the status of education in the United States. Sixty indicators tracked: access; participation and progress; achievement, attainment, and curriculum; economic and other outcomes; size, growth; climate and diversity; and more.

Public School Locater - NCES
Search tool to locate US elementary and secondary schools. Data returned includes number of classroom teachers, total students, student/teacher ratio, and school population by grade and race/ethnicity.

Common Core of Data
Department of Education's primary database on public elementary and secondary education in the United States. CCD is a comprehensive, annual, national database of all public elementary and secondary schools and school districts.

U.S. Department of education
Data and statistics from the U.S. Department of Education

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas.

World Bank Education Data
Portal to a wide variety of data and preconstructed queries and reports. Data are compiled by UNESCO Institute for Statistics. EdStats provides ready-made statistical tables and country dashboards.

EdStats: Education Statistics
Creates profile of the education sector in a selected country. The profiles include basic education indicators, learning outcome data, educational attainment data, and educational equity data as well as information on country research resources, World Bank education project activities, and country context.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Statistical branch of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Digest of Education Statistics
Primary statistical source published by the National Center for Education Statistics. It provides data for all levels of education, including information on the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates.

Projections of Education Statistics
Provides statistics on elementary, secondary, and higher education, including projections for enrollment, graduates, classroom teachers, and expenditures. Published annually.

Public School District Finance Peer Search
Financial information on public primary and secondary education.

 

 

Types of Research Articles

Qualities of Empirical Research

  • Data is derived from a scientific method
  • Data comes from something that the author experienced, i.e. observation or measurement
  • Includes specific research questions to be answered
  • Definition of the population, behavior, or phenomena to be studied
  • Description of a process used to study a population or phenomena, including selection criteria, controls, and testing instruments

Look for the "IMRaD" format:

  • Introduction
    • Often includes a Literature Review: What is currently known about the topic -- usually includes a theoretical framework and/or discussion of previous studies
  • Methodology: sometimes called "research design" -- how to recreate the study -- usually describes the population, research process, and analytical tools
  • Results: sometimes called "findings" -- what was learned through the study -- usually appears as statistical data or as substantial quotations from research participants
  • Discussion: sometimes called "conclusion" or "implications" -- why the study is important -- usually describes how the research results influence professional practices or future studies

Qualities of Primary Research

  • The article reports on a study conducted by the authors writing the article.
  • May include a lit review, but cannot only be a literature review article
  • Will include hypothesis, methods, data, etc.

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