What is Educational Research?

The scientific field of study in which education, as well as learning processes, are being examined and the human interactions, attributes, institutions as well as organizations that shape educational outcomes.

Educational research also refers to the systematic analysis and collection of knowledge related to the educational sector generally with a view to an improving its efficiency. Educational Research may involve a range of methods and many aspects of education such as student learning, teacher training, teaching methods, and classroom dynamics.

Educational research is the key point in the overall development of training and strategy formulation.

Characteristics of Education Research

Judgment

You need to have a capability of judgement while you are working in the world of research. Educational researchers must resolve the problem of asking for help when they meet obstacles in terms of gaining the best results. The researchers could get the result in mistakes, wastage of time or worthless resources if they failed to do perfect research. The validity of decisions and documentation must redirect to the judgement that will stand peer analysis as they have doing in depth studies and challenge theories. Educational researchers who own this characteristic will have capable for good judgment.

Experiential Nature

Educational Research requires step by step proving mechanism, confirmation, and evidence. These steps are mostly useful in scientific research but it is also the basic required characteristic in any research. All types of research apply this process but only a real proven work is considered as a successful research.

Understanding the reason and consequence of a Problem

The whole research process is to know the actual problem. So it’s expected to have a need to find out the cause and effect of it. The root is the only cause of the solution to any problem. So, in simple words, we can say that cause and effect are the ways to the solution of the problem.

Communication

Communication is very helpful for researchers when it comes to creating and maintaining operative teams to get the best educational research productivity. An educational researcher works with complex theories and detailed information so they must make sure communication accuracy and efficiency while working in the research field.

Educational researchers need frequently translate complex information to audiences with equal to less technical backgrounds, so a short and simplified style is a suitable option. Solid written skills will help educational researchers inform, convince and teach stakeholders. Researchers should also be with modern approaches with social media awareness and marketing concepts to promote their work and projects.

Method of Data Collection

Another essential factor for educational research is Data Collection. Data collection is the best way to solve the problem of your solution. Only accurate data can provide you with the results of the problem. Data collection can consist of two ways – Primary and Secondary sources. Most researchers trust primary data and come up with great ideas, but secondary data is the source to support those ideas and decisions.

Importance of Educational Research

The key purpose of educational research is to expand existing knowledge by resolving solutions to different problems in the education field with better improvements in learning and teaching methods. Educational researchers also search for answers to questions troubling learner inspiration, progress, and teaching space management

Basically, research generates innovative ideas, builds authority, and develops understanding and analytical skills so that the researcher could apply his or her efforts to justify the work and build a superior foundation for admirers in the career field so they could take the correct decision in the accurate time without any obstacles.

Educational Research Methods

Interviews

Interviews can take several forms in educational research from structured or semi-structured to formless or informal, and can offer specific strengths and challenges based on the research purpose. Interviews can yield detailed information and can be mainly useful if you want to examine experiences, opinions, or approaches, but the process of planning and conducting them needs time and attention, and researchers can be faced a number of different choices during the research process.

Focus groups

Focus groups are used to get many of the advantages of a one-to-one interview, but with the important difference that they provide a collective rather than a distinct view.

Participants interact with each other instead of with the interviewer in a focus group, and it is from the group interactions that the data occur.

Observation

Observation is required in educational research when you have to understand how or why something happens, and this can be a mainly real data collection method when information gathered from people is possible to be different from actual information.

Observation methods can take place in many forms across a wide spectrum mainly ranging from complete or free to highly selective or highly structured. All includes advantages and disadvantages as well as particular ethical and practical concerns. There is also a different level of participation that a researcher can undertake and this can have an important behavior on the data collection method and the type that the analysis will take.

Concept maps

Concept mapping is an educational practice to help students see clearly how new concepts can be related to earlier learned concepts

Surveys

Surveys generally search for data from large numbers of people. Some surveys gather information from entire populations of people. For instance, a school could survey all its learners, or all their paternities, to get their opinion about school some concerns relating to school policy.

In such circumstances, a high-profit rate or at least ensures that everyone qualified to respond has equal opportunity, may be enough for the findings to be of import.

Conclusion

Educational Research is important when you are running an organization where you are making a future for the next generation with your school or institute. Educational Research provides you a complete insight into your teaching and learning methods for the learners and teachers.

Spade Survey is a Market Research Firm and Data Collection Company that can conduct Educational Research for various organizations. The purpose of Spade Survey’s educational research is to cultivate new knowledge about the teaching-learning situation to progress educational practices.