Includes bibliographical references (pages 286-290) and index.

Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 Understanding the Purpose of Research in the Qualitative and Quantitative Traditions -- Chapter Outline -- What Is Research? -- What Constitutes Quality Research? -- Quality Questions in Relation to the Final Research Summary -- Problem Finding Versus Problem Solving -- Qualitative and Quantitative Traditions and the "Paradigm Wars" -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- ch. 2 Research in the Qualitative Tradition and Connections to the Quantitative Tradition -- Chapter Outline -- Purpose and Characteristics of Qualitative Research -- Philosophical Assumptions of Qualitative Research -- Technical Components of Empirical Inquiry in Qualitative Research -- Variables, Research Problems and Questions, and Research Hypotheses -- The Design-Measurement-Analysis Triad -- Strengths and Limitations of Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms --

Contents note continued: Additional Readings in Qualitative Research -- ch. 3 Research in the Quantitative Tradition -- Chapter Outline -- Purpose and Characteristics of Quantitative Research -- Philosophical Assumptions of Quantitative Research -- Technical Components of Empirical Inquiry in Quantitative Research -- Variables, Research Problems and Questions, and Research Hypotheses -- The Design-Measurement-Analysis Triad -- Strengths and Limitations of Quantitative Research -- Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- ch. 4 Choosing Research Participants and Making Generalizations: Sampling and External Validity -- Chapter Outline -- Sampling: Choosing Participants for Research Studies -- Probability or Random Sampling Procedures -- Simple Random Sampling -- Stratified Random Sampling -- Cluster Random Sampling and Its Extensions -- Systematic Sampling -- Non-Probability or Non-Random Sampling Procedures --

Contents note continued: Convenience Sampling -- Purposive Sampling -- Quota Sampling -- Snowball Sampling -- Errors Related to Sampling -- The Question of Sample Size: How Big Should a Sample Be? -- External Validity: Making Generalizations to Other Participants and Settings -- Population Generalizability -- Ecological Generalizability -- Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- Review of Published Research Articles -- Article 2 (Clayton, 2011) -- Article 3 (Porfeli, Wang, Audette, McColl, & Algozzine, 2009) -- Article 5 (Van Voorhis, 2011) -- ch. 5 Measurement and Instrumentation in Quantitative Research -- Chapter Outline -- What Is Measurement? -- Measurement Scales -- Nominal Measurement Scales -- Ordinal Measurement Scales -- Interval Measurement Scales -- Ratio Measurement Scales -- Common Ways to Collect Data -- Achievement and Aptitude Tests -- Questionnaires -- Observation Protocols --

Contents note continued: Linking Measurement Instruments to the Research Questions and Hypotheses -- Establishing the Credibility and Consistency of Measurement Instruments -- Instrument Validity -- Instrument Reliability -- Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- Review of Published Research Articles -- Article 1 (Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011) -- Article 3 (Porfeli, Wang, Audette, McColl, & Algozzine, 2009) -- Article 6 (Booksh, Pella, Singh, & Gouvier, 2010) -- ch. 6 Minimizing Alternative Explanations for Research Findings: Internal Validity -- Chapter Outline -- Defining Internal Validity -- Common Threats to Internal Validity -- Subject Characteristics Threat -- History Threat -- Location Threat -- Maturation Threat -- Instrumentation Threat -- Attrition Threat -- Testing Threat -- Regression to the Mean Threat -- The Relationship Between External Validity and Internal Validity --

Contents note continued: Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- Review of Published Research Articles -- Article 1 (Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011) -- Article 5 (Van Voorhis, 2011) -- Article 6 (Booksh, Pella, Singh, & Gouvier, 2010) -- ch. 7 Non-Experimental Research Designs -- Chapter Outline -- Essential Characteristics of Non-Experimental Research Designs -- Research Objectives: Descriptive, Prediction, and Explanatory Studies -- Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Retrospective Studies -- Steps in Conducting Non-Experimental Research -- Strengths and Limitations of Non-Experimental Research -- Threats to External and Internal Validity in Non-Experimental Research -- Strengthening the Inferences From Non-Experimental Research Designs -- Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- Review of Published Research Articles -- Article 2 (Clayton, 2011) --

Contents note continued: Article 3 (Porfeli, Wang, Audette, McColl, & Algozzine, 2009) -- Article 4 (Nâuänez, Sparks, & Hernâandez, 2011) -- ch. 8 Experimental Research Designs -- Chapter Outline -- Essential Characteristics of Experimental Research -- Quasi-Experimental Between-Subjects Research Designs -- Steps in Conducting Quasi-Experimental Between-Subjects Research -- True Experimental Between-Subjects Research Designs -- Steps in Conducting True Experimental Between-Subjects Research -- Strengths and Limitations of Quasi- and True Experimental Between-Subjects Research Designs -- Common Threats to External and Internal Validity for Quasi- and True Experimental Between-Subjects Research Designs -- Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- Review of Published Research Articles -- Article 5 (Van Voorhis, 2011) -- Article 6 (Booksh, Pella, Singh, & Gouvier, 2010) --

Contents note continued: ch. 9 Descriptive Analyses for Data Generated by Quantitative Research -- Chapter Outline -- Fundamentals of Descriptive Analysis -- Summarizing and Describing Univariate Distributions -- Frequency Distributions and Grouped Frequency Distributions -- Visual Representations -- Measures of Central Tendency -- Measures of Dispersion or Spread -- Describing the Shape of Univariate Distributions -- Measures of Relative Standings on the Normal Distribution -- Summarizing and Describing Relationships -- Visual Representations of Relationships -- Correlation Coefficients for Describing Relationships -- The Coefficient of Determination for Describing Relationships -- Regression Analysis for Describing Relationships and Prediction -- Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- Review of Published Research Articles -- Article 1 (Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011) -- Article 2 (Clayton, 2011) --

Contents note continued: Article 3 (Porfeli, Wang, Audette, McColl, & Algozzine, 2009) -- ch. 10 Inferential Analyses for Data Generated by Quantitative Research -- Chapter Outline -- Fundamentals of Inferential Statistics -- Sample Statistics and Population Parameters -- Sampling Distributions -- Point and Interval Estimation -- Hypothesis Testing -- Statistical Decisions, Error, and Power -- Summary of the Steps for Interval Estimation and Hypothesis Testing -- Commonly Used Inferential Tests -- t-Tests for Comparing Means -- t-Tests for Correlation Coefficients -- t-Test for Regression Coefficients -- One-Way Analysis of Variance -- Chi-Square Analyses -- Connections to Qualitative Research -- Concluding Remarks -- Discussion Questions -- Key Terms -- Review of Published Research Articles -- Article 1 (Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011) -- Article 2 (Clayton, 2011) -- Article 3 (Porfeli, Wang, Audette, McColl, & Algozzine, 2009) --

Contents note continued: Article 4 (Nâuänez, Sparks, & Hernâandez, 2011) -- ch. 11 The Complementary Natures of Quantitative and Qualitative Research -- Chapter Outline -- Complementary Empirical Basis -- Complementary Systematic Basis -- Differences as Strengths -- Mixed Methods -- The Crystal and the Traditions -- Final Remarks.