Four years ago we wrote the fi rst edition of Methods in Educational Research: From
Theory to Practice with many expectations. As educational psychologists, we wanted
to write a textbook from the fundamental perspective of how one learns in
general and, more specifically, how one learns through conducting research.
In addition, we wanted to create a book that would pertain to techniques and
instructional practices underlying good teaching as well as to teach people about
educational research. We wanted to pay close attention to the metacognitive processes
associated with learning about research and developing and becoming an
active participant in the educational research community.
We believe the purpose of this second edition is still to assist students, primarily
graduate students, who are practitioners in education or related fi elds (administration,
school psychology, or school counseling) to use educational research so
that they can become more effective educators. Specifi cally, the purpose of this
book is to help students develop a broad and deep understanding of research
methodologies that can be used to analyze and improve their practices. Overall,
we believe that we accomplished much of what we set out to do with the fi rst
edition of this book; however, in using it for the past three years, we realized that
some areas needed to be expanded. This second edition expands on areas previously
discussed as well as brings you several new chapters. We hope you enjoy the
additions and wish you the best in your educational research pursuits.