EbaeResearchSiteSelection

From LiteracyTentWiki

Selection of Research sites and Control of Variables

• “…time of day, experience of teachers, curricula being used, number of classroom hours are all separate variables. Are there enough established research sites available to set up classrooms where the number of variables can be limited? Might it be necessary to recruit additional sites so that there are enough classrooms to provide the needed critical mass of data? If so, what might some criteria be to qualify?” [Message 17, Part One]

• “In setting up the research sites, how will the number of variables be controlled? How many models can one study have?” [Message 17, Part One]

• “In the next steps the term "practitioners" is used. Does this term refer to practitioners from the research sites or practitioners in the field? We are concerned that research site practitioners may not reflect real world experiences. Often times their education exceeds that of average adult education instructors and their experience base may differ from the average instructor (e.g., better resources and a support system).” [Message 17, Part One]

• There is a potential disconnect between research sites and the ‘real world’. “For example, an adult education program generally operates within the policies established by the local, state, and federal government. Would being a research site change any of that i.e. ‘exempt’ them from such policies? ” [Message 18, Part One]

• “Can NCSALL provide some example criteria on how research sites could be chosen and how many would be needed?” [Message 18, Part One]

• “My primary concerns come from much observation of the inability of educators to control so many, if not most, of the variables that impact on the effectiveness of our practice, especially in adult programs conducted in a democratic, and competitive, society.” [Message 19, Part One]

From John Comings: • “I also agree with Debbie that the constraints on research in education in general and in our field specifically are daunting, but that doesn't mean this research is impossible. We would probably need a minimum of 8 research sites. I'm not sure a random assignment experiment would be the best approach to evaluating a baseline model, but the methodology would have to be rigorous and the research sites would have to be replicable within reasonable budget levels.” [Message 23, Part One]

• There is a potential disconnect between researchers and practitioners. “From a practitioner perspective, there is only one set of rules – the rules that allow us to receive continued funding for our learners. If you’re going to set up lab sites that live in some other reality, their findings become meaningless to us. To me, research to practice means we all get our hands dirty trying to figure out the really hard stuff….. it’s important not to be too ambitious with the scope of the initiative. However, let’s not take the easy way out, either.” [Message 53, Part One]