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EDU 508: Quantitative and Mixed Methods in Educational Settings: Quantitative Research Course Tasks

This guide is designed to support Soka EDU MA students in their EDU 508 coursework.

eBooks on Quantitative Research

Books on Evaluation Practices

Resources at Ikeda Library: Overview to Quantitative Research Course Tasks

Ikeda Library has a number of resources that will help support you in your quantitative coursework for EDU 508.  

Other Ikeda Library LibGuides that will help you on specific assignments for this course can be found on the Overview tab of this LibGuide.

To the left of this box, you will find a number of eBooks that, in addition to the books listed in the Books on Educational Research tab, will help you learn more about quantitative research and the steps it involves.

In the box below, you will find links to library databases that will be helpful as you learn more about quantitative research methodology and the tools most often used in educational studies. 

This course will require you to consume research articles--with an emphasis on identifying, analyzing, and possibly critiquing the research methodologies used.  The library has many books on how to read effectively for particular contexts, such as Evaluating Research Articles from Start to Finish by Ellen R. Girden.

To use the catalog to search for similar books and eBooks, on research or on critical reading, check out the Browsing by Subject page from the EDU 501 LibGuide or come by the Reference Desk.  

At the Reference Desk, you can get personalized help with a particular research assignment, or pick up handouts on research strategies.  Currently available (and pertinent to your work in this class) are handouts on searching EBSCO databases and the "Ikeda Library Quick Guide: Critical Reading Strategies."

Also under this tab are two pages with information on the following tasks for this course:

Searching Strategies for Finding Quantitative Studies

 Resources for Conducting Lit Reviews, Creating Problem Statements, and Surveys

Databases at Ikeda Library

Ikeda Library subscribes to databases that collect published reports and studies which will help you conduct your Lit Review and prepare for your research project.  Tips for searching for specific methodology types can be found on this page: Searching Strategies for Finding Quantitative Studies

In addition to these document databases, Ikeda Library also has other types of databases with information that will help you with your tasks for this course, such as calculating data using Excel and creating online surveys.

Lynda.com -- This link will take you to a login page since this subscription is maintained by the IT department.  

  • For software for working with quantitative data

Search for: Excel 2013 Essential Training 

This course by Dennis Taylor provides videos and transcripts for the features and functions available in Excel.  This course also includes exercise files, and you can save the course to your playlist so you can watch it over multiple sittings.  Be sure to check out the "Suggested courses to watch next" box at the bottom of the screen if you find you want to learn more. 

Three other programs you might work with this semester are SPSS and the open source programs JASP and jamovi.  Search for SPSS Statistics Essential Training in Lynda for a basic tutorial on SPSS, and visit the How to Use JASP page on the program's website for more information on using JASP for specific types of tasks. The jamovi site has a user guide, as well as a user forum and blog.

  • For developing an online survey tool

Search for: Learning Online Surveys

This course by David Rivers, focusing on the marketing needs of businesses, discusses the features of many of the free online survey platforms available--one of which you might choose to use for your research project. 

If you are looking for the kinds of data that have been gathered for particular types of research studies or for examples of instruments for similar research projects to the one you hope to conduct, check out the following resources:

PsychTESTS

This database collects all kinds of data instruments.  This database could be used for searching for survey questions or for the variables researchers look for in education situations.  Some of the abstracts include information about the reliability of the instruments as well.

Statistics

The link above takes you to all the library's databases that offer data sets and statistical information.  You can access data and information on how it was collected, explore variables used in particular types of research studies, and compare the data you gather to the larger data sets from similar studies.  Databases that might be useful for educational studies include RAND State Statistics, ICPSR, and data.gov.  

Another site with useful data for your coursework and major is the California Department of Education's Data & Statistics page.