Educational Research:
In order to understand educational research, we have to first look at what a research is. A research is “planned”, “systematic”, and “rigorous” activity which is carried out to make known whatever is unknown. A research activity is also undertaken to verify whatever is known.
Planned refers to thinking about
something or preparing a roadmap prior to carrying out a research; systematic
means a logical order; and rigorous refers to pain-taking exercise which
requires certain kind of competence, knowledge base and specific skills.
According to Best and Kahn, a
research is directed towards the solution of a problem. It may attempt to
answer a question or to determine the relation between two or more variable.
Research involves gathering new data from primary sources or using existing
data for a new purpose.
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| What is Educational Research? |
When a research is concerned with
human efforts towards solving the problems related to educational sphere in a
society is termed as “educational research”. Thus, educational research refers
to a systematic attempt to gain a better understanding of the educational
process, generally with a view to improving its efficiency.
The main concerns of educational
research are to understand, explain, predict, and control human behavior in
individual and social situations so that events or situations can be improved
further.
Need for Educational Research:
Educational research (or research in the
field of education) is vital for providing helpful and dependable knowledge
through which the process of education can be made more effective. As we know
that education depends on amount of knowledge, there is a need to add new
knowledge which has to be scientific, to enrich and improve education with
different dimensions.
Research in education helps in clarifying and reinterpreting existing knowledge. The discipline of education finds its roots in philosophy, psychology and sociology. It is through an intensive process of scientific inquiry about the philosophical, psychological and sociological impact on various aspects of education that sound educational theories can be established. Therefore, there is a need for educational research because of changing conception of education.
Summary of general kinds of research:
Summary of general kinds of research:
