Comparing “Like with Like” in Studies of Learners’ Ideas in Diverse Educational Contexts

Vive la Différence? Comparing “Like with Like” in Studies of Learners’ Ideas in Diverse Educational Contexts

One of my publications is:

Abstract

This paper considers the status of educational research that looks to replicate previous findings in a novel educational context, taking as its focus an active area of research in a range of national contexts: studies into students’ ideas about scientific topics. The paper considers the circumstances under which a “replication” study should be considered to offer original new knowledge worthy of publication in international research journals. It is argued here that there are sound principled reasons to expect studies undertaken in different educational contexts to be able to contribute to a progressive research programme, and so researchers should be encouraged to undertake such work. However, technically competent papers submitted to prestigious journals will be rejected if they are considered to merely replicate previous work without offering novel empirical or theoretical content that is considered to make an original contribution. This paper explores the basis for welcoming research “testing-out” published findings in new contexts and considers the place of such studies within a progressive research programme. This analysis can inform research design for those looking to explore learners’ ideas in local educational contexts, by offering clear guidance on the forms of research likely to offer significant contributions to public knowledge.

Contents

1. Introduction
1.1. The Structure of This Paper
2. The Issue: When Does a Study from a New Educational Context Become More Than “Replication”?
3. Judging Studies in terms of Contribution to a Research Programme
3.1. A Field of Research
3.2. Scientific Research Programmes
4. The Progressive Research Programme into Learning in Science
4.1. Characterising the Research Programme.
4.2. Progressing the Research Programme
4.3. A Focus on Educational Context.
5. The Case for “Replication” Studies
5.1. Factors Influencing the Development of Learners’ Ideas.
5.2. Intuitive Ideas
5.3. Cultural Effects in Learning Science.
5.4. Linguistic Environment and Learning Science
5.5. Teaching as an Input, Influencing Learning
5.6. Researching Learning in Babel.
6. Methodological Approaches Indicated by the Research Programme
6.1. Surveying Populations in Diverse Educational Contexts
6.2. Sampling a Population
7. Conclusion: Criteria for Designing Significant “Replication” Studies in Diverse Educational Contexts

Open Access

Copyright © 2012 Keith S. Taber. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Download the paper here.