Experimental Research in Education

There is urgent need for a comprehensive description of the techniques employed in educational research. There are a large number of texts dealing with statistical methods, especially the more elementary ones, but statistical procedures represent only one group of the techniques of educational research. Among the techniques for which we have no adequate treatment, the need is probably most urgent for those relating to setting up and conducting experiments. Experimental research is a means for evaluating educational procedures and, hence, occupies a position of importance. In general outline, the procedure is simple, but an analysis reveals its complexity. The idea of “controlled experimentation” is easy to comprehend, but it is not easy to specify precisely what is involved in maintaining a control group. In this book an attempt is made to describe in some detail the procedure of controlled experimentation, and on the basis of the requirements revealed, a small group of experiments is evaluated. The analysis of the factors affecting pupil achievement and the evaluation of the factors considered are largely subjective. An attempt was made to utilize the best data obtainable, but the supply is inadequate and in some cases the information is not highly dependable. Consequently, both the analysis and the evaluation must be considered tentative and subject to revision in the light of future investigations. The writers, however, believe that they have succeeded in showing controlled experimentation to be a highly complex and an intricate type of research, rather than one which can be carried out successfully by any novice who is sufficiently interested. The book should be of interest to teachers, supervisors, and administrators, as well as to research workers. The latter will find it helpful as a guide in planning and conducting an experiment and in interpreting the results. To the others, it should give a set of criteria that may be used in evaluating the experimental investigation? reported in our educational literature