How to Read and Understand Educational Research

Dr James Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Education in the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex. James initially studied Geology at the University of London and subsequently trained as a science teacher. He taught secondary science in North London (Enfield), South London (Croydon) and Surrey. He has been involved in initial teacher education and training for over twenty years and also teaches on various undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes. His research interests currently entail understanding the place and teaching of ′The Nature of Science′ and ′The Scientific Method′ in the school curriculum. In particular, what do teachers understand about these concepts and ideas? Linked to this work he also researches the teaching of evolution in science and the place of creationism in a school based context. He has published a number of successful textbooks in science for Key Stage 3 children as well as authoring articles in international education journals and a book on teaching the nature of science.

Part 1: Assessing research
Chapter 1: The hierarchy of research publications
Chapter 2: Where to find good research and how to reference it properly
Chapter 3: Organising your research reading and avoiding bias
Part 2: Analysing research
Chapter 4: Understanding research paradigms
Chapter 5: Research methods - an overview
Chapter 6: How research is written
Part 3: Appreciating and understanding research
Chapter 7: Understanding criticality
Chapter 8: A critical analysis framework
Chapter 9: Putting research into practice