Engineering education research requires the application of interdisciplinary knowledge, skills, and techniques from engineering, design, education, and social sciences. Research in engineering education utilizes quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches. The following resources provide guidance on approaches to engineering education as well as specific information on how to design research, collect and analyze data, and connect ideas to conceptual and theoretical frameworks. Clicking on links will open the resources.
What does it mean to conduct engineering education research?
- Streveler, R. & Smith, K. (2006). Conducting rigorous research in engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education, 95(2), 103-105.
What are common challenges in understanding engineering education research?
- Borrego, M. (2007). Conceptual difficulties experienced by trained engineers learning educational research methods. Journal of Engineering Education, 96(2), 91-102.
What are the theoretical and conceptual frameworks and methodologies that can be applied to engineering education research?
- Case, J. & Light, G. (2011). Emerging methodologies in engineering education research. Journal of Engineering Education, 100(1),186-210.
- Maxwell, J. (2005). Conceptual framework: What do you think is going on? In Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach, (pp. 33-64). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
- Svinicki, M. (2010). A guidebook on conceptual frameworks for research in engineering education. http://cleerhub.org/resources/6.
How do qualitative and quantitative methods compare? How can you use both?
- Borrego, M., E. P. Douglas, et al. (2009). Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods in engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education, 98(1), 53-66.
What are the methods of quantitative research in engineering education?
- Stansfield, R. B. (2010). Planning, implementing, and reporting quantitative research in education: A user’s guide. http://cleerhub.org/resources/4.
What are the methods for qualitative research?
- Koro-Ljungberg, M. & Douglas, E. (2008). State of qualitative research in engineering education: Meta-analysis of JEE articles. 2005-2006. Journal of Engineering Education, 97(2), 163-175.
- Leydens, J. A., Moskal, B. M., & Pavelich, M. (2004). Qualitative methods used in the assessment of engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(1), 65-72.
- Maxwell, J.A. (2009). Designing a qualitative study. In L. Bickman and D.J. Rog (eds.), Applied Social Research Methods (pp. 214-253). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Turner, D. W. (2010). Qualitative interview design: A practical guide for novice investigators. The Qualitative Report, 15, 754-760.
- Van Note Chism, N., Douglas, E. & Hilson Jr., W. J. (2008).
Qualitative research basics: A guide for engineering educators.
How do you analyze qualitative data?
- Carley, K. (1993). Coding choices for textual analysis: A comparison of content analysis and map analysis. Sociological Methodology, 23, 75-126.
- Dye, J. F., Schatz, I. M., Rosenberg, B. A., & Coleman, S. T. (2000). Constant comparison method: A kaleidoscope of data. The Qualitative Report, 4(1), 1-10.
- Ryan, G. W. and Bernard, H. R. (2003). Techniques to Identify Themes. Field Methods, 15(1), 85-109.
- Seidel, J. V. 1998. Qualitative data analysis. In The Ethnograph User’s Manual (v5), Appendix E. Denver, CO: Qualis Research Associates. www.qualisresearch.co