Synopses & Reviews
Focused on increasing the credibility of research and evaluation, the Fourth Edition of Donna M. Mertens’s comprehensive Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology: Integrating Diversity with Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods incorporates the viewpoints of various research paradigms into its descriptions of these methods. Providing specific advice on conducting research in culturally complex communities, the new edition has been updated to align with the American Psychological Association and the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education accreditation requirements. Approximately sixty percent of the content in the Fourth Edition is new, updated with numerous contemporary examples, making this book one of the most comprehensive, accessible, and practical methods books available.
Praise for the previous edition:
“The organization of the text reflects the author’s intent, philosophy, and objectives . . . [Mertens] clearly presents approaches, descriptions, and many examples useful in conducting studies; she is to be commended for the thoroughness of her work.”
—Frank D. Adams, Wayne State College
“Excellent descriptions, definitions, examples, and narrative about social science theory and the various paradigms. Mertens’ use [of] a wide variety of social identities to provide her examples makes the text inclusive of a variety of diverse identities. It is also useful to see the differences between [research and evaluation] and to select methods appropriate to the intention of the inquiry.”
—Katrina L. Rodriguez, University of Northern Colorado
Synopsis
Focused on fully discussing what is considered to be “good” research, Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology explains quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, and incorporates the viewpoints of various research paradigms into its descriptions of these methods. The work covers four major paradigms: postpositivist, constructivist, transformative, and pragmatic. Special emphasis is provided on conducting research in culturally complex communities, based on the perspectives of feminists, ethnic/racial minorities, and people with disabilities. In each chapter, Donna M. Mertens carefully explains a step of the research process, from the literature review to analysis and reporting. Additionally, she includes a sample study and abstract in each chapter to illustrate the concepts discussed in that section of the book.