Increasing the Credibility of Educational Research

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The purpose of education research is to better understand educational phenomena to inform policy and improve practice. Forward progress within any field is based on the validity and credibility of that field’s research base - educators cannot make informed decisions based on anecdotal evidence, opaque research practices, or on studies that cannot be replicated. Educational research is plagued by the same challenges as a number of fields - publication bias, barriers to research access, and seminal theories that have failed to replicate. This symposium will share four research practices that can increase the replicability and credibility of educational science. Each will be presented in terms of benefits and challenges for the researcher, the journal editor, and the educational knowledge base in general.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Research Use

Chair

• Scott Joseph Peters, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

Papers

• Preregistration and Transparency in the Research Process - David Mellor, Center for Open Science

• Registered Reports for Hypothesis-Driven Research - Carly D Robinson, Brown University; Hunter Gehlbach, Johns Hopkins University

• Open Access and Preprints - Amanda Montoya, University of California - Los Angeles; Matthew C. Makel, Johns Hopkins University; Bryan G. Cook, University of Virginia; Kendal Smith, University of North Texas

• Large-Scale Collaborative Science: The ManyClasses Approach to Experimental Educational Research - Emily R. Fyfe, Indiana University; Joshua R de Leeuw, Vassar College; Paulo Carvalho, Carnegie Mellon University; Robert Goldstone, Indiana University; Janelle Sherman, Indiana University; Ben Motz, Indiana University - Bloomington

Discussant

• Morgan S. Polikoff, University of Southern California