With efforts to transform education into a "research-based" field, educators are always on the watch for research to inform educational decisions. Whether it's for making choices about class scheduling, instructional practices, or educational interventions, educators often rely on research studies to help them determine how and why particular programs might be effective, or what really works in the classroom. But what makes for quality research? Are research claims always justified? And how can educators identify research that's useful or relevant to their needs? Produced with the assistance of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), one of the nation's foremost educational research and training organizations, An Education Research Primer gives educators a basic understanding of educational research, its guiding criteria, and its relevance to school-based decision-making. In clear and concise language the book summarizes the various types of educational research, explaining their diverse purposes and methods. For example, the difference between experimental research (studies involving control group trials) and descriptive research (based on descriptive information and relationships) isexplained, including how each is designed to address different types of research questions, and why each might have different applications. The book also describes what's involved in setting up a comparison control group and how some studies have randomized control groups while others do not. In addition, the book describes the different types of data collection methods used in research and how this can bear on the research findings. Particular attention is given to thescientific criteria that support the research and why this is important to