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Simply Stated, Research Is A Means To Answer A Question

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Simply stated, research is a means to answer a question (Mertler, 2014). There are convenient and comfortable sources such as tradition, authority, and common sense to consult for an answer to a question (2014). Unfortunately, these sources are unreliable and include biases of some degree (2014). To answer a question using valid and reliable data, the scientific method is utilized (2014). In traditional educational research, there is the “application of the scientific method to educational topics, phenomena, or questions in search of answers” (2014, p. 6) which aims to develop new theories or to discover generalized principles and is performed by outside experts (Efron & Ravid, 2013). Practitioners implement these findings from …show more content…

Moreover, action research consists of four stages: planning, acting, developing, and reflecting (Mertler, 2014), and each stage will be utilized to address my identified PoP, retention. During the present planning stage, I have identified my PoP, gathered information about retention, reviewed scholarly literature about retention and curriculum theories, and developed my research plan (2014). Once my research plan is approved and all requirements have been fulfilled to continue this DP (University of South Carolina, 2015), the next stage is acting (Mertler, 2014). During the acting stage, I will collect and analyze data gathered during the implementation of my research plan (2014). Once the acting stage has been completed, I will consult my colleagues in the STEM department and the students who participated in the study to develop a plan of action (2014). The development of a plan of action will provide strategies to address the identified PoP (2014). After a plan of action is developed, the reflecting stage will include sharing and communicating the study’s results with the participants as well as the faculty and staff of OCTC (2016). The reflecting stage also provides an opportunity to review the process and make other adjustments which illustrates the iterative process of continually reviewing practices to make improvements in action research (Efron & Ravid, 2013). During this Action Research study, it is important to acknowledge that the

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