Vol.1 No.

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Mills, G. E., & Gay, L. R. (2016) Education research: Competencies for analysis and applications.
London, England: Pearson Education.

Nelson Ang Assistant Director, Curriculum and Assessment,

Kaplan Higher Education Singapore

Introduction of searching the ERIC database, fully illustrated with the

aid of screenshots, as well as, suggestions of handbooks,
Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and go-to databases, websites, and professional organisations.
Applications was first published in 1976 as a 354-page tome However, the recommendations seem rather US-biased.
when I was barely two years old. The current 11th edition Personally I find that there is a noticeable difference in the
is testament to the book’s applicability and relevance, sensibilities of researchers from both sides of the Atlantic
successfully enduring the trial of time; key considerations pond and wonder if these recommendations will skew
within which continue to underpin educational research. The beginning researchers’ perspectives of educational research.
authors’ intention to write a how-to manual for educational
research is clearly evident. This book is the toolbox-that-
has-everything which beginning researchers would need A Potential Bias?
and very much appreciate; that the book doubled in size
over the past 40 years is neither coincidence nor accident. A case-in-point on the difference in sensibility can be found
Indeed, a significant update to the 11th edition is the revision in Chapter 10 – Experimental Research, which incidentally
of Chapter 3, Literature Review, to incorporate influences of is significantly revised “to reflect 21st Century discussions”
technology on how literature is curated. in the 11th edition (5). The general consensus in the United
Kingdom is to exercise extreme caution when setting up
experimental research to the point of avoidance. Indeed the
Literature Review: Beyond the Library British Educational Research Association (BERA) is explicit in
its charge to researchers in its published Ethical Guidelines
The review of related literature is often seen as a for Educational Research (2011):
necessary evil to be completed as fast as possible
so that one can get on with the “real research.” This
Researchers must take steps to minimise the effects of
perspective reflects a lack of understanding of the
designs that advantage or are perceived to advantage
purposes and importance of the review and a feeling of
one group of participants over others e.g. in an
uneasiness on the part of the students who are not sure
experimental or quasi-experimental study in which the
how to report the literature (107).
treatment is viewed as a desirable intervention and
which by definition is not available to the control or
comparison group respectively.
The Literature Review has constantly baffled beginning - BERA, 2011, p. 10
researchers, especially the purpose and scope of the review,
hence the choice of literature. More often than not, the
researcher loses his or her voice and erroneously takes on My own experience working with colleagues from the U.K.
the role of a reporter and merely repeats what has been said is also reflective of this position. Minimising advantage to a
(after paraphrasing of course). group of students is counterproductive in the experimental
setup because the driving motivation for doing so is precisely
The literature review begins with identifying and locating to prove that one method/intervention is advantageous
relevant documents bearing trustworthy information related over the other and “establish cause-effect relations” (286).
to the research problem. In this regard, the provision of How might one then begin to minimise the advantage
search strategies for library catalogues and the Internet that one group of students may potentially gain without
in the 11th edition is a useful companion on the search distorting the findings and yielding no results from the
adventure. It comes complete with, step-by-step guidance study? Conversely,

Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching Vol.1 No.2 (2018) 71

 expounding on the design, data, and writing. If putting
In experimental research, the researcher manipulates at
together a research piece is akin to building a house,
least one independent variable, controls other relevant
Educational Research provides the how-to, templates of
variables, and observes the effect on one or more
building plans (10 in all!), tools, and even the paint for the
variables. The researcher determines who gets what;
exterior walls.
that is, the researcher has control over the selection and
assignment of groups to treatments (286).
Despite the wealth of content, it is not immediately clear
I have found too from my experience working with if students, who are about to embark on an educational
colleagues from the U.S. that randomised control trial is research journey, would be enabled to answer the most
deemed necessary for yielding valid evidence to conclude fundamental question – what good would emerge from
on the efficacy of intervention/treatment. Perhaps it is then my study? In highlighting theories, personal experiences,
not surprising that the American Educational Research previous studies that can be replicated, and library searches
Association’s (AERA) Code of Ethics (2011) is devoid of as the four main sources of research problems, it is unclear if
its British counterpart’s warning about the application of Mills and Gay are challenging their readers to put a dent in
experimental research. the educational universe or providing them with yet another
tool to progress towards that dreaded assignment deadline.
Indeed in the discussion of Ethics in Chapter 1, Mills and
Gay devoted a significant portion of the section to “Ethical Now, if only there were an app for this book.
Issues Unique to Qualitative Research” (39). In this section,
they claimed that “some features of qualitative research raise
additional issues not typically encountered in quantitative
research.” Further into the section, Mills and Gay then
charged qualitative researchers “to convey with confidence
that research participants will not suffer harm as the result
of their involvement in the research effort” (41). How might
potential harm be unique to qualitative study? References

Nevertheless, the perceived U.S.-bias aside, this is a handy American Educational Research Association. (2011). Code
book that I wish I had when I was writing up my research of ethics. Retrieved from https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.
plan and dissertation many eons ago. weraonline.org/resource/resmgr/a_general/aera.pdf

The Rest of the Tool-Box British Educational Research Association. (2011). Ethical
guidelines for educational research. Retrieved from https://
As mentioned earlier, this book is a well-stocked toolbox portal.solent.ac.uk/documents/academic-services/policies-
that researchers, especially beginning ones, will find useful. procedures-guidelines/bera-ethical-guidelines-for-
It begins with delineating the research process before research-degrees.pdf

Copyright: © 2020 Nelson Ang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright
owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No
use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching Vol.1 No.2 (2018) 72