Designs, Techniques, and Reporting Strategies in Geography Education: A Review of Research Methods

Yıl 2016, Cilt: 6 Sayı: 3, 216 - 233, 31.12.2016

Joann Zadrozny Caroline Mcclure Jinhee Lee İnjeong Jo

Öz

A wide variety of research is being completed and published in geography education. The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview of the different types of methodologies, research designs, and techniques used by geography education researchers. Analyzing three geography education journals, we found 191 research articles published about geography education, of which, 55 used a quantitative design, 65 used a qualitative design, and 71 used mixed methods. This article highlights specific articles to provide examples of how a variety of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods techniques were conducted and presented in the literature. The implications of this article is to provide geography education researchers with guidance when reporting research results in an effort to promote replicability and longitudinal research. Geography education benefits from all types of methodological designs and techniques, each serving a different purpose based upon the individuals’ inquires and
research questions.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Research Design, Geography Education Research, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Mixed Methods Research, Methodologies

Kaynakça

• American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Battersby, S. E., Golledge, R. G., & Marsh, M. J. (2006). Incidental learning of geospatial concepts across grade levels: Map overlay. Journal of Geography, 105 (4), 139-146.
• Bednarz, S. (2000). Geography Education Research in the Journal of Geography 1988-1997. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 9(2), 128-140.
• Bednarz, S. W., Heffron, S. and Huynh, N. T. (Eds.). (2013). A road map for 21st century geography education: Geography education research (A report from the Geography Education Research Committee of the Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education Project). Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers.
• Bent, G. J., Bakx, A., & den Brok, P. (2014). Pupils’ perceptions of geography in Dutch primary schools: Goals, outcomes, classrooms environment, and teacher knowledge and performance. Journal of Geography, 113 (1), 20-34.
• Boehm, R. G., Brysch, C, P., Mohan, A., & Backler, A. (2012). A new pathway: Video-based professional development in geography. Journal of Geography, 111 (2), 41-53.
• Bogdan, R. C. & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods (5th ed.). India: Pearson Education.
• Brinegar, S. J. (2001). Female representation in the discipline of geography. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 25 (3), 311-320.
• Clifford, N., Cope, M., Gillespie, T., & French, S. (Eds.). 2016. Key methods in geography (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
• Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (Eds.). (2011). Research methods in education (7th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
• Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
• Creswell, J. W. & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
• Creswell, J. W. & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousands Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
• Cumming, G. (2006). Meta-analysis: Pictures that explain how experimental findings can be integrated. Paper presented at the International Conference on Teaching Statistics, Brazil.
• Cumming, G. (2012). Understanding the new statistics: Effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta-analysis. New York, NY: Routledge.
• Cumming, G., Fidler, F., Leonard, M., Kalinowski, P., Christiansen, A., Kleinig, A., Wilson, S. (2007). Statistical reform in psychology: Is anything changing? Psychological Science 18 (3): 230-232.
• Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2013). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. Thousands Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
• Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2013). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In Denzin & Lincoln (Eds.), Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials (pp. 1-41). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
• DiBiase, D., & Kidwai, K. (2010). Wasted on the young? Comparing the performance and attitudes of younger and older US adults in an online class on geographic information. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 34 (3), 299-326.
• Diggle, P. J. & Chetwynd, A. G. (2011). Statistics and scientific method: An introduction for students and researchers. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Downs, R. (1994). The need for research in geography education: It would be nice to have some data. Journal of Geography, 93 (1), 57-60.
• Dummer, T. J. B., Cook, I. G., Parker, S. L., Barrett, G. A., & Hull, A. P. (2008) Promoting and assessing ‘deep learning’ in geography fieldwork: An evaluation of reflective field diaries. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 32 (3), 459-479.
• Glass, G. V. (1976). Primary, secondary, and meta-analysis of research. Educational Researcher, 5, 3-8.
• Gomez, B. & Jones, J. P . (Eds.). (2010). Research methods in geography: A critical introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• Gravetter, F. J., & Wallnau, L. B. (2008). Statistics for the behavioral sciences (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Höhnle, S., Schubert, J. C., & Uphues, R. (2013). What are the constraints to GIS usage? Selected results of a teacher survey about constraints in the school context. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 22 (3), 226-240.
• Huang, K. H. (2011). A GIS-interface web site: Exploratory learning for geography curriculum. Journal of Geography, 110 (4), 158-165.
• Jo, I., & Bednarz, S. W. (2011). Textbook questions to support spatial thinking: Differences in spatiality by question location. Journal of Geography, 110 (2), 70-80.
• Ketlhoilwe, M. J. (2013). Governmentality in environmental education policy discourses: A qualitative study of teachers in Botswana. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 22 (4), 291-302.
• Kim, M. (2011). Quantitative methods in geography education research: Concept and application of effect size. Journal of Korean Association of Geographic and Environmental Education, 19 (2), 16.
• Kulo, V. A., & Bodzin, A. M. (2011). Integrating geospatial technologies in an energy unit. Journal of Geography, 110 (6), 239-251.
• Kwan, T. (2008). Environmental learning using a problem-based approach in the field: A case study of a Hong Kong school. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 17 (2), 93-113.
• Lee, J., & Bednarz, R. (2012). Components of spatial thinking: Evidence from a spatial thinking ability test. Journal of Geography, 111 (1), 15-26.
• Liu, X. S., Loudermilk, B., & Simpson, T. (2014). Introduction to sample size choice for confidence intervals based on t statistics. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 18, 91.
• Milson, A. J., & Earle, B. D. (2008). Internet-based GIS in an inductive learning environment: A case study of ninth-grade geography students. Journal of Geography, 106 (6), 227-237.
• Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
• Preacher, K. J., & Kelly, K. (2011). Effect size measures for mediation models: Quantitative strategies for communicating indirect effects. Psychological Methods, 16 (2), 93-115.
• Rosenthal, R. (1979). The “file drawer problem” and tolerance for null results. Psychological Bulletin, 86 (3), 638-641.
• Schmidt, F. L. (1996). Statistical significance testing and cumulative knowledge in psychology: Implications for training of researchers. Psychological Methods, 1 (2), 115-129.
• Sirkin, R. M. (2006). Statistics for the social sciences (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
• Smith, M. L., & Glass, G. V. (1977). Meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies. American Psychologist, 32, 752-760.
• Solem, M. N. & Foote, K. E. (2006). Concerns, attitudes, and abilities of early-career geography faculty. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 30 (2), 199-234.
• Stoltman, J. (1997). Geography curriculum and instruction research since 1950 in the United States. In R.G. Boehm and J. Petersen (Eds.), The first assessment: Research in geographic education (pp.131-170). San Marcos, TX: The Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education.
• Tashakkori, A., & Creswell, J. W. (2008). Editorial: Mixed methodology across disciplines. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 2 (1), 3-6.
• Thompson, B. (2006). Foundations of behavioral statistics: An insight-based approach. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
• Vacha-Haase, T. & Thompson, B. (2004). How to estimate and interpret various effect sizes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51 (4), 473-481.
• Vacha-Haase, T., Nilsson, J. E., Reetz, D. R., Lance, T. S., & Thompson, B. (2000). Reporting practices and APA editorial policies regarding statistical significance and effect size. Theory & Psychology, 10, 413-425.
• Wang, Y., & Chen, C. (2013). GIS education in Taiwanese senior high schools: A national survey among geography teachers. Journal of Geography, 112 (2), 75-84.
• Wilkinson, L. & Task Force on Statistical Inference. (1999). Statistical methods in psychology journals. American Psychologist, 54 (8), 594-604.
• Yang, D. (2013). Comparing assessments within junior geography textbooks used in mainland China. Journal of Geography, 112 (2), 58-67.