What is good research?

On your own (without referring to any books or resources), attempt a concept clarification exercise on
"good research." What are some characteristics of good research? What are some non-characteristics?
Can you think of an example? Define what "good research" means to you.

What are some characteristics of good research?

I believe that in good research, it is important to control for as many extraneous variables as possible.
For example, if I want to conduct research to see if the use of SMARTBoard technology in my classroom
would increase student achievement in mathematics, I cant just teach my class one year without a
SMARTBoard and teach my class next year with a SMARTBoard. Whatever results I get would be flawed
because the kids themselves vary from year to year. The year that I used a SMARTBoard to teach could
have had students who were already good at mathematics while the year without the SMARTBoard
could have had more students who struggled in math.

Alternatively, a teacher might start the year off with the whole class not using a SMARTBoard and see
how they do. Then midway through the year, start using the SMARTBoard and see how they do. This
method eliminates the chance that the difference in achievement is due to the difference between
students because they are the same students. However, there is still other variables at play. The
beginning of the year could have been material that is easier, while the material in the second half of
the year could have been more difficult. Usually the beginning of the year consists of review of material.
Good research needs to take these differences into account.

Good research also has to be ethical. For example, if I wanted to compare if assistive technology would
help students with special needs achieve better in school versus without assistive technology, it would
not be ethical for me to deny one group of students assistive technology while I give another group of
students assistive technology just to see if there is a difference in achievement. Issues like this need to
be taken into account.

Research also needs to be free from bias and opinion. Quite often when we interpret data from research,
the interpretation of the data can be skewed to fit into what the researcher wants to see. Therefore, it
is important for research to be vetted by other colleagues to ensure that there is no bias.

Finally, good research also needs to be applicable to the real-world. What good is conducting research if
what we learn from the research cannot be applied to real-life?