Empirical method
As an important research method in natural science, the basic norm of empirical method is to "prove or falsify theoretical hypotheses with empirical materials". These empirical materials can come from researchers' actual observation or experimental activities (direct experience), or from historical documents (indirect experience) that record previous observation or experimental results. These empirical materials can be quantitative or non-quantitative in form, but they must be verifiable.
Empirical methods include educational measurement, quantitative observation, questionnaire survey, educational experiment and content analysis.
Educational measurement refers to the quantitative description of educational phenomena or certain attributes of educational objects according to certain rules or scales, which includes three elements of measurement: things and their attributes; Numbers or symbols; Rules. The basic feature of educational measurement method is to test the research object according to certain rules by taking tests as a tool, and get quantitative results and related conclusions through further analysis. It can transform abstract and generalized theoretical research results into convenient tools to reflect individual development level and educational development, and provide reliable data.
Quantitative observation is carried out according to a set of clear and rigorous "measurement system" designed in advance, which is also called systematic, structured and standardized observation. This system includes: clear observation objects, strict logical observation project system, determined observation procedures and recording units, and materialized observation recording tools. Its advantage is that it can obtain a large number of real and clear observation data systematically and efficiently, and it is easy to record. Moreover, the observation results are convenient for systematic quantitative processing and comparative analysis, and its shortcomings are high theoretical and technical requirements for observation designers and observers, relatively inflexible observation process and lack of flexibility.
Questionnaire survey is a method for researchers to communicate with the respondents through written language and collect information and materials on educational issues by using a strictly designed unified questionnaire. It has the following characteristics: 1. Standardization of survey tools; 2. Standardization of investigation process; 3. Standardization of survey results; 4. The research efficiency is high.
According to certain theoretical assumptions, the educational experiment method is a comprehensive research activity to control some factors in educational activities in a planned way, make other factors change in a direction conducive to improving educational effects, and then test the assumptions, thus revealing the laws of educational activities. Its basic characteristics are: 1. Educational experiments should reveal the causal relationship between educational phenomena or educational behaviors. 2. The presupposition of causality in educational experiments is expressed in the form of hypothesis. During the experiment, a series of intervention activities, such as manipulation and control, were carried out around the hypothesis. After observation and analysis, this hypothesis was finally verified. Content analysis method is a research method to objectively and systematically analyze and describe the contents of educational documents, so as to make a factual judgment on related educational phenomena. The documents studied by content analysis method can be: 1. The materials recorded in words, newspapers, textbooks and other contents are often the research objects of professional researchers. 2. Materials recorded by sound include: the recording of class, the dialogue of students, the live recording of campaign meetings, and the tapes matched with teaching materials in a certain period. 3. Materials for video recording include: teaching videos, movies, televisions, slides and pictures.
Content analysis method has four basic characteristics: obvious, objective, systematic and quantitative. 1. The content is obvious; 2. objective facts; 3. Records of the system; 4. Quantitative results.
qualitative method
As a qualitative research as opposed to empirical research, it has a unique research tradition and research assumptions, and the qualitative methods used in qualitative research have their definitions. Mr. Chen Xiangming's definition of qualitative research method is: "Qualitative research is an activity that takes the researcher himself as a research tool, uses various data collection methods, explores the whole social phenomenon in the natural situation, analyzes the data by induction and forms a theory, and constructs an explanatory understanding of its behavior and significance through interaction with the research object."
Qualitative research includes interview investigation, qualitative observation and narrative research.
Interview survey is an investigation method in which researchers talk face to face with the respondents and learn about someone, something, a certain behavior attitude and educational phenomenon in the form of oral question and answer. It has the following characteristics: 1. The investigation process is flexible and in-depth. 2. The information is complete and true. 3. The scope of application is wider. The main limitations of the interview survey method are: 1. Small sample, high cost, long time and low efficiency. 2.
Qualitative observation is an open observation of people or things observed by researchers in real situations. It has the following characteristics: 1. You can get more real information. 2. More complete information can be obtained. 3. Multiple observations can be made. Qualitative observation also has limitations: 1. It is easily influenced by observers. 2. The representativeness of observation results is not high enough.
Narrative research method is to describe people's experiences, behaviors and lifestyles by telling stories, and to explore the significance of experiences and behaviors, as well as the thoughts and philosophies contained in them. In the field of educational research, narrative research is to explore or reveal the meanings, ideas and concepts hidden behind daily work, events and behaviors through the description and analysis of meaningful teaching events, teachers' life and practical experience in education and teaching, and to find educational problems from them. Explore educational ideas and reveal the characteristics of educational activities. The basic feature of educational narrative research is that researchers use narrative and tell stories to express their understanding and explanation of education. Educational narrative research has the following characteristics: 1. Using qualitative research methods as tools. 2. Take the story in education as the object. 3. Educators become research objects. 4. Inductive method is used to form knowledge. But there are some restrictions: 1. It is quite time-consuming for foreign researchers to obtain the cooperation of their research subjects. 2. It is difficult for insiders to understand. The influence of the story deviates from the research purpose. 4. Narrative research is influenced by the personal inclination of researchers. 5. Narrative research puts high demands on researchers.
(3) systematic method
The application of system science methodology is embodied in the research subject, mainly in system thinking. Its key feature is to use the principle of system science to examine and grasp the essence of the research object, and comprehensively use various technical methods, including both empirical methods and qualitative methods, to achieve the research purpose. Among them, the most important thing is to study the object and related factors in a systematic way according to the systematicness of things themselves. This paper focuses on the mutual restriction between the whole and parts, parts and parts, and the whole and the external environment. The characteristics of system methodology and system thinking are: 1. Compared with China's traditional holistic thinking, systematic thinking is clear and open. 2. Compared with reductionist analytical thinking in natural science, systematic thinking emphasizes the integrity of the system. 3. Compared with any previous research paradigm, system methodology provides new thinking principles and modes.
(D) Complex thinking methods
The original diversity, complexity and vivid richness of complex thinking in the face of changes in the world or things. It examines the thinking mode of things and their movement changes, which is manifested in nonlinear thinking, relational thinking, process thinking and situational thinking. The complexity of the education system is reflected in: 1. Diversity and variability of components of educational activities. 2. The nonlinear interaction between the structure and function, system and part of educational activities. 3. Dynamic generation of educational activities.
(5) Action research method
Action research method refers to a research method that relies on the help of educational experts and scholars to carry out scientific research in educational practice and guide their own practice with research results.
Its basic characteristics are: 1. Primary and secondary school teachers are the research subjects, teachers are researchers, courses are experiments, and classrooms are laboratories. 2. Emphasize participation, cooperation and communication. 3. Focus on practical reflection.
(6) Literature method
Literature retrieval is an important step in scientific research, which runs through the whole process of research and is one of the most commonly used research methods in educational science research. Literature retrieval can be divided into broad sense and narrow sense. Literature retrieval in a broad sense is a retrieval system consisting of literature storage and literature retrieval. In a narrow sense, document retrieval refers to the process of finding out the required documents and their clues by using certain retrieval tools according to the retrieval theme. Literature method is conducive to comprehensively and correctly grasping the situation and present situation of the problems to be studied, making maximum use of the existing knowledge, experience and scientific research achievements, and helping researchers choose research topics and determine research directions; It is conducive to providing scientific demonstration basis and research methods for education and scientific research; Avoid duplication of work and improve research efficiency; It is conducive to expanding research ideas, developing creative thinking and improving the innovation of subject research.