The Relative Frequency of Use of Types of Procedure and Sources of Data in Research in Education

Abstract

In making this survey of the relative frequency of use of types of pro cedure and sources of data in research in education, three basic elements were settled somewhat arbitrarily. First was that of choice of reports to use in the sampling. It was decided wholly arbitrarily to use a group of masters' theses, a group of doctors' theses, and a group of highly reputable researches other than theses. For masters' theses, the 476 completed at Indiana State Teachers College through 1945 (excluding several which either were not researches or were not in education) were most convenient. For doctors' theses, the 827 Teachers College, Columbia University, Contribu tions to Education through 1945 (with similar exclusions) were most easily available. For other researches, the 1,044 reported in the first 38 volumes of Journal of Educational Research were deemed most suitable. (No effort was made to learn which of the magazine articles were digests of theses, although it is known that some are.) Second of the basic factors was that of determining the types of re search procedures. There is no agreement as to what are the procedures in research. In fact, some authorities do not distinguish between research pro cedures and sources of data.2 The three basic types of procedure recognized