EDSE 692 Seminar in Special Education: Methods

In the Methods section of a study the researcher will explain their processes (how they went about) collecting data. Usually the methods will be described in great detail.

In the Methods section you will write, you as the researcher will explain your explicit processes for collecting articles (your data) through the database searches.

Read the Methods section of the sample thesis papers (posted to your class website under "Course Content") to see how researchers preceding you wrote up their methods.

2.1. Selection criteria

This is where you write a narrative about what characterized the articles you ultimately decided to include in your study.  There will be certain criteria all of the articles share in order to be included by you.  The following is how Hauk wrote her selection criteria section.  Note that you will not be able to fully write this section of your paper until you have finished collecting all of your articles, but, it is good to keep in mind what criteria are most important to you on your topic as you are reviewing the articles you find in your database searches.

The 38 journal articles included in this meta-synthesis met the following selection criteria:

1.The articles explored issues related to teachers with disabilities.
2.The articles explored issues related to identity construction and people with disabilities.
3.The articles explored issues related to disability culture and disability pride.
4.The articles were published in peer-reviewed journals.
5.The articles were published between 1985 and 2007.

2.2. Search procedures

This is the section that you will describe what databases you searched, the most successful search terms you used, and any other search procedures used in order to retrieve the articles you are including in your study.  You will write your search procedures section in a manner that will allow any of your readers to be able to systematically reproduce your search results and find the same articles you have found.

2.2.1 Database searches

You will describe the databases you searched and the search terms you used to retrieve the articles.

2.2.2 Ancestral searches

This is a search strategy where you review the references in an article that is central to your research and you retrieve further articles from reviewing the "ancestral" references.  You may or may not use this strategy.