This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Callahan, C. M. Articles by Moon, T. R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff

What Makes for Good Evidence of Effectiveness in the Literature in Gifted Education?

University of Virginia, cmc{at}virginia.edu

Tonya R. Moon

University of Virginia

To provide an overview of the specific components that must be considered when making decisions about research in the field of gifted education, the authors describe and evaluate the three types of evidence— speculative or anecdotal, theoretical, and empirical—commonly offered in the literature of the field. Empirical, or evidence-based, research can be quantitative or qualitative (or mixed methods); it also can be interventional or non-interventional. An explanation and example of each type of empirical evidence are provided, along with key guidelines for reviewing and judging each one. Next, the authors offer general considerations for evaluating specific components of research, regardless of the type of study (e.g., source of evidence, research design, research questions, effect size, sample, instrumentation). Considerations for judging meta-analyses are also offered.

Key Words: research quality • meta-analyses • judging evidence

References

• Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavior sciences. New York: Academic Press .
• Fielding, N., & Fielding, J. (1986). Linking data. Beverly Hills , CA: Sage .
• Glass, G.V. (1976). Primary, secondary, and meta-analysis of research . Educational Researcher, 5, 3-8 .[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Glass. G. V., McGaw, B., & Smith, M.L. (1981). Meta-analysis in social research. Beverly Hills , CA: Sage .
• Hunter, J.E., & Schmidt, F.L. (1990). Methods of meta-analysis: Correcting error and bias in research findings. Newbury Park, CA: Sage .
• Hunter, J.E., Schmidt, F.L., & Jackson, G.B. (1982). Meta-analysis: Cumulating research findings across studies. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage .
• Kulik, C.L.C., & Kulik, J.A. (1982). Effects of ability grouping on secondary school students: A meta-analysis of evaluation findings . American Educational Research Journal, 19, 415-428 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage .
• Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded source book. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
• Rosenthal, R. (1984). Meta-analytic procedures for social research. Newbury Park , CA: Sage .
• Rosenthal, R., & Rubin, D.B. (1982). A simple, general purpose display of magnitude of experimental effect . Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 166-169 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D., & Campbell, D.T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. New York: Houghton Mifflin .
• Starko, A.J. (2001). Creativity in the classroom: Schools of curious delight (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .

Gifted Child Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 4, 305-319 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0016986207306317


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Callahan, C. M. Articles by Moon, T. R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?