1. 5-1
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Action Research
Geoffrey E. Mills
Fifth Edition
© 2014, 2011, 2007, 2003, 2000
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
A Guide for the Teacher Researcher

2. 5-2
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Data Collection Considerations

3. 5-3
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Validity
 Degree to which data collection
methods measure what they are
supposed to measure

4. 5-4
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Quantitative Research
 Internal validity
 degree to which observed differences on
the dependent variable are a direct
result of manipulation of the
independent variable, not some other
variable (experimental research)
 External validity
 degree to which study results are
applicable to groups and environments
outside the research setting

5. 5-5
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Qualitative Research
 Measure of trustworthiness
 Measure of understanding

6. 5-6
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Guba’s Validity Criteria
 Credibility
 degree to which findings are believable
 Transferability
 degree to which results apply in other
contexts
 Dependability
 stability/quality of data
 Confirmability
 neutrality/objectivity of data

7. 5-7
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Wolcott’s Strategies
 Talk little, listen a lot
 Record accurately
 Begin writing early
 Let readers “see” for themselves
 Report fully
 Be candid
 Seek feedback
 Write accurately

8. 5-8
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reliability
 Degree to which a test consistently
measures whatever it measures
 expressed numerically, usually as
coefficient
 high coefficient (near 1.00)
indicates high reliability
 no test is perfectly reliable

9. 5-9
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reliability in Qualitative
Action Research
 Degree to which data would be
consistently collected
 same techniques utilized
repeatedly
 same techniques used by different
researchers

10. 5-10
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reliability and Validity
 A valid test is always reliable
 it will measure what it purports to
measure consistently over time
 A reliable test is not always valid
 it will consistently measure the
wrong thing!

11. 5-11
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Generalizability
 Degree to which behavior of one
group can be used to explain the
behavior of a wider group
 Generalizability is not the goal of
action research. Instead, it is to:
 understand what is happening in
your school or classroom
 determine how to improve things
in that context

12. 5-12
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Confronting Personal Bias
 Conduct research in a systematic,
disciplined manner
 Develop a list of propositions about
the findings