Educational Research

What they are!
Descriptive research is an observational type of research that is the easiest type of research. It describes what is happening. Correlational tells us how much one thing happens when another happens. Experimental you change something to see how much that one thing effects the results. Action research you do the research yourself dealing with a problem that effects you or your school.
So What!
The reasons we are studying these different types of research is so we know which types are the best to use in different circumstances. We have to know what each type of research can validly prove or not prove so we don't just read an article and do what it says because the research might not really prove their conclusion.
Now What!
Even though we have learned some of the basics about educational research it is something that we will continue to have to use throughout our careers. We can use others research to help improve the way we are teaching or can see the things that are effective that we could try to use to help our students to learn more and retain it better.