Research and Evaluation Methods in Special Education

"In an era when government policy emphasizes ′scientifically based research′ (No Child Left Behind), this book provides an important resource in understanding what this means."
Diane Browder, Snyder Distinguished Professor of Special Education
University of North Carolina, Charlotte

"This is a superb book. I learned by reading it, and I found myself rethinking some of my own thinking about research on individuals with disabilities."
James E. Ysseldyke, Professor
University of Minnesota

When face-to-face with the challenge of providing special needs children with a quality education, teachers and other educators are often met with the dilemma of inadequate research on the topic, or they are uninformed that a framework for critically analyzing and conducting special education research exists. Research-based practice is a powerful tool for success, as it can inform educators and others about educational strategies that work.

Research and Evaluation Methods in Special Education is intended to enable educators to design, conduct, and report research and evaluation in a way that transforms special education by addressing the needs of persons with disabilities as heterogeneous, cultural groups. This text provides practical guidance for:

• Planning research and evaluation
• Addressing the implications of legislation and program evaluation
• Using empirically based data for decision-making in a variety of settings
• Assessing additional research needs in areas such as standards-based reforms, personnel development, family involvement, and new and developing topics in special education
• Using quantitative research methods, including casual comparative, correlational, single case, and survey research
• Using qualitative methods, including identification and selection of research participants, information collection, and more

This excellent resource provides an approach to research and evaluation that helps educators better understand and address the needs of students with various disabilities, including blindness, mental retardation, deafness, learning disabilities, and more.

Donna M. Mertens is Professor Emeritus, Department of Education, at Gallaudet University. She taught research methods and program evaluation to deaf and hearing students at the MA and PhD levels for over 30 years. She now teaches courses and professional development workshops around the world.

She conducts research and evaluation studies on such topics as improvement of special education services in international settings, planning for the inclusion of students with disabilities in neighborhood schools, enhancing the educational experiences of students with disabilities, preventing sexual abuse in residential schools for deaf students, improving access to the court systems for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and improving the preparation of teachers of the deaf through appropriate use of instructional technology. Her research focuses on improving methods of inquiry by integrating the perspectives of those who have experienced oppression in our society. She draws on the writings of feminists, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities, as well as Indigenous peoples who have addressed the issues of power and oppression and their implications for research methodology.

Dr. Mertens has made numerous presentations at the meetings of the American Educational Research Association, American Evaluation Association, Australasian Evaluation Society, Association for College Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, International Sociological Association, Mixed Methods International Research Association, American Psychological Association, African Evaluation Association, Canadian Evaluation Society, Visitors Studies Association, and other organizations that explore these themes. She served as president and board member of the American Evaluation Association from 1997 to 2002 and as a member of the Board of Trustees for the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation, 2002–2003. She served as editor for the Journal of Mixed Methods Research 2009-2014.

Her publications include four edited volumes, Indigenous Pathways to Social Research (coedited with Fiona Cram and Bagele Chilisa, 2013), Handbook of Social Research Ethics (coedited with Pauline Ginsberg, 2009), Creative Ideas for Teaching Evaluation (1989), and Research and Inequality (coedited with Carole Truman and Beth Humphries, 2000), and several authored books, including Mixed Methods Design in Evaluation (2018), Program Evaluation: A Comprehensive Guide (2^nd ed.) (with Amy Wilson, 2018), Transformative Research and Evaluation (2009), Research and Evaluation Methods in Special Education (coauthored with John McLaughlin, 2004), and Parents and Their Deaf Children (coauthored with Kay Meadow-Orlans and Marilyn Sass Lehrer, 2003). She also publishes many chapters and articles in edited volumes, encyclopedias, handbooks, and journals, such as Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Qualitative Social Work, Eye on Psi Chi, Educational Researcher, International Journal of Mixed Methods Research, New Directions for Program Evaluation, American Journal of Evaluation, American Annals of the Deaf, Studies in Educational Evaluation, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.