"Welcome to the eighth edition of Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches. This text is written for the introductory research methods course that is required in most colleges in the United States. We assume no prior knowledge of research methods on the part of our readers. Our book can be used as a first text for undergraduate- or graduate-level courses. Instructors should be able to cover most or all of the material in one semester. Instructors also can choose to emphasize some material over the other. PURPOSE We had several purposes in writing this textbook. The first was a desire to write an introductory research methods book that was accurate and up-to-date. We come from interdisciplinary backgrounds and have attempted to incorporate our respective insights into this book. Burke Johnson is an educational research methodologist and program evaluator, with additional graduate training in psychology, public policy, and sociology; Larry Christensen is a psychological research methodologist and the author of a highly successful book titled Experimental Methodology (now in its 13th edition under the revised title Research Methods, Design, and Analysis). We have kept up with the changes taking place in the field of research methods in our disciplines, and we continue to incorporate the latest information in this textbook, including references that allow interested readers to further examine original sources. Second, we have tried to write a research methods textbook that takes an evenhanded approach to the different types of educational research. Whereas many texts emphasize one approach at the expense of others, we believe that all major approaches to research discussed in this text have merit when they are employed carefully and properly! We show the strengths and appropriateness of each approach and demonstrate how the experts in each area conduct highquality research and how they view their approach to research. Third, we have tried to make our textbook highly readable and to make learning about research fun. Believe it or not, learning about research methods can be exciting. We are excited about research methods, and we share our enthusiasm with you without losing the necessary rigor"--