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Short answer
Educational research methods are the study designs, measurement approaches and analysis procedures used to investigate teaching, learning and education programs. They range from randomized controlled trials to qualitative case studies, and in the United States, federal quality expectations are set by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Standards for Excellence in Education Research (SEER).
Definition and scope
Educational research methods (also called education research methods or methods of educational research) cover how studies of educational interventions and processes are designed, conducted and reported. Within the broader field of education research, these approaches address settings where students are grouped within classrooms, schools and districts.
The scope spans quantitative causal designs, qualitative inquiry and mixed-methods work. Two public standards documents anchor much of U.S. practice: the WWC Procedures and Standards Handbook for judging causal evidence, and SEER for how IES-funded research is conducted and shared.
How many types of research methods are there?
There is no single official count. A common broad classification is quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. The WWC, for its part, publishes standards for several specific designs: group designs (which include randomized and quasi-experimental studies), regression discontinuity designs and single-case designs.
How the standards shape practice
The IES SEER standards are organized into four domains, which affect how a study is planned and reported:
- Objectivity and scientific integrity: research free of predetermined conclusions, with all findings reported, uncertainty communicated and conflicts of interest disclosed.
- Relevance: ties to student outcomes and support for generalizability.
- Open science: studies are preregistered in a recognized registry (the Registry of Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies, REES, is one listed option), with data and methods shared. See our guide to study protocol preregistration.
- Intervention research: documenting intervention components, using high-quality measures, measuring implementation fidelity, documenting the counterfactual condition and the treatment contrast, and analyzing cost.
Studies with human participants also need ethics oversight; see the IRB and research ethics committee approval process.
Types of educational research designs
| Design family | What it is used for | Covered by WWC standards |
|---|---|---|
| Group designs (randomized and quasi-experimental) | Estimating intervention effects by comparing groups | Yes, under the WWC group design standards |
| Regression discontinuity design | Estimating effects where assignment depends on a cutoff score | Yes, with its own reporting guide |
| Single-case design | Studying intervention effects on individual cases over time | Yes, under the single-case design standards |
| Qualitative and mixed-methods studies | Understanding context, experience and implementation | Not covered by the causal standards; reporting expectations appear in the AERA reporting standards |
WWC reviews rate studies as “Meets WWC Standards Without Reservations”, “Meets WWC Standards With Reservations” or “Does Not Meet WWC Standards”, evaluating factors such as attrition, baseline equivalence and confounding.
Why method choice matters
Method choice affects whether findings can be judged as causal evidence and whether they are useful to funders and decision makers. Funders such as the Spencer Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation publish their own application criteria, so applicants should check each program’s current guidelines.
Common misunderstandings
- Qualitative work is not evidence-free: the AERA reporting standards cover qualitative as well as quantitative and mixed-methods research and ask authors to disclose design, participants, data sources, analysis and the warrant for claims.
- Statistical significance is not practical significance: with large samples, small differences can be statistically significant, so effect sizes are reported alongside p-values.
- Clustering matters: students nested in classrooms and schools are not independent, and analyses that ignore this can understate uncertainty.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many types of research methods are there?
There is no official count. Methods are commonly grouped as quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, and the WWC publishes standards for group, regression discontinuity and single-case designs.
What is the difference between internal and external validity in educational studies?
Internal validity is confidence that an intervention, rather than other factors, caused the observed change. External validity is how far findings generalize to other populations and settings. SEER’s relevance domain includes support for generalizability.
Why are effect sizes reported alongside p-values?
An effect size expresses the magnitude of a difference, while a p-value depends heavily on sample size, so both are needed to interpret a result.
Sources
- Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education. “Standards for Excellence in Education Research (SEER).” https://ies.ed.gov/seer/ (checked 2026-11-07).
- What Works Clearinghouse, IES. “Procedures and Standards Handbook, Version 5.0” and handbook resources. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Handbooks (checked 2026-11-07).
- American Educational Research Association. “Standards for Reporting on Empirical Social Science Research in AERA Publications,” Educational Researcher 35(6), 2006. https://www.aera.net/ (checked 2026-11-07).
