Doing Research: A New Researcher's Guide

This book is about scientific inquiry. Designed for early and mid-career researchers, it is a practical manual for conducting and communicating high-quality research in (mathematics) education. Based on the authors’ extensive experience as researchers, as mentors, and as members of the editorial team for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (JRME), this book directly speaks to researchers and their communities about each phase of the process for conceptualizing, conducting, and communicating high-quality research in (mathematics) education.

In the late 2010s, both JRME and Educational Studies in Mathematics celebrated 50 years of publishing high-quality research in mathematics education. Many advances in the field have occurred since the establishment of these journals, and these anniversaries marked a milestone in research in mathematics education. Indeed, fifty years represents a small step for human history but a giant leap for mathematics education. The educational research community in general (and the mathematics education community in particular) has strongly advocated for original research, placing great emphasis on building knowledge and capacity in the field. Because it is an interdisciplinary field, mathematics education has integrated means and methods for scientific inquiry from multiple disciplines. Now that the field is gaining maturity, it is a good time to take a step back and systematically consider how mathematics education researchers can engage in significant, impactful scientific inquiry.

Jinfa Cai is the Kathleen and David Hollowell Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Delaware, and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. He served as the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (2017-2020).  He is interested in how students learn mathematics and pose/solve problems as well as how teachers can provide and create learning environments so that students can make sense of mathematics.  He has served as Program Director at the National Science Foundation.  He was the Editor of the 2017 Compendium for Research in Mathematics Education (published by NCTM).  

Stephen Hwang is a researcher at the University of Delaware and is the Project Coordinator for the NSF-funded project, Supporting Teachers to Teach Mathematics Through Problem Posing. He served as the Assistant Editor for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (2017-2020). He is interested in mathematical problem posing and how teachers can learn to use problem posing to provide robust learning opportunities for their students. He is also interested in the processes of mathematical proof and justification and the development of mathematical habits of mind. 

Anne Morris is a professor at the University of Delaware. She served as an Associate Editor for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (2017-2020). She is interested in how educators can store knowledge about teaching in instructional materials that are readily useable by teachers so that improvements accumulate over time. She is also interested in children's and preservice teachers' understanding of deductive argument and how to develop it through classroom instruction. 

Charles Hohensee is an Associate Professor at the University of Delaware. He served as an Associate Editor for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (2017-2020). He is interested in backward transfer, which is how students’ ways of reasoning about a previously-encountered mathematics concept changes when they engage in learning experiences about a new mathematics concept.