research-article

Asking Research Questions: Theoretical Presuppositions

Author:

Josh TenenbergAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), Volume 14, Issue 3

Article No.: 16, Pages 1 - 8

https://doi.org/10.1145/2644924

Published: 11 September 2014 Publication History

Abstract

Asking significant research questions is a crucial aspect of building a research foundation in computer science (CS) education. In this article, I argue that the questions that we ask are shaped by internalized theoretical presuppositions about how the social and behavioral worlds operate. And although such presuppositions are essential in making the world sensible, at the same time they preclude carrying out many research studies that may further our collective research enterprise. I build this argument by first considering a few proposed research questions typical of much of the existing research in CS education, making visible the cognitivist assumptions that these questions presuppose. I then provide a different set of assumptions based on sociocultural theories of cognition and enumerate some of the (different) research questions to which these presuppositions give rise. My point is not to debate the merits of the contrasting theories but to demonstrate how theories about how minds and sociality operate are imminent in the very questions that researchers ask. Finally, I argue that by appropriating existing theory from the social, behavioral, and learning sciences, and making such theories explicit in carrying out and reporting their research, CS education researchers will advance the field.

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Brown NMarinus EHubbard Cheuoua A(2022)Launching Registered Report Replications in Computer Science Education ResearchProceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research - Volume 110.1145/3501385.3543971(309-322)Online publication date: 3-Aug-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3501385.3543971
Heckman SCarver JSherriff MAl-zubidy A(2021)A Systematic Literature Review of Empiricism and Norms of Reporting in Computing Education Research LiteratureACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/347065222:1(1-46)Online publication date: 18-Oct-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3470652
Hubbard Cheuoua ASherriff MMerkle LCutter PMonge ASheard J(2021)Confronting Inequities in Computer Science Education: A Case for Critical TheoryProceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education10.1145/3408877.3432453(425-430)Online publication date: 3-Mar-2021
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Index Terms

Asking Research Questions: Theoretical Presuppositions
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing education
      1. Computing education programs
        Computer science education
        Information science education

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Computing Education

ACM Transactions on Computing Education Volume 14, Issue 3

November 2014

129 pages

EISSN:1946-6226

DOI:10.1145/2668970

Editors:
Robert McCartney
University of Connecticut, USA
,
Josh Tenenberg
University of Washington-Tacoma, USA

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © 2014 ACM.

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Publication History

Published: 11 September 2014

Accepted: 01 July 2014

Received: 01 June 2014

Published in TOCE Volume 14, Issue 3

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Cited By

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3501385.3543971
Heckman SCarver JSherriff MAl-zubidy A(2021)A Systematic Literature Review of Empiricism and Norms of Reporting in Computing Education Research LiteratureACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/347065222:1(1-46)Online publication date: 18-Oct-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3470652
Hubbard Cheuoua ASherriff MMerkle LCutter PMonge ASheard J(2021)Confronting Inequities in Computer Science Education: A Case for Critical TheoryProceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education10.1145/3408877.3432453(425-430)Online publication date: 3-Mar-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3408877.3432453
Magana A(2021)The role of frameworks in engineering education researchJournal of Engineering Education10.1002/jee.20443111:1(9-13)Online publication date: 14-Dec-2021
https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20443
McGill MDecker A(2018)Defining Requirements for a Repository to Meet the Needs of K-12 Computer Science Educators, Researchers, and Evaluators2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)10.1109/FIE.2018.8659312(1-9)Online publication date: Oct-2018
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Sabin MImpagliazzo JAlrumaih HByers BGudoniene DHamilton MKotlyarov VLunt BMcGuffee JPeltsverger STang CViola BZhang MRagonis NKinnunen P(2015)Multinational Perspectives on Information Technology from Academia and IndustryProceedings of the 2015 ITiCSE on Working Group Reports10.1145/2858796.2858802(149-171)Online publication date: 4-Jul-2015
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