Information Mining €“An Essential Stage In The Pedagogical Research Design

The research design and conducting underpins a complex approach, which involves a series of stages, each based on specific actions. The quality of the investigation carried out also depends on solid scientific information mining, which should capitalize on different categories of sources, comply with rigorous criteria and requirements regarding selection, exploitation and citation. The present paper addresses the issue of information mining - an important stage in the pedagogical research, as envisaged from the perspective of the prospective (pre-service) teachers, who are developing research skills. The sample was made up of 80 Master’s students at the Faculty of Letters, University of Craiova, who are in the first year of teacher training, Level II. The research methods used were the questionnaire-based survey and the focus-group interview. We administered a survey to the subjects in the sample, and we also conducted a focus-group interview with 20 Master’s students. The research findings confirmed the relevance of this stage for the rigorous reseach design.