This paper contrasts mixed methods design with strategic research design. Mixed methods research both advocates for itself as always better than singular research methods, while also seemingly allowing a wide variety of researchers to count their work under the very large umbrella of mixed methods. We argue for strategic research design as a set…

The study reports on a small international qualitative research project on the implementation of national curriculum reform in Chinese middle schools, involving a team of eight researchers from the University of Leeds and two Chinese partnership institutions in Zhejiang and Beijing. Data were collected from six case study schools based on a…

In 2012, I began a life history research dissertation examining the lives of three Black art teachers in order to understand how they conceptualize and reconcile their social and professional identities as Black/artist/teacher. As a constructivist researcher, my goal was to understand the multiple social constructions of meaning of this group,…

Threshold concepts were introduced nearly 10 years ago by Ray Land and Jan Meyer. This work has spawned four international conferences and hundreds of papers. Although the idea has clearly gained traction in higher education, this sub-field does not yet have a fully fledged research methodology or a strong critical discourse about methodology.…

This article begins by raising issues around the way in which ethical approval for research is managed in university settings, where committees often base their assumptions on a principlist approach making a number of assumptions that we consider to be contestable, such as a neat separation between researcher and researched. However, collaborative…

This paper examines what is arguably the most important issue in qualitative research--access to willing participants--specifically in the context of companies. This is of considerable importance in vocational education and training (VET) as workplaces are the site of much VET activity. While research textbooks discuss many issues in research, few…

This paper focuses on participatory research and how it can be understood and employed when researching children and youth. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretically and empirically grounded discussion of participatory research methodologies with respect to investigating the dynamic and evolving phenomenon of young people growing up in…

This highly readable text demystifies the qualitative research process--and helps readers conceptualize their own studies--by organizing the different research paradigms and traditions into coherent clusters. Real-world examples and firsthand perspectives illustrate the research process; instructive exercises and activities build on each other so…

There is limited literature describing the ethical dilemmas that arise when conducting community-based participatory research. The following provides a case example of ethical dilemmas that developed during a multi-method community-based participatory action research project with youth in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Several ethical dilemmas emerged…

This booklet contains the proceedings of a conference designed to elicit discussion, reactions, comments, and recommendations with respect to the value, desirability, significance, and budgetary problems involved in carrying out scientific research programs at comprehensive universities (those having either no Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs…

This paper outlines the rationale, goals, planning, methodology, problems, and future direction of the research program involving studies concerning education and employment carried out by the International Institute for Educational Planning. The project was designed to relate the development of higher education in various countries (both…

This paper explores the sensitivities of conducting educational research in small states and territories, where the very act of conducting research, aside from its purposes or focuses, is itself a sensitive matter. The paper takes a "critical case study" of Macau and examines cultural, educational, political, micro-political,…

The Coalition of Essential Schools is involved in a 3-year study to translate collaborative inquiry into a research process to simultaneously build schools' capacities for change. A current collaborative project is described, with a dialog between a principal, a teacher, and a researcher who are engaged in a process of school improvement. Members…

This book, consisting of 13 papers, deals with the theory, practice, and reactions to participatory research in the area of social research for development. Included in the volume are the following papers: "Breaking the Monopoly of Knowledge: Research Methods, Participation, and Development," by Budd Hall; "Creating Alternative…

Considers problems wrought by protracted and potentially disruptive research conducted in school environments. Seeks to reconcile researcher and school interests. Presents a case study research project in which designating a teacher as a research assistant prevented many problems. Stresses maintaining cooperation and the importance of schools…