Urban planning research usually requires researchers to undertake fieldwork. This fieldwork is frustrated or enabled by gatekeepers who can influence effective data collection. Traditionally, gatekeepers are perceived as monolithic, neutral, and static individuals, yet they are complex individuals with varying needs and expectations from the…

This theoretical essay critically examines the impact of Coladarci's 2007 article, "Improving the Yield of Rural Education Research: An Editor's Swan Song," which he composed at the conclusion of his tenure as editor of the Journal of Research in Rural Education. Using boundary theory and "awayness" as a metaphor for…

While the methods used to study 'elites' are of particular relevance in policy research, to date there has been little examination of the particular challenges associated with 'elite' interviewing in this field. More specifically, the issues associated with interviewing 'elites' while conducting qualitative research in a contested policy domain,…

When conducting research on sensitive topics, it is challenging to use new methods of data collection given the apprehensions of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). This is especially worrying because sensitive topics of research often require novel approaches. In this article a brief personal history of navigating the IRB process for conducting…

There is a growing awareness among scientists and researchers in every field that the selection of problems for research, the guiding theories, the interpretation of evidence, and resulting conclusions can be, and in fact often are, shaped by political or social ideology. If infused with keenly critical vigilance, such awareness affords the best…

Critically evaluates the methodologies used in three recent studies on poverty in Latin America. Maintains that some studies measure the relative nature of nutritional poverty while others record the absolute nature of nutritional poverty (physical survival). Includes a comparative analysis of the studies' results. (MJP)