Environmental education is an important strategy in addressing environmental problems faced by communities around the world. In this article, the author particularly keen to know how the act of "doing research" will advance the field of environmental education and as such contribute to the solution of broader environmental problems. The author discusses four papers which have appeared in "Environmental Education Research" (EER), and focuses on two papers: these are Chawla, "Research methods to investigate SLE: review and recommendations" (Volume 4, 1998), and Malone, "Environmental education researchers as activists" (Volume 5, 1999). The author also consider Doyle and Krasny (2003) and Fortner et al. (2000). The papers offer the opportunity to discuss issues of learning from critique (both external evaluation and internal self-evaluation) and the need for openness in the research community to different ways of doing research. He also raises the issue of the importance of embracing novice researchers, encouraging their efforts, and being receptive to their thinking. Lastly, the author concludes by introducing the notion of touchstone theory and how that theory may help move the field of environmental education research forward.