Publication Summary
Based on reading a very large number of research reports, and conducting a wide range of different projects, this article illustrates a simple yet inclusive model of research. Research is considered as a cyclical activity with various designs and methods more or less appropriate at each phase but in the same field of investigation. This leads to the realisation that designs and methods are to a very great extent entailed in the research question(s) being addressed. This approach is illustrated through a range of our own studies, including aggregated trials of literacy improvement, school choice, and adult learning. It is clear that they are just research— and that schisms/paradigms, or even attempting to resolve such schisms via ‘multiple methods’ and the like, are irrelevant in real-life research.
CAER Authors
Prof. Stephen Gorard
University of Durham - Professor in the School of Education