This study considered the methodological implications of a qualitative study that involved two research practitioners as interviewers, one male and one female, who conducted semistructured cognitive interviews with middle school students. During the reading and analysis of interview transcriptions, differences were noted between the interviewers'…

The ethical conduct of research is addressed from two perspectives, as a regulatory enterprise that creates an illusion of ethical practice and as a philosophical concern for equity and the imposition of power within the conceptualization and practice of research itself. The authors discuss various contemporary positions that influence…

This paper is the report of a conversation among the authors that centered on their shared interest in alternative methods of inquiry and evaluation in agriculture. The conversation was initiated at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and has evolved through a series of long distance conversations. Though not a verbatim transcript of the conversations,…

The educational audit is suggested for assessing the process of inquiry for reliability and the product of inquiry for absence of bias. The inquiry auditor must review the inquiry processes to determine that they conform to norms of "good professional practice." He must review inquiry products to ensure they can be substantiated from…

The emergence of a new, naturalistic, paradigm of inquiry has led to a demand for rigorous criteria that meet traditional standards of inquiry. Two sets are suggested, one of which, the "trustworthiness" criteria, parallels conventional criteria, while the second, "authenticity" criteria, is implied directly by new paradigm…

This investigation was conducted to explore contemporary critiques that challenge the growing body of scholarly research that would reveal and support diverse understandings of the world. Principal methods for this deconstruction of contemporary critiques include document analysis of writing that examines content and author location and context…

Interviewing has been a recognized mainstay of ethnographic fieldwork for more than 100 years. Coupled with participant observation, it was taken to be the complete corpus of anthropological and sociological inquiry activity. Although the repertoire of fieldwork inquirers has grown, interviewing remains a primary data collection technique,…

Five major differences between the rationalistic and naturalistic paradigms of inquiry are accounted for: the nature of reality; the nature of the inquirer-object relationship; the nature of truth statements; assumptions about causal relationships; and the role of values within disciplined inquiry. Thirty-one sources are appended. (EJS)

Many non-Western and non-English-speaking scholars express the need for supporting a methodological approach that foregrounds the voices of nationals and locals (or indigenous peoples). Supporting this stance, Western scholars will reach out in democratic and liberatory ways that effect research collaboration, helping to foster social justice and…

Research on the assessment of naturalistic inquiries is reviewed, and criteria for assessment are outlined. Criteria reviewed include early foundational and non-foundational criteria, trustworthiness criteria, axiomatic criteria, rhetorical criteria, action criteria, and application/transferability criteria. Case studies that are reports of…

Conference papers calling for newer constructs in organizational theory to explicate problems in understanding educational organizations were content analyzed to explore paradigmatic assumptions and to demonstrate a fit between assumptions. Papers supporting the use of qualitative methodologies were also analyzed. The papers were from the 1983…

The central failure of conventional, or positivistic inquiry has been the inability to handle deception in research and the violation of societal ethics, moral and legal caused by such deception. Moral dimensions include tests for whether the research would be approved by reasonable persons, whether it might pass the test of publicity, and whether…

A study is described which analyzed 12 families chosen from a five-state area. The families consisted of seven with mental retardation handicapped members, and five with orthopedically handicapped members. Each family was analyzed in terms of family members' contributions to the dependence or independence desired by the handicapped member.…

Comments on Reba Page's methods of teaching about interpretive research methodologies. Points to four potential problems: (1) students have little knowledge of underlying epistemological debates; (2) students are unaware of broader "conversations" between texts; (3) students have read little qualitative research; and (4) students must learn to…

Calls for social science researchers to make the leap from understanding to action. Explains action and why it must replace classical disinterestedness and objectivity. Discusses the new criteria for educational research and the new methods for interpretive researchers. Addresses the implications for higher education. (CMK)