This paper reflects on the use of methods in higher education research. My point of departure is that it appears that higher education scholars -- publishing their work in what we generally see as the relevant higher education journals of our field -- make use of a limited set of methods. Whereas there may be good reasons to select certain…

All fields of knowledge are challenged to adopt newer, more sophisticated methodologies to cope with growing complexity. Phenomena under study require further multidisciplinary and mixed methods collaborations to achieve expertise able to improve research strategies and practices. Furthermore, traditional methodological approaches face limits to…

This paper outlines the impact of phenomenography on higher education research and academic development. Interest in phenomenography as an educational research methodology continues to grow, but with interest growing faster than the number of experienced researchers, some misunderstandings of the approach have arisen and been circulating in…

Despite being intensely sociable, ethnographic research is also deeply isolating. Although fieldworkers may feel lonely, we contend that they are not (or should not be) alone. At the 10th anniversary of Urban Ethnography Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, we reflect on the ethnographic training cultivated there. We detail objectives,…

A curriculum description of a general introductory biology course titled "Introduction to Research Methods" is presented here. The course aims to provide a glimpse of biomedical research to students who have had no or limited exposure to research to encourage them to do research as freshmen. Thus, this course aims to better equip and…

Background: Psychology has seen a recent explosion in the use of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) to understand cognition. The prevalence of techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in published research has grown immensely in the past decade; however, there has been little effort to incorporate these techniques into…

In this article, we reflect on our experiences with teaching ethnographic skills and sensibilities to MSc students at a Dutch university. Using methods such as (self)observation, journaling and reflection, we highlight dilemmas (conceptual, practical, ethical) faced by students when doing ethnographic fieldwork and dilemmas that emerged in…

Despite the increasing interest in data analytics applications within postgraduate education research, there remains a significant gap in research dedicated to exploring mixed methods research for such investigations. This study undertook to bridge this gap by exploring the application and use of mixed methods research to examine data analytics…

Decolonial research helps us move away from extractive research methodologies that maintain the "wounded subject position" and legitimize oppressive practices. Additionally, decolonial research challenges dominant Eurocentric paradigms that have historically shaped the counseling profession. Thus, we offer this article to demonstrate an…

This is an exploration of challenges faced by bachelor's students during the thesis-writing process and the development of a model to simplify and visualise this research journey. Drawing from literature and insights gained through supervision observations and interviews, the model addresses common challenges such as topic selection,…

In this paper, we suggest that in most cases there is no need for a lengthy description of methodological procedures in qualitative higher education journal articles. Doing so often adds no real value beyond creating a scientific façade, and the space this requires as a proportion of the total paper word limit could be better utilized for crafting…

Early career academics (ECAs) are a highly vulnerable group, typically facing job insecurities, persistent pressure to publish, and conflicts in academic values and beliefs. Researchers have noted the precarious position of ECAs in neoliberal universities and expressed growing concerns regarding the effects of neoliberalism within higher education…

The revamp of the National Student Survey (NSS) has led to the elimination of the final 'overall satisfaction' question for Higher Education Institutions in England. This paper develops an index approach that can effectively summarise student satisfaction, utilising a 'fuzzy poverty' methodology that assigns weights to dissatisfaction outcomes…

Progress in understanding students' development of psychological literacy is critical. However, generative AI represents an emerging threat to higher education which may dramatically impact on student learning and how this learning transfers to their practice. This research investigated whether ChatGPT responded in ways that demonstrated…

Many previous studies have indicated that teachers often hold a blend of conceptions of teaching, combining both teacher-oriented and student-oriented perspectives. This research extends the existing literature by investigating whether these mixed conceptions lead to dissonant combinations, and by examining how teachers perceive and manage these…