This article is a response to the growing criticisms of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) ethical guidelines on anonymity and pseudonymity as default positions for participants in qualitative educational research. It discusses and responds to those criticisms under four…

Reviews research on teaching and makes an appeal for involving classroom teachers as field workers and partners in applied pedagogical research. Covers difficulties involved with such an approach, the need for replication, teacher training and the problem of generalization. (JDH)

Describes recent developments in United Kingdom politics that have affected development of evidence-based policy for children. Examines the notion of "what works," leading to a suggestion that evaluators be concerned with "what is worth doing" for children. Considers robustness as a guiding principle for evaluation design and…

Two papers respond to an article by P. Atkinson, S. Delamont, and M. Hammersley (1988) critiquing papers by E. Jacob (1987, 1988) on qualitative research traditions. The use of T. Kuhn's concept of "paradigm" and the criticism that the British were not included in the Jacob's study are addressed. (TJH)

Addresses strategies needed in using longitudinal data on psychopathology to test cause-and-effect relationships, including natural experiments, testing of competing hypotheses on mechanisms, study of reversal effects, multiple replications in different circumstances, use of designs to dissociate possible mechanisms, testing for dose-response…

Discusses the history of evaluation research, focusing on current emphasis on "evidence-based policy." Highlights five issues emerging as relevant: evaluation can be done in many ways, serious doubts exist about the usefulness of the term "evaluation," evaluation is held back by paradigm wars, views of evaluation are…

Provides an overview of ethical issues related to social research with children. Sets discussion in context of current debates in Britain and explores extent to which children should be regarded as similar to or different from adults, particularly children's supposed position as vulnerable, incompetent, and relatively powerless in society. Offers…

Prepared to advise the Social Science Research Council, this report suggests funding priorities for a program of research in the field of educational applications of information technology, with special reference to the primary and secondary sectors. A discussion of the research program initiative context includes the contributions of governmental…

Considers the competing demands placed on evaluators in relation to the service (characteristics of the intervention), the sample (people participating), and methodology or research design. Explores compromises that may be required between scientific ideals and real-world limitations, and assesses implications for obtaining meaningful results in…

These proceedings of a conference on research in the field of adult education contain the texts of 40 conference papers and 4 symposia. Included among the areas examined in the individual reports are the following: education participation scale factor structure and correlates for 12,000 learners, a comparative analysis of adult education research…

Possible ways of conducting research examining the changing context of workplace basic skills policy in the United Kingdom were explored. First, workplace literacy was examined from the perspective of its role in the U.K. government's lifelong learning agenda, and existing research in workplace literacy policy and related studies were reviewed.…

Racial and cultural diversity issues have been a source of some interest amongst outdoor and environmental educators. Early research was framed in terms of the "under-participation" of people of colour, which led to the development of ethnocentric and methodologically problematical "marginality" and "ethnicity"…

This document contains three papers on key skills and competencies and human resource development (HRD). "Career Related Competencies" (Marinka A.C.T. Kuijpers) reports findings from surveys completed by Dutch employees who identified these issues: self-reflection is more important than career control; age and gender influence attitude…