Randomized controlled trials are a special case of designs using an unbiased instrument to take care of confounders even if they are unmeasured or unknown. Another example of studies using instrumental variables is the Mendelian experiment and Directed Acyclic Graphs show the power of such designs to enhance the internal validity. It is argued…

The project described in this paper included a bold attempt to involve a person with learning difficulties as a co-researcher. The authors are uncompromisingly honest in their appraisal of how this initiative did not work out as well as they had hoped, and blame themselves for not setting up the infrastructure for it sufficiently well. One point…

In this article we argue that when university researchers engage in democratic participatory action research with schools the process requires a special type of attention to the ethical difficulties which can arise. We note how current professional standards of ethics are inadequate to fully address many of the dilemmas faced in collaborative…

Justifiably concerned about power dynamics between researchers and participants in participatory research, much of the literature proposes guidelines for including participant voices at every step of the research process. We find these guidelines insufficient for dealing with constraints set up by the social organizational structures in which…

An original goal of Chicano Studies was to promote improvement of social and economic conditions in the community, with Chicana and Chicano scholars at the forefront of community struggles. Within this perspective, research is problem-based and part of the community action process. Chicano community groups want to work with researchers and…

An anthropologist of Indigenous descent reflects on challenges confronting researchers in mainstream institutions as they pursue respectful research relationships with Indigenous peoples. Challenges include differing cultural attitudes toward knowledge and research, institutional policies on publication and intellectual property, political issues,…

Using a personal anecdotal style, this paper describes ethical conflicts that occurred during a study conducted in a kindergarten classroom in which the researcher was a passive observer. The paper is framed around an incident observed by the researcher in which a kindergarten student was stigmatized as an outsider and mistreated by his peer…

Culturally appropriate means of conducting language research among American Indians is critical for maintaining cooperation and for increasing the depth of data collected. The apprentice-elder and fictive kinship models used in research with two Siouan-speaking tribes are discussed, as well as their practical applications, the importance of…

Academic fieldworkers in language-endangered communities must be able to undertake all aspects of linguistic work, elicit linguistic information from speakers, document naturally occurring speech data, present research results in a comprehensible manner to the community and to academia, and develop cooperative programs based on mutual trust.…

To successfully maintain endangered Native American languages, Native communities must collectively recognize their language's vulnerability and commit to its continuity. Linguists need more experience with fieldwork and pragmatics, knowledge of various language transmission practices in cultures other than their own, an understanding of cultural…

A participatory action research project (a minieconomy) raised the following issues: unpredictability of outcomes, degree of control over the agenda, understanding of what is meant by "research," and the struggle to engage in systematic reflection during the experience. (SK)

Describes a participatory research project that involved adult education practitioners in the Caribbean in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Explains how participatory research is the process by which knowledge is generated and skills are acquired, by both the researcher and the researched. (SK)

In this paper I ask how educational researchers can believe the subjective perceptions of qualitative participant-observers given the concern for objectivity and generalisability of experimental research in the behavioural and social sciences. I critique the most common answer to this question within the educational research community, which…

Discusses three approaches to participatory research typically followed by academics: (1) initiator, (2) consultant, and (3) collaborator. Argues that participatory research is part of a larger community-change project, and that determining how academics will fit in the project requires answering several questions about the nature of individual…

This article discusses the dearth of qualitative and quantitative research in "Religious Education." There is a growing concern in educational journals that the field must respond to the needs of practitioners and publish what has been called "really useful knowledge" (Johnson 1988, 21-22). In "Religious Education," 86.5% of the published articles…