This article responds to recent calls for greater clarity and transparency regarding methods in qualitative research. On the basis of a 3-year ethnographic study of the overrepresentation of minorities in special education, the authors address key tenets of grounded theory and attempt to reconcile some of the methodological challenges inherent in…

Synthesizes the results of three previous task force efforts into a list of 25 tasks frequently needed in educational research and evaluation, and the skills and knowledge required to perform them. Tasks listed hold for the late 60's and early 70's. Developments subsequent to 1971 are not considered. (AM)

The exchange among M. McKenna, R. Robinson, and J. Miller and C. Edelsky about language instruction is a starting point for an examination of what is behind the current fragmentation in educational research. It is argued that this fragmentation results from the use of different vocabularies to tell stories about research. (SLD)

Examines difficulties in turning educational practitioners into educational researchers as U.S. education schools, noting factors affecting the way that doctoral programs function at education schools based on differences between schools and universities and between the work roles of teachers and researchers. The transition is facilitated by…

Discusses the declining number of Blacks entering the field of educational research and the lack of support for those Black scholars in academe resulting in racial prejudice, discrimination, and lack of mentoring. Suggests ways that Black faculty could increase their numbers and enhance professional development. (FMW)

Explores some prospects for electronic publishing in educational research. Advantages and drawbacks of electronic publishing are reviewed. Decisions about electronic publishing are actually debates about views of knowledge, writing, and the nature of the scholarly community. Education may be affected more significantly than other fields by changes…

Beginning educational researchers are advised to do the following: (1) choose a research focus with reference to events in the real world of education; (2) augment research with products and services to bring about improvements in educational practice; and (3) find an honest critic to review research work. (SLD)

Suggests that to bring about a fusion of teacher and researcher communities in education requires a change in emphasis from the generation of knowledge to dialog about what counts as knowledge. Bases the case for dialogic research on the theories of Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin. (SLD)

Describes and critiques recent changes in educational inquiry by outlining the themes and implications of the current interest in postmodernism. The focus is on changes in methodology, summative content, and disciplinary foundations. The relationship of these changes to educational research and the training of researchers is discussed. (SLD)

This reply to an article on educational research by Chester E. Finn agrees that the U.S. Department of Education does not give enough support to research, but disagrees with Finn's analysis. What is needed is a strong infrastructure for educational research. This in turn will inspire educators to identify and examine the important questions. (VM)

Relativism is an inevitable consequence of our interpretive mode of being in the world. This is so for both our daily lives and our professional lives. What does not overly concern us at the former level should likewise not concern us at the latter level. (Author/BJV)

Probes two aspects of scientific communication: (1) the extent to which journal article authors continue work in the same area as their articles; (2) the sources of information used by active researchers in conjunction with their current research. (Author/JM)

Summarizes issues raised by E. D. Wong (1995) on the teacher as researcher that argued the presence of conflict of purpose and conduct. Argues that while conflict of purpose or conduct may not exist, tension does exist in terms of research time and tasks. Further argues that the conflict-versus-compatibility issue can be transcended. (GR)

Finding improved ways to train education researchers has taken on new urgency as federal legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 call for "scientifically based research in education." The authors of this article suggest an approach to socializing doctoral students to a common…

Two matters of deep concern in the Feuer, Towne, and Shavelson article are the focus of this commentary. First, the authors agree that legislative mandates reifying particular methodological approaches would be ill informed and misdirected. Rather, what is legislatively appropriate is a mandate for rigorous peer review of federally funded work…