In this reply to Crippen & Robinson's (2013) contribution to "Language Documentation & Conservation," we discuss recent perspectives on "collaborative" linguistics and the many roles that linguists play in language communities. We question Crippen & Robinson's characterization of the state of the field and their…

This article responds to recent critiques of the usefulness of research findings to teaching, and the call for teachers to rely on their experiences and intuition. I discuss the fallibility of intuition and then examine the nature of research and of critical thinking and their importance for teachers and teacher education. I provide evidence of…

Informal science education is a broad field of research marked by fuzzy boundaries, tensions, and muddles among many disciplines, making for an unclear future trajectory (or trajectories) for the field of study. In this commentary, I unpack some of the hidden dimensions, tensions and challenges the five articles raise or point to implicitly in…

The article engages with the opportunities and constraints raised by embedded research during times of rapid and extensive organisational change. Embedded research is an increasingly common approach for funding PhD studentships. The rapid and extensive reforms of the English public sector pose significant and underexplored challenges for embedded…

This response to Vassiliki Papatsiba's article on collaboration draws attention to structural barriers to collaborative research: for example, increased competition for scarce resources, increased steering of research, and the casualisation of research workers. It draws on experience of collaborative work in a large, EU-funded project to…

It was critical that the U.S. Supreme Court have the best empirical evidence available to help inform its decisions in "Fisher." The "amicus" brief filed by 444 researchers from 172 institutions in 42 states was the result of a collaborative effort among members of the social science, educational, and legal communities. In her role as counsel of…

The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) represents teachers and researchers of composition and communication in all possible genres, media, contexts, and exigencies; for the purpose of these guidelines, "writers" and "writing" will be all-encompassing, and the term "researcher" will refer to…

We live in difficult times--socially, economically and politically--and it is right that learned societies, such as the British Educational Research Association, reflect on their purpose and direction. We cannot take for granted the social contract that supports the funding of social science and educational research. This paper reflects on…

This commentary discusses the emergence of youth development research and evaluation in the nonprofit arena over the past 10 to 15 years. Included in this discussion is the establishment of the context for youth development research in nonprofits, a brief description of key examples of research from three youth nonprofits that illustrate the…

While the last 10 years have seen a significant increase in research published on early intervention and autism, there is a persistent disconnect between educational research and practice. Governments have invested significant funds in autism education, and a range of approaches have been implemented in schools, but there is limited research…

Despite years of controversy about what counts as rigorous educational research and significant amounts of taxpayers' support for related reform of U.S. public schools, serious inequities in U.S. K-12 education remain. The authors of this essay bring the perspectives of two tenured university teacher educators who share a background of over 40…

The author responds to comments by Barone (2009), Clandinin and Murphy (2009), and M. W. Smith (2009) on "The Construction Zone: Literary Elements in Narrative Research" (Coulter & M. L. Smith, 2009). She clarifies issues regarding point of view, authorial surplus, narrative coherence, and the relational qualities of narrative research. She…

This article is a response to Greenbank's (2006) "The academic's role: the need for a re-evaluation?" It is also a contribution to the ongoing debate about the need to develop a broader view of scholarship and the different activities related to it such as "teaching", "research" and "service to the community". Arguments related to current research…

This essay is an attempt to continue the reflective element that was a part of a dissertation based on a study of the development of a culturally relevant curriculum in a tribal school. As a reflective retrospection on the anthropological research methodology, it examines the intersection of academic research traditions, the traditions of the…

Reflection on the authors' seven-year research partnership and interviews with six participants in other partnerships identified requisites for effective collaboration: dialog, trustworthiness, competence, and flexibility. Successful relationships were characterized by acceptance, validation, commitment, synergy, and fun, with increased…