Background: Understanding knowledge utilisation in policymaking is a core task for the social and political sciences. However, limitations and biases abound in commonplace approaches to measuring such use. Consequently, we have little systematic evidence of the extent to which knowledge sources are used in policy decisions. Aims and objectives:…

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health is a biopsychosocial framework of health-related functioning designed to provide a unifying system for health care, social services, education, and policy sectors. Since its publication in 2001, the International Classification of Functioning has been used to guide clinical…

This chapter calls for researchers to reconceptualize research quality from the perspective of its expected use, attending to power dynamics that influence how knowledge is defined, constructed, and validated through the research enterprise. Addressing these concerns when designing and conducting education research can yield more useful research…

Currently, when there is a lot of political talk about the need for "evidence-based policy", and when public policy seeks to calibrate research quality and impact, there is a pressing need to reconsider the relationships between education/al research and education policy. This article seeks to do this, beginning with considerations of the…

Discusses the characteristics of educational research in Poland and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe under communism and the implications of the postcommunist changes for the future of educational research. Educational researchers could play an important role in developing more informed educational policies. (SLD)

The goal of this primer is to help policymakers and other interested individuals answer three big questions: (1) What does the research say? (2) Is the research trustworthy? (3) How can the research be used to guide policy? Answering these questions will help policymakers: (1) make evidenced-based decisions about education policies; (2) gain a…

The popularity of using qualitative, or ethnographic, research methods to improve educational practices is increasing. However, an examination of how research findings are translated into policy is necessary to assess accurately the extent to which this goal can be realized. This paper assesses the efficiency of four strategies for increasing…

The Project on Secondary Analysis directed its attention to methodology and policy issues, focusing on reanalysis of existing data (1979-82)--surveys, program evaluations, etc.--as a vehicle for learning how to improve methods of obtaining and analyzing data, designing program evaluations, and constructing policy to enhance the quality and utility…

A critique of a research study regarding policy formation at the state level is presented, focusing on the "assumptive world" of the researchers. While the researchers have created a new vista for study in this area, there is a great need for improved mthodology. (CB)

Results of evaluation research studies, even those that are meticulously designed and carefully executed, often are not implemented. This article examines some of the critical factors that mediate between the carrying out of evaluation research and the utilization of findings. To illustrate these factors, two case studies are analyzed. (Author/EGS)

Discusses four issues: the difference between policy research and basic research; the importance of policy research for basic research; the generalizability of field studies; and the relationship of both of the professor in the professional school to the client in the field and of the professional school to the overall society. (JM)

Reviews some major characteristics of ethnography as they apply to policy issues and policy formulation, and ethnography's utility from the perspective of how public educational policy is made. Discusses the potential contributions of ethnography and the responsibilities ethnographers must consider if their work is to have an impact on public…

Discusses the character of the field study and its place in the scientific venture, notes the characteristic attitude toward the relationship between data and hypotheses held by the field researcher, addresses the requirements of educational policy research, and explores the fit between these and the field study's character. (Author/JM)

This paper compares and contrasts two types of social research--policy-oriented research (practical and/or applied social discipline research) and academic social science research (theory-oriented experimental research). Data are based on 120 projects of social policy research conducted in The Netherlands in the areas of industrial and labor…