This article reflects on the effect of gatekeepers, guides and ghosts on gaining access to research participants and field sites. Using a critically reflective approach, we examine our role as researchers and the roles of intermediaries in the process to access schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show how gaining access is a…

This paper addresses the issue of how local and global norms and requirements are negotiated in the early stages of development of Social Science research ethics policy in a Global South context. A review of relevant literature followed by analysis of relevant national and institutional policies highlights both tensions and creative potential for…

This research note offers a critical reflection of the process of conducting qualitative research in the Irish primary school setting. The research discussed took place during the school year 2016-2017. It explored primary school children's understandings of citizenship and, the kinds of collective social actions they participated in as citizens…

This paper examines the experiences of educational researchers undertaking fieldwork within three Central Asian countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Drawing on interviews with educational researchers from within and outside the region, the findings show that researchers encounter numerous ethical and methodological challenges in the…

Data analysis is a significant methodological component when conducting quantitative education studies. Guidelines for conducting data analyses in quantitative education studies are common but often underemphasize four important methodological components impacting the validity of inferences: quality of constructed measures, proper handling of…

The main purpose of this qualitative study is to identify the lived experiences of academicians working in the field of educational administration in Turkey with regard to obtaining permission for scientific research in educational institutions and examine it within the context of academic freedom and ethics. A case-study approach was used to…

This paper is a version of the author's Keynote Address at the Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (OCIES) Annual Conference on November 21, 2018. She talks about the history of comparative education and how the it relates to the Oceania region. It is a field that relies heavily on accounts of Oceanic lives and classrooms…

In this paper, four critical friends meet to discuss qualitative research practices. Together they put one of their own case studies under the knife and deconstruct it to investigate the possibilities that knowledge work is complicated not only by the dynamics of socially constructed enterprises and the actors involved therein, but by the…

Drawing on the recent critiques of the global knowledge economy of social science research, this article explores possible ways in which the Japanese education research communities can reposition themselves in the wider international education research community. The premises of this discussion are that there exists a global structure of academic…

Arts-based practices, although familiar in some areas of educational research have the capacity to surprise and to shock: they hold promise but also pose risks. In this essay we introduce arts-based research practices and in particular cut-up and collage. We invite readers to reflect on our experiences of arts-based educational research activities…

This is an exploration of methodological debates related to ethnographic research. Reflection on conducting research on school choice in an Australian regional centre is the beginning point for a discussion of what Appadurai describes as a dialectical relationship between the neighbourhood and its capacity to exist and reshape itself in relation…

Aims and objectives: The importance of childhood physical activity is widely recognised. Helping children to articulate their opinions is a crucial factor in improving their health and well-being, yet the field is predominantly focused on adult-led quantitative methods and lacks deeper understanding from a child perspective. Methods: This paper…

In Australia, both Christian and non-Christian higher education institutions (HEIs) have experienced a rapidly changing external environment that is becoming more performance-driven, particularly in relation to faculty research. Academics working in Australian Christian HEIs often feel pressure to keep pace with their counterparts in non-Christian…

This article reports on the experiences of a novice researcher undertaking a National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) scholarship programme. A summary of the research is provided, which involved a survey of international students completing vocational education and training (VET) courses in Tasmania. Whilst many students reported…

Cross-language qualitative research in education continues to increase. However, there has been inadequate discussion in the literature concerning the translation process that ensures research trustworthiness applicable for bilingual researchers. Informed by the literature on evaluation criteria for qualitative data translation, this paper…