Approaches and methods for research into teaching

Many academics are experienced researchers but they may not be so familiar with approaches used in practitioner research. Some may not be experienced in research involving people (students and colleagues) in ‘real life’ contexts such as classrooms and other settings for teaching and learning. This type of research calls for different methods from, say, those in natural sciences, where often there can be some control over what is done. Where people are the research participants, it is difficult (impossible) to control the conditions and make tidy experimental groups. Data may be in the form of words, for example, when people are asked for their opinions and reactions, or they may be in the form of information from observations or from documents. The complexities of people and their contexts requires flexible research designs which often use a mixture of methods.