Overview

This resource will be used to draw together materials that could be helpful to educational researchers at different stages of their careers. The resource is produced as part of the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP)'s commitment to research capacity building. There are a number of general collections of web-based resources on educational research, what we hope makes this one distinctive is the way we draw on the practical experience of the hundreds of researchers involved in TLRP inn order to ground the points we make.

Intute is a free online service which aims to provide a trusted source of selected, high quality Internet information for students, academics, researchers and practitioners in a wide range of subjects: see, for example, Intute Education and Intute: Research Tools and Methods . Each resource has been evaluated and categorised by subject specialists based at UK universities. For an example of content on the site look at their sections on quantitative methods  and  qualitative methods . The Intute Virtual Training Suite also provides an introductory  tutorial in the use of the Internet for education research and teaching , where you can l ook at the range of information about Education on the Internet; g uide you to some key Web sites for teaching and research in Education; and h elp you start collecting your own list of useful Web sites. See especially the sections on  Internet for Social Research Methods , written by Louise Corti of the Depatment of Sociology and Data Archive, University of Essex, and  Internet for Social Statistics , written by Robin Rice of the Edinburgh University Data Library.

There are a number of not for profit research organisations that produce publications which may of interest.  For example the National Centre for Social Research and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation . 

Research in Practice is the largest children and families research implementation project in England and Wales. It is a department of The Dartington Hall Trust run in collaboration with the Association of Directors of Social Services, The University of Sheffield and a network of over 80 participating agencies in the UK. Established in 1996 as an ADSS initiative, research in practice is the largest childcare research implementation project in the country.  Its website includes a section designed to help users find and evaluate research  supporting evidence informed practice with children and families.

*** need to cross-reference to the TLRP Research Capacity Building Network  which was run by a team from Cardiff University from 2001 - 2005.  The purpose of the RCBN was to support the research capacity building activities of the TLRP and, where possible, extend these to the wider educational research community. In particular, the RCBN had been established to facilitate the sharing of research skills, knowledge and expertise, largely by providing and brokering needs-directed research capacity-building activities on a voluntary and career-development basis. ***

The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) facilitates workshops and other activities in relation to a wide range of research techniques, and TLRP's alert service will provide information on these and a wide range of other events. The advent of the National Centre for Research Methods and its nodes offers educational research communities the opportunity to engage in capacities building activities alongside colleagues from different disciplines.

The ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) is a Hub-Node network of research groups, each conducting research and training in an area of social science research methods, coordinated by the Hub at the University of Southampton. The Centre forms part of ESRC's strategy to improve the standards of research methods across the UK social science community. On the site you can search for training events and forthcoming methods workshops, conferences and seminars. Other training opportunities such as placements and apprenticeships are outlined in the pages for individual nodes. You can also access NCRM publications and presentations. They also provide grants to facilitate networks of methodological innovation. You can subscribe to receive information on developments and events in research methods, including a quarterly research methods e-newsletter; a monthly e-bulletin of forthcoming events, courses, training opportunities and so on, offered by ESRC, NCRM, the Research Methods Programme, the Researcher Development Initiative, and related groups.
For further details, see http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/

NCRM nodes:

BIAS: Bayesian methods for combining multiple Individual and Aggregate data Sources in observational studies ( Imperial College)
The aim of BIAS is to develop a set of statistical frameworks for combining data from multiple sources to improve the capacity of social science methods to handle the intricacies of observational data. Bayesian hierarchical models offer a natural tool for linking together many different sub-models and data sources and will be used as the basic building blocks for these developments.
Visit the project at http://www.bias-project.org.uk/ .

LEMMA: Learning environment for multilevel methodology and applications (University of Bristol)
This interdisciplinary Node focuses on the quantitative multilevel analysis of data with complex structure that mirrors substantive research questions. Such complex structure includes household and family data, contextual, neighbourhood and area effects, spatial analytical models, longitudinal data structures, event-duration models, and mover-stayer models. The aim is to develop existing multilevel modelling techniques, apply them to substantive research questions, and to disseminate good practice through capacity building, training workshops and a virtual learning environment.
See: http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/nodes/lemma/about.php

Developing Statistical Modelling in the Social Sciences (Lancaster University & University of Warwick)
The aim of this node will be to develop and extend statistical methodology and models concentrating on substantive problems in the social sciences related to social and developmental change. Specific methodological areas will include the development of pseudo-likelihood methods for mixed-effects statistical models, local likelihood methods for the analysis of event-history data, new models and methods for longitudinal ranked-comparison data, and joint modelling of repeated-measurement and time-to-event data. The methodological programme will involve the development of new algorithms and their implementation as packages, and the group will organise joint meetings where engagement with both the statistics and the social science communities can occur.
See http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/nodes/lw/about.php

Methods for Research Synthesis Programme (Institute of Education, University of London)
Before undertaking any new policy, practice or research or making personal decisions in our lives it can be useful to find out what others already know about the issue. Research synthesis can assist such processes by providing a method for identifying and synthesising the findings of primary research. Methods for research synthesis provide rigorous, explicit, transparent and accountable methods to determine what we know, how we know it, what more we need to know and how we might know it. Research synthesis needs to be question-led, as the questions we ask will determine the answers we find. Methods for Research Synthesis can also inform methods for synthesising primary data other than from research (Methods for Information Synthesis).
See: http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/nodes/mrs/about.php

Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences: Innovation, Integration and Impact (QUALITI) (Cardiff University)
The Cardiff-based QUALITI focuses on the innovation, integration and impact of qualitative research methods, paying particular attention to the social contexts in which research methods and methodologies are situated. The methodological aims include:
• Exploring the opportunities and challenges for integrating different qualitative research approaches, modes of data collection, data types and analytical strategies;
• Exploiting new opportunities for the recording, display and communication of qualitative data;
• Developing innovative and participatory methods of qualitative inquiry; and
• Enhancing the role, impact and understanding of qualitative inquiry in the public domain.
See: http://www.ncrm.ac.uk/nodes/qualiti/about.php

Real Life Methods (Universities of Manchester & Leeds)
The Real Life Methods node aims to pioneer research methods that can grasp the multi-dimensionality of everyday real life. The approach is qualitatively-driven, whilst spanning and transcending the qualitative/quantitative divide. The Node's team and programme of work is interdisciplinary and involves the creative blending of methods, and the development of context sensitive or cross-contextual forms of explanation.
See website for more information: http://www.reallifemethods.ac.uk/

The Research Methods Programme forms part of Council's strategy to improve the standards of research methods across the UK social science community. Programme funding seeks to:
• support substantively focused research that poses interesting or novel methodological issues;
• foster work that directly enhances methodological knowledge or improves and advances quantitative and qualitative methods;
• encourage and support the dissemination of good practice, including the enhancement of training programmes and training materials for the research community;
• establish Fellowships linked to research funded through this Programme, or linked to existing centres of methodological excellence;
• promote cross-national initiatives involving substantively focused and methodologically innovative research
The Programme Director is Angela Dale, based in the Centre for Census and Survey Research at the University of Manchester.
If you would like to receive information on the events and activities of the programme, you can register at http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/methods/

Research Methods Festival 2006
The second Research Methods Festival was held from Monday 17 July - Thursday 20 July 2006 at St Catherine's College, Oxford.  Almost 1,000 social scientists attended over the four days of the event. PowerPoint overheads or papers are available on the programme website for most presentations. There are also links to further resources and short courses.
See: http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/methods/festival/index.html

The National Centre for e-Social Science
The National Centre for e-Social Science (NCeSS) is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to investigate how innovative and powerful computer-based infrastructure and tools developed over the past five years under the UK e-Science programme can benefit the social science research community. This infrastructure is commonly known as the 'Grid'.
e-Social Science refers to the use of Grid infrastructure and tools within the social sciences. The role of NCeSS is to investigate specific applications of e-Social Science, develop tools to support them and to advise on the future strategic direction of e-Social Science and e-Science. NCeSS also provides information, training, advice, support and online resources to help the social science research community adopt e-Social Science. The centre consists of a coordinating Hub at the University of Manchester, seven Research Nodes and 12 Small Grant projects. Their research programme includes applications of e-Science in both quantitative and qualitative social sciences, and studies of issues relevant to promoting the wider adoption of e-Science.
http://www.ncess.ac.uk/

The Researcher Development Initiative
The Researcher Development Initiative supports the training and development of researchers in the social sciences at all stages of their career. Established by ESRC's Training and Development Board, RDI contributes to the development of a robust national training infrastructure intended to drive forward research training in a systematic way.
RDI aims to facilitate the production and deployment of a range of activities and resources, including student-led activities; training for research students and researchers throughout their career; regional training events; and the development and use of new tools and packages for training purposes.
The Researcher Development Initiative is linked closely with other ESRC training activities and resources, such as the National Centre for Research Methods, and the Research Methods Programme.
See http://www.rdi.ac.uk/

The Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education  (CUREE) "supports and develops the effective use of research and evidence in education in order to improve practice and policy and to help raise standards." It works at the leading edge of research and evidence-informed practice in collaboration with a range of individuals and organisations. It aims to make research and evidence useful and attractive to practitioners and policy makers. It produces publications that may be of interest for reseachers: see, for example: their publications and resources sections.

Also on the Internet there have been attempts to reproduce complete textbooks on Research Methods in a web-based format: one example of this is the Research Methods Knowledge Base  which is a comprehensive web-based textbook that addresses all of the topics in a typical American introductory undergraduate or graduate course in social research methods. 

TLRP showcase:  

TLRP project discussions about methodological frameworks

Early Career Learning at Work (LiNEA) Project Methodology and Theoretical Frameworks

Stephen Steadman (2004) produced the paper as an example of an extended commentary on methodological issues associated with researching learning at work. It is drawn from the TLRP project on Early Career Learning . The researchers on this project had to devise a methodology to address the problems of accessing hard information on what people need to know at work when most learning at work is informal and therefore unlikely to be readily acknowledged or scarcely remembered without some pertinent prompting.

Discussion on the nature of cause:effect models

The role of cause and effect in education as a social science  is discussed by by Stephen Gorard in TLRP RCBN Occasional Paper 43.

Discussion on the nature of generalisation

Fuzzy generalisations and best estimates of trustworthiness: a step towards transforming research knowledge about learning into effective teaching practice
by Michael Bassey (2000), former Academic Secretary of British Educational Research Association.