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| In a world where new ideas, new processes and new technologies can be communicated and implemented with unprecedented speed, the capacity of a society both to create and introduce beneficial innovation is vital to its economic success and its social and cultural vitality. Most of this innovative capacity is derived from research. The goal of educational research is to explain, predict, and/or control educational phenomena. It creates the new knowledge that is the ultimate source of most innovation in the economy, society and culture; and provides a framework for an education through which the scepticism, creativity and high level capability that society needs are embodied in people. Successful educational research depends upon a culture that values curiosity, scepticism, serendipity, creativity and genius. Without individuals with those values and the potential to embody them, internationally competitive educational research will not develop. The co-location of research and teaching in the same institution is essential. Students need to develop these values and capabilities during their education. They can only be acquired if the educational environment itself is one that embodies them through deep familiarity with the practice of research that addresses the boundaries of human knowledge. One of the major constraints on the effectiveness of educational research is its fragmented nature : overall resources are low; research for most academics is a part-time activity fitted around other pressing demands; and there are few instances of sustained programmes of research as opposed to small-scale individual projects. One way to address the issues of relevance and effectiveness is priority setting and a concentration of research effort, especially more extensive use of teams of researchers, and research centres. The present publication in four volumes provides information about the nature of educational research : its purposes, forms, and importance. It provides information which helps students to become more intelligent consumers of educational research : where to locate it, how to understand it and critique it. It also provides information on the fundamentals of doing educational research such as selecting a problem, using available tools, organising a project, etc. This work will be a highly beneficial reference tool for researchers, educationists, policy makers, teachers and students in need of guidance on how to conduct research. |
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