THE NEW OPENNESS IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

This companion to educational research turns to the theme of “representing educational research, ” following sections on “conceptualizing educational research ” and “contextualizing educational research. ” The act of representing research would seem to entail writing up the work, placing it within the context of research in the area, describing the design and methodological choices made, analyzing the findings and drawing conclusions on the results of the research. Representing the research would also seem to involve making the work public, perhaps by initially presenting it in a conference setting and then selecting a suitable publication vehicle for it, most likely a peer-reviewed journal. It might also involve, less commonly, submitting a summary of the research to a professional/trade magazine, or an op-ed piece for the newspapers or, in very recent times, a blog posting. All of this representational work forms a significant aspect of doing research, one that is taking on a particular importance as more people are asking about the contribution research makes to education and as evidence-based policy initiatives in education, such as the No Child Left Behind Act in the United States, identify research as a necessary basis for program support. Educational researchers would seem to face an increased responsibility for the reach an