Since about 2003, the notion of threshold concepts--the central ideas in any field that change how learners think about other ideas--have become difficult to escape at library conferences and in general information literacy discourse. Their visibility will likely only increase because threshold concepts figure prominently in the Framework for…

Action research as a methodology is suitable for use within academic library settings. Its theoretical foundations are located in several disciplines and its applications span across many professions. In this article, an overview of the theoretical beginnings and evolution of action research is presented. Approaches generally used in conducting an…

Research models that bridge disciplinary, theoretical, and methodological boundaries are increasingly common as funders and the public push for effective responses to pressing social problems. Although social work is inherently an integrative discipline, there is growing recognition of the need to better prepare emerging scholars for sophisticated…

When we conceptualize and undertake new research projects, a number of the associated activities require us to take on the role of an historian: there is historical research to do. Those activities include determining whether there is a compelling case for embarking on the project in the light of previous research, making design decisions that…

UK-based teacher educators formed the core membership of the History of Education Society when it was founded in 1967, and they were frequent early contributors to the Society's journals. Given these origins, one might imagine that the history of teacher education would have featured more prominently in the pages of the first 40 volumes of the…

This article concerns the introduction of evidence-based practice (EBP) in foundation research. Five suggestions are discussed: (a) EBP relative to other epistemologies, (b) EBP in the context of the history of science, (c) research designs and levels of EBP, (d) EBP and measurement, and (e) systematic reviews as a review topic of the content of…

Beginning with calls for methodological diversity in counseling psychology, this article addresses the history and current state of qualitative research in counseling psychology. It identifies the historical and disciplinary origins as well as basic assumptions and underpinnings of qualitative research in general, as well as within counseling…

From a rhetorical perspective, Mendel's work and its reception elicit two important questions: (a) why were Mendel's arguments so compelling to 20th century biologists? And (b) why where they so roundly ignored by his contemporaries? The focus of this article is to examine the latter question while commenting on the former by employing several…

Research on Problem-Based Learning in medical education has undergone an evolutionary process from initial proof of concept studies through critiques of the original methods and beyond. Initial studies focused on whether or not the instructional method was effective for medical students and the goals of medical education. Despite much movement…

This occasional paper introduces the methods of research synthesis and meta-analysis to researchers and consumers of research in the field of adult learning and literacy. To begin, the first section of the paper defines key terms and offers a brief history of how the methodologies developed. The second section provides a conceptualization of…

Sketches some events in the life and career of Lowry Nelson, a rural sociologist, and relates these events to the development of rural sociology and the Rural Sociological Society. Asserts that the dream of using science to ameliorate social problems during the early development of rural sociology is still present today. (KS)

This paper reports on some of the theories and methods that could characterize historical study in the field of educational technology. After a discussion of the importance of historical study, it provides background about the problems facing the uses of different historical methods in the study of educational technology. Difficulties arise when…

The last 20 years have seen the development of sophisticated techniques for analysing individual data within a hierarchical context and the growing availability of good datasets to which these techniques can be applied. The modelling of pupil performance controlling for prior attainment has led to a type of analysis commonly titled…

Examines the differences in methodology, content, and conclusions among various approaches to music education historical research. Argues that the preeminent role of interpretation in historical research mandates a broad assortment of methodologies including qualitative research. Includes excerpts from four different histories describing a seminal…

Provides a brief overview of the uses of rhetoric in the history of writing about music. Discusses Aristotle's topology of the three different kinds of rhetoric: deliberative, judicial, and epideictic (demonstrative). Includes excerpts from past music criticism, copious notes, and a 27-item bibliography. (MJP)