This paper reflects on the use of methods in higher education research. My point of departure is that it appears that higher education scholars -- publishing their work in what we generally see as the relevant higher education journals of our field -- make use of a limited set of methods. Whereas there may be good reasons to select certain…

This paper outlines the impact of phenomenography on higher education research and academic development. Interest in phenomenography as an educational research methodology continues to grow, but with interest growing faster than the number of experienced researchers, some misunderstandings of the approach have arisen and been circulating in…

Early career academics (ECAs) are a highly vulnerable group, typically facing job insecurities, persistent pressure to publish, and conflicts in academic values and beliefs. Researchers have noted the precarious position of ECAs in neoliberal universities and expressed growing concerns regarding the effects of neoliberalism within higher education…

This paper argues that public accountability discourse and research quality processes designed to support it are associated with the validation of methodological approaches in social research which claim to capture the real condition of the social world and to remedy its ailments, supporting an expansion of representative modes of scholarship, and…

AI and robots have the potential to transform Higher Education (HE) but pose many ethical and implementation challenges. To ensure the widest debate about our choices for the future of HE with these technologies, engaging ways to present the issues are needed and this article is part of an exploration of the potential of fictional narratives to do…

This article weighs in on the developing discourse on AI's role in higher education research through a structured dialogue between two diametrically opposed academics. Utilising a dialectical framework, the discourse transcends surface-level debates to grapple with ethical, methodological, and epistemological questions that are often overlooked,…

In this article, we present a critical reflection on the academy's approach to knowledge production and dissemination in Australian universities and propose a paradigm shift towards an approach that actively promotes Indigenous knowledges within the academic canon and searches for complementarity and shared interests between Indigenous and Western…

Higher education (HE) research often draws on a range of qualitative research approaches. However, some methods developed in other fields are underutilised in HE research, even though they could be of great use for answering particular kinds of research questions, or for involving students more actively in the research process. In this article, we…

Previous research has found the field of higher education, particularly in the United States, is dominated by functionalist approaches, a preponderance of survey data, and the ubiquitous use of advanced quantitative methods to investigate educational phenomena. This descriptive study aims to illuminate why the field is constructed in this way.…

The paper explores a collaborative self-study, autoethnography research project, which aided in informing practice for the teaching of reflective practice in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at an Australian university. Self-report methods were used, because it enabled the collection of a variety of self-awareness data…

Learning about teaching through inquiry is a sound practice for professional development and the university teacher-as-researcher is now commonplace. With the proliferation of inquiry-based postgraduate programmes in university teaching, more academics from across the disciplines are learning new ways of doing research. In this paper, I draw on 10…

This article is about being and becoming a qualitative researcher in Turkey, a context with a distinctive quantitative tradition shaped by the post-positivist paradigm where qualitative research has not yet reached the mature stage it enjoys elsewhere. Exploring the challenges of swimming against the tide unattended and keeping going, it argues…

Universities are built upon the collaborative work of academic staff and students, yet the nature of this work has been undergoing profound and rapid change. Pressures within Australia's higher education sector have led to a fracturing of traditional academic roles and growing feelings of disconnection. While there have been many narrative,…

Universities are under stress and pressures to critically evaluate and reform curriculum and the way learning and teaching are implemented. Tensions appear to exist among the external pressures, the organisational structure of universities and their daily operations that are often conflicted and appear to work against coherence and depth in…

The principles of social inclusion have been embraced by institutions across the higher education sector but their translation into practice through pedagogy is not readily apparent. This paper examines perceptions of social inclusion and inclusive pedagogies held by academic staff at an Australian university. Of specific interest were the…