In this article, we critique two recent theoretical developments about collaborative inquiry in evaluation--using logic models as a means to understand theory, and efforts to compartmentalize versions of collaborative inquiry into discrete genres--as a basis for considering future direction for the field. We argue that collaborative inquiry in…

What if Stephen Douglas instead of Abraham Lincoln had won the U.S. presidential election of 1860? What if John F. Kennedy had not carried some of the eight states he won by 2 percentage points or fewer in 1960? What if six hundred more people in Florida had voted for Al Gore in 2000? And what if, in that same year, the U.S. House of…

Sound evaluation planning requires numerous decisions about how constructs in a program theory will be translated into measures and instruments that produce evaluation data. This article, the first in a dialogue exchange, examines how decisions about measurement are (and should be) made, especially in the context of small-scale local program…

Regular evaluation of archival reference services is essential to ensure that users have appropriate access to the information they need. Archives New Zealand has been measuring customer satisfaction for many years using self-completion questionnaires but recently trialed two new methods of evaluation, using external research companies. One…

The use of numerical/quantitative data in qualitative research studies and reports has been controversial. Prominent qualitative researchers such as Howard Becker and Martyn Hammersley have supported the inclusion of what Becker called "quasi-statistics": simple counts of things to make statements such as "some," "usually," and "most" more…

This article examines the Framework for Participation: a research tool established to support a recently completed study. The research was undertaken to explore the relationship between achievement and inclusion because headteachers and teachers in some schools continue to resist becoming more inclusive in their student intake on the grounds that…

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe a design that mixes single-case (sometimes referred to as single-subject) and qualitative methods, hereafter referred to as a single-case mixed methods design (SCD-MM). Minimal attention has been given to the topic of applying qualitative methods to SCD work in the literature. These two…

Selection bias is a problem for mathematics education researchers interested in using observational rather than experimental data to make causal inferences about the effects of different instructional methods in mathematics on student outcomes. Propensity score methods represent 1 approach to dealing with such selection bias. This article…

The article describes an experiment in which two researchers engaged in developing poetic forms of representing qualitative empirical research switch their individually produced empirical material and work simultaneously on each other's products. The intention is to investigate what we, as researchers, are adding to and extracting from the…

While much has been written on the problems that can arise when interviewing respondents from a different social group, less attention has been paid to its potential benefits for the research process. In this paper we argue that, by being conscious of one's outsider status, an interviewer can use it as a tool through which to elicit detailed and…

This paper reports on the use of video to enhance qualitative research. Advances in technology have improved our ability to capture lived experiences through visual means. I reflect on my previous work with individuals living with HIV/AIDS, the results of which are described in another paper, to evaluate the effectiveness of video as a medium that…

Rosenthal and Rubin introduced a general effect size index, r[subscript equivalent], for use in meta-analyses of two-group experiments; it employs p values from reports of the original studies to determine an equivalent t test and the corresponding point-biserial correlation coefficient. The present investigation used Monte Carlo-simulated…

Combining diverse methods in a single study raises a problem: What should be done when the findings of one method of investigation conflict with those of another? We illustrate this problem using an example in which three study phases--quantitative, qualitative, and intervention--were applied. The findings coming from the quantitative phase did…

Epistemic problems exist when researching painting as adult learning. Painting has non-linear emergent properties. When video-recording and images are used to enable inquiry, and there is a desire to adhere to hermeneutic principles, then painting begins to inform the research output. In this way the emergent content determined the emerging form…

This article presents a methodology for obtaining information about some of the significant variables relevant to the integration of graduates into the work force. After revisiting the main issues dealt with in previous research on the professional integration of graduates, research was carried out to identify the major issues and a survey was…