The puzzle of how to connect research with policy and practice is a vital area for scientific inquiry. The William T. Grant Foundation believes that attempts to improve the use of research evidence in policy and practice should be subject to rigorous theory building and empirical analysis. The stakes are high for the research community: If we do…

While scholars develop research with clear implications for policy and practice, this work has been largely ineffective in influencing thought beyond the academy. In this article, we explore challenges researchers face in designing public scholarship to influence policy. To illustrate, we profile one such effort, the "Opportunity to Learn…

One of the major successes of advanced quantitative methods has been its seeming ability to provide unbiased determinations of which education practices are effective for education in general and for improving the educational achievement and opportunity of the neediest students. The power of this methodology as applied in the top education…

In the current article, we consider the influential position of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and discuss several methodological areas that demonstrate the need for caution when using and interpreting PISA results. We motivate our argument by briefly describing the program's increased influence in educational policy…

Current economic conditions and the increasing competition for government funding are leading to an increased focus on the impact of research. Measuring the impact of research is difficult because not all impacts are direct and some can be negative or result from the identification of problems that require a non-research response. The time between…

Suggests that the results of research and the practice of teaching are related in many more ways than as a dialogue between a psychologist and a teacher. (Author)

Examines the state of educational policy analysis, discussing the field's history, conceptual approaches to policy, areas of policy that have been studied, and methodological issues. Concludes with speculation on the future of policy research. (MCG)

In this paper, three kinds of research methodology (historical, case study and experimental/quantitative) are compared with regard to the degree to which each is able to affect policymaking. (Author/EB)

Points out that educational research has more critics than supporters. Until researchers convince lawmakers, educators, and taxpayers that research is useful, support for research will not be forthcoming. The constraints on and accomplishments of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement are discussed. (VM)

This exploratory paper analyzes the federal policy for an impact study of research and development projects in vocational education. Positive effects were found on student outcomes, project personnel, and on occupational education practices. (Author)

In a review of the challenges to progress in providing social research evidence that might usefully inform policy, Oakley (2004) argues strongly that the "paradigm divide" between qualitative and quantitative research communities continues to constitute a major problem. Oakley refers to a number of recent critiques of what is seen as "misplaced…

Discusses four issues: the difference between policy research and basic research; the importance of policy research for basic research; the generalizability of field studies; and the relationship of both of the professor in the professional school to the client in the field and of the professional school to the overall society. (JM)

Reviews some major characteristics of ethnography as they apply to policy issues and policy formulation, and ethnography's utility from the perspective of how public educational policy is made. Discusses the potential contributions of ethnography and the responsibilities ethnographers must consider if their work is to have an impact on public…

Discusses the character of the field study and its place in the scientific venture, notes the characteristic attitude toward the relationship between data and hypotheses held by the field researcher, addresses the requirements of educational policy research, and explores the fit between these and the field study's character. (Author/JM)

One reason the field of education research is so vague is that there is no specific methodology that belongs to such research. Policy makers and people who appropriate funds would get a clearer idea of what research can contribute to an understanding of schools, colleges, students, and teachers if the research community were clearer about what it…