This paper explores the effect of methodological choice on global Higher Education Institutions' (HEI) rankings, and the effect of choices regarding League Table and Ranking Systems (LTRSs) upon decision-making and policy. LTRSs are identified as heuristics to aid decision-making about HEIs. The paper examines the methodological choices commonly…

This article provides a review of the contemporary instructional leadership research base in Malaysia. The core aim of this review is to assess the recent knowledge base on instructional leadership in Malaysia and to evaluate its current contribution to the existing international literature. The article explores a range of published material that…

Acting reflexively implies a "self-critical and self-conscious stance" (Glass, 2015, p. 555) of recognizing myself within a research process as an intentional participant-practitioner of generating knowledge. This article attempts to reveal visual evidence across a landscape of textual references and material implementations as a process…

An engaging, cross-disciplinary guide to research methodology "Practical Research: Planning and Design" is a do-it-yourself, how-to manual for planning and conducting research. Suitable for a wide variety of courses in basic research methodology, the book uses a conversational tone, step-by-step instructions, and practical suggestions to…

The problem of assessing whether experimental results can be replicated is becoming increasingly important in many areas of science. It is often assumed that assessing replication is straightforward: All one needs to do is repeat the study and see whether the results of the original and replication studies agree. This article shows that the…

Historically underused methodologies in mathematics teacher education such as narrative inquiry, self-study, and autoethnography (i.e., self-based methodologies) are becoming a more frequent choice of mathematics teacher educators (MTEs). This has opened new challenges for MTEs as they try to disseminate their findings in mathematics education…

The field of comparative and international education has followed methodological trends in social science research since the merging of the "twin" field after World War II. With increase in the use of mixed methods research about three decades ago, comparative and international education journals and scholars have worked rigorously to be…

The complexity associated with how interventions result--or fail to result--in outcomes and how context matters is increasingly recognised. Logic models provide an important tool for handling complexity, with contrasting uses in programme evaluation and evidence synthesis. To reconcile these, we developed an approach that combines the strengths of…

The combination of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) with process tracing, which we call set-theoretic multimethod research (MMR), is steadily becoming more popular in empirical research. Despite the fact that both methods have an elected affinity based on set theory, it is not obvious how a within-case method operating in a single case and a…

The article draws attention to the forgotten ancestry of the "four steps of comparison" model (description--interpretation--juxtaposition--comparison). Comparativists largely attribute this to George Z. F. Bereday [1964. "Comparative Method in Education." New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston], but among German scholars, it is…

This paper examines phenomenography as a viable qualitative approach in guidance and counselling research. A phenomenographic study maps the qualitatively different ways in which people experience a specific phenomenon and helps researchers to describe the aspects that make one way of experiencing a certain phenomenon qualitatively distinct from…

Since the first descriptions of design research (DR), there have been calls to better define it to increase its rigour. Yet five uncertainties remain: (1) the processes for conducting DR, (2) how DR differs from other forms of research, (3) how DR differs from design, (4) the products of DR, and (5) why DR can answer certain research questions…

How does one decolonize and reclaim the meanings of research and researcher, particularly in the context of Western research? Indigenous communities have long experienced oppression by Western researchers. Is it possible to build a collaborative research knowledge that is culturally appropriate, respectful, honoring, and careful of the Indigenous…

Pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs) are a relatively new methodological approach to the execution of clinical research that can increase research efficiency and provide access to unique data. Some have suggested that the costs and delays associated with obtaining informed consent could make PCTs difficult or even impossible to execute. Alternative…

On examining today's research practices in the area of social sciences, one can perceive a distinct interest in biography. Observation of the lives of individuals, (re)cognising social micro worlds from the perspective of individual biographies, and analysis of -- and searching for -- meanings of individual life experiences are subjects of great…