Key Issues for Education Researchers

Diana Burton is Visiting Professor of Education at the University of Wolverhampton, having formerly led education research at the university. She has held senior leadership and professorial posts at 3 universities, including both Pro Vice-Chancellor for research and Dean of Education posts at Liverpool John Moores University. She was Head of School at Manchester Metropolitan University where she worked for many years leading teacher education programmes having originally been a secondary school teacher of Humanities for over a decade.Diana has a Masters and PhD in the field of Educational Psychology and continues to examine doctoral theses and advise education departments across the sector. She is the author of several education books and chapters and has written over 70 research articles on pupil learning, teacher development, teacher education policy, educating children with behavioural, emotional and social disadvantage and citizenship education. She is a fellow of the Royal Academy for the Society of the Arts and the Higher Education Academy and is an active member of the British Education Research Association, including as a committee chair. Steve Bartlett is honorary research fellow at Liverpool Hope University. A former Professor of Education Studies and programme leader at the Universities of Wolverhampton and Chester, he led the development of the subject at undergraduate and postgraduate level for many years, chairing the Subject Benchmarking Review Committee for QAA. A founder member and the first Chair of the British Education Studies Association (BESA), he edited the BESA journal for several years. Steve taught Sociology at secondary level for fifteen years from the mid Seventies.Steve has a Masters and PhD in teacher professionalism and has supervised and examined many doctoral theses as well as externally validating and examining Education Studies at a number of Universities.He has written several education books and articles in the areas of research methods, lifelong learning, teacher development and gender.

′In [this book], the clarity of the content organisation is strengthened by a simple, but not simplistic, exposition which makes [it] a valid educational support, suitable not only for students but also for all those who need some guidance to systematise their research activity and knowledge...I would certainly recommend [this book] to my students, since I find it a more complete, balanced and stimulating introduction to research than many other guides with similar aims that are currently available′ - British Journal of Educational Technology ′Burton and Bartlett comfortably, and with style, map out the "how to"s of research, while at the same time presenting a book rich in the "what it means", discussing with ease the philosophical and epistemological underpinnings of educational research….As leader of an MA Education programme, I will most certainly be putting it on my "Required Reading" list - ESCalate′Of the growing number of introductions and guides to research, there are few which have both the breadth and depth of this book; the reader readily develops a critical geography of a very wide field whilst at the same time digging deep into the vital issues which irradiate educational policies and research practices. Of the two books I would urge researchers to buy, this is one...′ - Professor Peter Clough, Liverpool Hope University

• The Development of Education ResearchResearch paradigms and social perspectivesAn ethical approach to researchGetting Started: beginning a research projectAccessing and using literature Research strategies: case studies and experimentsQuestionnairesInterviewsObservationResearch biographies and logsUse of existing documentsWriting up and final conclusions