The SAGE Handbook for Research in Education: Engaging Ideas and Enriching Inquiry (review)

By almost any measure, this compendium of materials on research in education represents an impressive tour de force. There is much about it to inspire admiration. Product of a collaborative effort by two University of Wisconsin-Madison teachers of research methodology (one representing the qualitative tradition and the other grounded in a quantitative perspective), it features essays by 50 leading scholars in the fields of education inquiry, their respective papers distributed across two "parts" (two "sections" in the first part and four in a second part) and constituting altogether a total of 30 chapters—the whole taking up no fewer than 624 pages of text. For those seeking to quench their thirst with a metaphorical glass of water, the SAGE Handbook supplies a veritable firehose torrent of analysis and critical commentary.

Literature on the topic of educational inquiry and research, the editors assert, characteristically suffers from four major limitations. First, because research commonly tends to be viewed first and foremost as a linear process of applying prescribed methods and techniques, the primary goal of the inquiry, namely, generating "meaningful knowledge and understanding," is not always retained at the forefront of inquiry (p. x). Second, they argue, much of this literature fails to prepare researchers to "recognize and address the most fundamental challenges" (p. x) in conducting inquiry (the alleged nature of which is discussed throughout at some length).

Third, quantitative and qualitative approaches remain bifurcated instead of being integrated in the course of inquiry. Fourth, there is insufficient appreciation for the fact that, contrary to what extant literature seems to imply, there rarely is only "one best way" to do research. As a result, the argument continues, a broader array of alternative perspectives is ignored or undervalued.

The corrective for all four limitations, according to the editors, requires close "retroductive" attention paid to ideas and analyses of the sort that comprise the Handbook. A dense, demanding three-page prefatory excursion into the history and philosophy of science at this point amplifies the argument.

Ultimately, according to Conrad and Serlin, a more productive approach to research will keep the defining research question in its central position; it will adapt or shape the most appropriate and rigorous methodology to the nature of the information sought; will utilize quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods as required; and, will reflect a researcher's willingness to explore a range of alternative possibilities when designing and conducting a given piece of research.

Section 1 of Part 1 consists of three essays. Each seeks to identify and characterize the diverse audiences that, arguably, form a natural constituency for education research. Section 2 offers essays on research problems and approaches to inquiry, both across and within traditional lines of education inquiry. Multiple examples of promising research problems and approaches are presented, including lines of inquiry for the assessment of teacher preparation programs, innovative approaches to more effective science and math education, challenges in preparing multicultural classroom instructors, and controversial policy issues that stem from overlapping "spheres of influence" at the intersection of schools, families and communities.

Part 2, Section 3, extends the theme of how to formulate meaningful problems and generate useful explanatory theories in research. Section 4 is especially noteworthy for the convergence of arguments that challenge the federal redefinition of what constitutes "scientific research," as promulgated and defended by the newly established Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Also nicely done is author John Bean's analysis of "methodological correctness" and his criticism of the epistemological presumption linking "rigor" with "method" in research. The section's concluding chapter by Douglas Toma reiterates the point that "rigor" is not—or need not be—the exclusive province of quantitative inquiry and experimental research.

Section 5 consists of chapters that examine often-ignored factors in research, including the role of the researcher as inquirer, "analytical thoughtfulness" in data analysis, inference-making, the conceptual movement...