ABSTRACT
Most contemporary textbooks assume that questions about the aims and methods of educational research can be answered by reference to the aims and methods of the established sciences. Lovell and Lawson, for example, in their book on understanding educational research maintain that ‘the aims of research in education are the same as those of research in science generally’1, while Travers’ well-known text is based on the assertion that educational research is ‘an activity directed towards the development of an organized body of scientific knowledge’.2 ‘When the scientific method is applied to educational problems,’ says Ary, ‘educational research is the result.’3
