ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a range of issues, some of which will be taken up and dealt with at greater length later in the book. We begin by offering some definitions of educational research, describe some trends and continue with a discussion of some of the issues inherent in the process. These are followed by operational strategies, a classification by purpose, some observations on the nature of the audiences the researcher seeks to address and the chapter concludes with suggestions on how the evaluation of a piece of research might be undertaken.
