ABSTRACT
The word “research” originally meant intensive searching, investigation directed toward discovery (Old French, recerche). In looking at the word more closely, the prefix “re” means having the general sense of “back” or “again” and the word “search” means to examine thoroughly. In educational research, as in any research, there are of course numerous methodologies for “searching.” However, for purposes of discussion, if the search for human understanding is a main concern in educational research, as I believe it ought to be, then accepted opinions (orthodoxies) must be challenged. These accepted opinions, or “orthodoxies,” are oft-times represented by so-called “objective” standardized research procedures and practices, some of which have outlived their usefulness or have been routinized to the point that these “orthodoxies” are no longer questioned. Tradition and historical precedence have played a part in creating a logico-mathematical backdrop for “orthodox” research methods that has commonly resulted in objective positivistic research traditions, often to the exclusion of any type of subjectivity. Consequently, the pursuit of knowledge is often expected to take place in an emotional vacuum.
