ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the nature of research at a general level and discusses the issues of quality and rigor of both qualitative and quantitative research. Theory and research are both important to the process of accumulating knowledge. Research on service learning, and on education more generally, typically sorts into two conceptual frameworks that can be differentiated on paradigmatic issues, theoretical perspectives, research design, and measurement strategies: qualitative research design and quantitative research design. Qualitative research designs focus on discovery and description rather than quantification and generalizability. Phenomenology seeks to understand the lived experience of respondents, while narrative inquiry focuses on the structure and nature of the personal stories of respondents. Quasi-experimental designs involve the manipulation of an independent variable to examine the consequence of that variable on another variable.
