ABSTRACT
This book arose from a recognition on the part of the editors of our great ignorance about the teaching of research methods in the social sciences. Despite, between us, having taught the subject in some form or other over more than two decades at eight universities in six countries, we were aware of many questions about what and how we should teach it – and a disconcerting lack of anywhere to turn for answers. Aside from one or two immediate colleagues, we were working in isolation from what must be a very large number of fellow academics around the world who are engaged in the same educational endeavour. In the absence of a professional association or a body of literature devoted to research methods pedagogy, we decided to take the initiative by bringing together a collection of writings on the topic aimed at academics who teach research methods at the tertiary level, researchers, scholars and academic peers. The book is not intended for the textbook, practitioner or policymaker market. We created a web page and called for contributions. The enthusiastic response – we received well over 60 proposals as well as innumerable encouraging comments – showed that there are many others in the field who share our concerns. Clearly the time is right for a thorough examination of research methods education.
