ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter we outlined the methodological position we adopt in this book. Our task in this chapter is to spell out its implications for the assessment of research on inequalities in schools. What is involved here is assessment of the products of research, not of the process of producing them; though, of course, information about the latter is also relevant. Thus, the procedure is almost the reverse of that involved in doing research: we start with research reports, and we examine the claims they make and how convincing these are on the basis of the evidence provided.
