ABSTRACT
Multiple terms are used for the classroom-based investigations conducted by teachers and other practitioners. They are frequently described as ‘action research’, or as ‘practitioner enquiry’, and it is perfectly fine to use either of these terms. There is often a trade-off between realism and control in research. Laboratory experiments, of the kind that are popular in university psychology departments, have a high level of control over the surroundings, materials and participants. Enthusiasm for conducting research on a teaching technique or theory often goes hand in hand with enthusiasm for that idea itself. This can mean that many teachers have largely decided what they think the outcome of a study will be before they even gather any data. The issue of having enough time could be reframed in terms of how many weeks or years a person would need to find the required number of free hours for their research project.
