ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the research literature and review a range of approaches that contribute towards this body of knowledge and how it is applied to drama education and Dramatherapy. In recent years, there has been much criticism of educational research. Evans points to several main areas of concern, which include its fragmentation, lack of rigour and insufficient relevance and usefulness to policy and procedures. However Jones does acknowledge tensions between Evidence-Based Medicine Approaches (EBM), which include controlled trials, and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) approaches in the UK. Researching within any environment requires an element of ethnographic research. Three key points are outlined for the ethnographic researcher to take into account: firstly, the need for a holistic methodology that shares similarities with other approaches such as observational research and some forms of case study; secondly, the consideration of how an empirical and natural approach is achieved; and thirdly how phenomenological data is collected.
