Reading up on evidence based practice

The more I read on the subject of 'evidence based practice' in education the more I realise that educational research or evidence is flimsy at the very least as it is so different to medical research. Medical research can be controlled in that many lab tests etc can be sterile of other factors or influences, and education is not like that at all. The study of biology and the study of social sciences can be worlds apart.

Interestingly I was speaking with someone on the subject of research and the projects we have done at the college to contribute to 'research' on technology in education. I realised after reading today that many of the 'studies' or 'research projects' are done by those not educated in research methods, nor those who are experienced in conducting valid, reliable and rigourous testing. It is also not cumulative in nature, but random, not building upon previous research - nor in fact even based nor mention of previous study results in a similar field.

This is very worrying really, in that some decisions about the use of technology in education are based on very flimsy research or findings often done by those inexpereinced to do it. Just imagine if the medical field was like that??? would you go to a Doctor?

A colleague of mine said on this subject, about the money we were given to do research projects, that it is almost fraud, taking money for research and on advice from the boss fabricating a 'good' story of success about what we have done, even if it didn't go well at all. Again, just imagine this scenario in medical science.

The last time I did a module on research methods it was about qualitative and quantitative methods, triangulation, interpretive, positive etc etc, but this module i'm doing now has made me really think about the true value of research and 'evidence based practice' and what research is used for - and especially how we have a responsibility to be transparent, robust and rigourous. It has also made me realise the true value of what cumulitive research has done, especially in medicine and science in the world today.

I have been writing an assignment today with a very small word count, the challenge is to keep the wording down, not write about the subject - the subject could write a thesis. Well, a productive day and half of my assignment written.

Tomorrow a brain break, off to get my son's hair cut...