The Analytic and the Arbitrary in Educational Research
Keywords:
educational research, educational psychology, analytic rigour, pseudoempirical research, Jan Smedslund, conceptual analysis, research methodologyAbstract
Educational researchers have traditionally drawn on psychology for methods of seeking knowledge of practical educational value. In turn, the dominant branches of psychology have striven to become more rigorous and scientific by drawing on the methods of the physical sciences. This general development has had beneficial effects on the rigour with which educational proposals are tested, but it has not been accompanied by an equivalent advance in analytic rigour. This article proposes that models of research based on physical science procedures may be less appropriate for education than a conception of psychology more akin to geometry. The work of Jan Smedslund is considered, and some examples based on his work are examined.
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