The Myth Of Research Based Policy Practice

Martyn Hammersley's provocative new text interrogates the complex relationship between research, policymaking and practice, against the background of the evidence-based practice movement. Addressing a series of probing questions, this book reflects on the challenge posed by the idea that social research can directly serve policymaking and practice. Key questions explored include: - Is scientific research evidence-based? - What counts as evidence for evidence-based practice? - Is social measurement possible, and is it necessary? - What are the criteria by which qualitative research should be judged? The book also discusses the case for action research, the nature of systematic reviews, proposals for interpretive reviews, and the process of qualitative synthesis. Highly readable and undeniably relevant, this book is a valuable resource for both academics and professionals involved with research.

Structured as a series of probing questions, and covering a range of methods, this book reflects on the challenge posed by the idea that social research should serve evidence-based practice.

An exploration of how the knowledge gained from research is used to improve the effectiveness of public policy formation and public service delivery. It covers eight areas of public service - health, education, criminal justice, social policy, transport, urban policy, housing and social care.

`This valuable book addresses an important current issues for education research in developed countries - the relationship between research on the one hand and policy-making and education practice on the other′ - Stephen Gorard, Cardiff University, British Journal of Education Studies `Martyn Hammersley has produced a remarkably complete analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of educational research. I believe the analysis to be fair to all parties′ - Lewis Elton, British Journal of Educational Technology Educational research and its relationship with policy making and practice has been a perennial concern. This book deals with some basic and controversial questions about that issue, including: - Can there be harmony in the relationship between researchers and educational policymakers or practitioners? - Do increases in knowledge always lead to practical improvement, and never to undesirable consequences? - Would educational research flourish if it were subjected to more central, and external, control? - What is the role of research reviews in making the results of research publicly available? Educational Research maps the demands now being made on educational research against the background complexities of the relationship between research and practice. This book is for students on methodology courses, taught courses and research degrees in education, social science disciplines, social policy and health studies both at masters and doctoral level.

New thinking is needed on the age-old conundrum of how to connect research and policymaking. Why does a disconnect exist between the research community, which is producing thousands of studies relevant to public policy, and the policy community, which is making thousands of decisions that would benefit from research evidence? The second edition updates community dissonance theory and provides an even stronger, more substantiated story of why research is underutilized in policymaking, and what it will take to connect researchers and policymakers. This book offers a fresh look into what policymakers and the policy process are like, as told by policymakers themselves and the researchers who study and work with them. New to the second edition: * The point of view of policymakers is infused throughout this book based on a remarkable new study of 225 state legislators with an extraordinarily high response rate in this hard-to-access population. * A new theory holds promise for guiding the study and practice of evidence-based policy by building on how policymakers say research contributes to policymaking. * A new chapter features pioneering researchers who have effectively influenced public policy by engaging policymakers in ways rewarding to both. * A new chapter proposes how an engaged university could provide culturally competent training to create a new type of scholar and scholarship. This review of state-of-the-art research on evidence-based policy is a benefit to readers who find it hard to keep abreast of a field that spans the disciplines of business, economics, education, family sciences, health services, political science, psychology, public administration, social work, sociology, and so forth. For those who study evidence-based policy, the book provides the basics of producing policy relevant research by introducing researchers to policymakers and the policy process. Strategies are provided for identifying research questions that are relevant to the societal problems that confront and confound policymakers. Researchers will have at their fingertips a breath-taking overview of classic and cutting-edge studies on the multi-disciplinary field of evidence-based policy. For instructors, the book is written in a language and style that students find engaging. A topic that many students find mundane becomes germane when they read stories of what policymakers are like, and when they learn of researcher's tribulations and triumphs as they work to build evidence-based policy. To point students to the most important ideas, the key concepts are highlighted in text boxes. For those who desire to engage policymakers, a new chapter summarizes the breakthroughs of several researchers who have been successful at driving policy change. The book provides 12 innovative best practices drawn from the science and practice of engaging policymakers, including insights from some of the best and brightest researchers and science communicators. The book also takes on the daunting task of evaluating the effectiveness of efforts to engage policymakers around research. A theory of change identifies seven key elements that are fundamental to increasing policymaker's use of research along with evaluation protocols and preliminary evidence on each element.

The Politics of Evidence Based Policymaking identifies how to work with policymakers to maximize the use of scientific evidence. Policymakers cannot consider all evidence relevant to policy problems. They use two shortcuts: ‘rational’ ways to gather enough evidence, and ‘irrational’ decision-making, drawing on emotions, beliefs, and habits. Most scientific studies focus on the former. They identify uncertainty when policymakers have incomplete evidence, and try to solve it by improving the supply of information. They do not respond to ambiguity, or the potential for policymakers to understand problems in very different ways. A good strategy requires advocates to be persuasive: forming coalitions with like-minded actors, and accompanying evidence with simple stories to exploit the emotional or ideological biases of policymakers.

This book investigates the long-term impact of migration on development, engaging in a thorough analysis of the pertinent factors in migration. Migration scholars and stakeholders have long placed emphasis on the necessity of migration for development. At the heart of this book is the question: Has migration made development necessary, or is it the other way around? While existing literature is predominantly occupied with positive impressions about the migration-development nexus, this book challenges associated pervasive generalizations about the impact of migration, indicating that migration has not impacted all regions equally. This volume thus grapples with the different extents to which migration has impacted development by delving into the social costs that migrants often pay in the long run. With empirical support, this book proffers that some countries are becoming over-dependent on migration. An excellent resource for both policymakers working on migration policy, and scholars in international relations, migration and development studies, this book presents a range of innovative ideas in relation to the remittance-development nexus.

Political Pressures on Educational and Social Research draws upon a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to consider the problems that can arise when research findings diverge from political directions for policy. Chapters explore the impacts this can have on the researchers, as well as the influence it has on the research, including the methodology and the publication of results. The book offers innovative ways of seeing how these connect, overlap and interact, revealing particular issues of concern for researchers and evaluators in the context of research internationally. Key topics include the power and positioning of research, evidence based policy development, ethics and the importance of research that seeks to explore and discover knowledge. The book is divided into two sections. The first presents chapters from international academics, which provide a theoretical underpinning and discussion of power, policy, ethics and their influence on research resourcing, autonomy, purpose and methodology. The second section explores specific case studies and instances from the authors’ own experiences in the field. This book offers an interesting and enlightening insight into the sometimes political nature of research and will appeal to researchers, evaluators and postgraduate students in the fields of education and the social sciences. It will be of particular interest to those studying research methods.