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Prospects in research methods in the coming decade

Prospects in research methods in the coming decade. Julia Brannen Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education. How will funding be sustained in the future?. Reduction in spending on research and methods Increased use of existing data Consequences for capacity building

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Prospects in research methods in the coming decade

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  1. Prospects in research methods in the coming decade Julia Brannen Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education

  2. How will funding be sustained in the future? • Reduction in spending on research and methods • Increased use of existing data • Consequences for capacity building • Look to sources of European and other non UK funding • Consequences for research methods, resources and capacity building

  3. Predicting research questions of the future • Raison d'être of social science to understand social change and look to longer term • Rationale for not being driven only by current policy concerns • Research questions are contextually defined and shaped by existing types of data • Temporal data have potential for applying a generational lens (shifts in demographic profile/ longevity, increased pace of change, ethnic diversification)

  4. New directions in research methods • Standalone survey no longer sufficient • Space for linked qualitative studies • Benefits - team working and cross disciplinary dialogue • Opportunities - new ways of integrating data • Benefits -theoretical insight and explanation

  5. Do current methodological concerns speak to the future of research methods? • Ethics of research • Reflexivity • Participatory methods • Quality issues Each reflects wider social conditions and will shape research practices in the future

  6. Concluding points • Methods shaped in time and place • Runs counter to a narrative of linear development and innovation? • A variegated picture • Possibilities open up e.g. because of new technology and data linkage • Constraints on methods e.g. because of suspicion, data protection, privacy

  7. Concluding points • Move to greater homogeneity in methods? • Internationalisation of methods or will strong cultural traditions remain? • Application of methods should be contextually specific

  8. My wish list Methods - no substitute for vision and depth of understanding: • Less social science on the hoof • More time for considered analysis and interpretation A return to the classical tradition; to understand the connections between public issues and private troubles?

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