Maintaining Quality in Research and Reporting

Abstract

Abstract In order to evaluate competence in research, the evaluator must first have a clear conception of what constitutes research as opposed to other scholarly activities. There are many scholarly pursuits that may in a broad sense fall under the category “research.” The word research (from the French rechercher, which means to travel through or survey) implies a going back to search for something. With respect to research in music education, however, that concept is too broad. We are concerned primarily with the systematic search for solutions to problems based on empirical observation. This is not meant to disparage scholarly endeavors that fall outside our more restricted definition. Of course, research searches for something. But that something should be very specific and it should be stated at the outset of any research report. The researcher must have a very clear idea of what the question is that will be investigated. The techniques and methodology used to search for an answer to a question should be appropriate to the question posed. Good research is that which provides as unbiased an answer as possible to a question supported by empirical evidence. “Empirical” here is meant to be viewed as “observations.”

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