Abstract
Increasingly, qualitative research is funded by agencies – whether government or national agencies or in the private sector – that have a direct interest in the research that they are funding. Especially in qualitative research in such situations, methodological issues arise but so too do dilemmas, both in the actual conduct of the study and in the writing and the positioning of ensuing texts (for example, in relation to value neutrality and value commitment, in doing justice to the multiple and conflicting interests of various constituencies and in steering among competing ideologies). Here, in this paper, such dilemmas are brought out in an account of a study conducted in the UK in the 1990s, to review and to evaluate the UK’s then quality assurance system.
Highlights
There are two dominant strands in the literature on what might crudely be termed policy analysis methodology: technical expositions of favoured methodologies (Richie & Spencer, 1994; Sadoulet & De Janvry, 1995; Yanow, 2000; Srivastava & Thomson, 2009) and guides to writing reports arising from policy analyses that treat such writing as a set of technical accomplishments
There appear to us to be two gaps, one being that of explorations of challenges that may arise in conducting fieldwork in this domain and the other being that of challenges and even dilemmas that may arise in the writing of reports that ensue from such research, especially where such research has a controversial character
Such challenges are likely to be especially apparent in situations in which the policy in question are freighted with politics, ideologies, large interests and so forth
Summary
Methodology, policy making, interest groups. Transference to practice in analysing and reviewing the UK’s quality assessment system in the 1990s, the research offered a set of (44) recommendations as to the ways in which the national quality system could be taken forward. the report arising from the study had to gain the support of the higher education national funding body so as to secure its publication. that latter goal was secured, the report being published and so contributing to the national debate on quality assessment, with a national conference being held focusing upon the report itself. Transference to practice in analysing and reviewing the UK’s quality assessment system in the 1990s, the research offered a set of (44) recommendations as to the ways in which the national quality system could be taken forward. The report arising from the study had to gain the support of the higher education national funding body so as to secure its publication. Its central recommendation that there be established a “quasi-profile” of the quality of work in institutions” departments was not, thereby leading to the adoption of a numerical system, a national system that was to be discredited and which in turn gave way to yet further stages in the evolution of quality assessment in England. Policy analysis Research in Higher Education: Negotiating dilemmas. Magis, Revista Internacional de Investigación en Educación, 7(14), 69-84. Dilemas y Desafíos en investigación cualitativa en eDucación. algunas respuestas DesDe la investigación VOLUMEN 7 / NÚMERO 14 EDICIÓN ESPECIAL / JULIO-DICIEMBRE DE 2014 / ISSN 2027-1174 / BOGOTÁ-COLOMBIA / Página 69-84 magis
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