The Myth of Research-Based Policy and Practice
- Martyn Hammersley - The Open University, UK
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.
'I suspect that this book will appeal to scholars frustrated by growing demands that their work produce particular sorts of outcomes, and those interested in phronetic social science. Chapter 6, The question of quality in qualitative research, might also be of interest to PhD students as they discover their own epistemological and paradigmatic leanings. It is a book worth dipping in and out of (particularly the early chapters), which I suspect may have been its aim all along'
'I found this book immensely interesting and can fully recommend it. Not only did it confirm many of the doubts that I have developed over the years relating to issues surrounding the nature of evidence and its relationship to practice development but it has also caused me to question my own involvement in providing ‘scientific evidence’ to various government consultations which will, in due course, inform policy. Hopefully this book will go some way to informing policy makers that the ‘gold standard’ of RCTs is not so golden after all'
Martyn Hammersley‘s provocative text seeks to interrogate 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.
