Government sponsored educational research is increasingly subject to contractual control over the design of the research, dissemination and publication and even the research process itself. This paper argues that this current policy context poses a threat to the quality of educational research and places severe limitations on the contribution it can make to the generation of public knowledge and the utilisation of research in educational policy‐making and public debate. Focusing upon two contemporary issues—restrictive research contracts and conditions and the changing nature of ethical guidelines—the paper explores how the political context of recent years has led to changes in research contracts and ethical and political responses of formal associations. The paper concludes by examining a number of positions the educational research community can take in such a restrictive political climate, arguing, in particular, that professional organisations need to act both collectively and politically if they are to make any inroads into improving contractual conditions to protect quality research.
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Helen Simons (1995) studied this question.