The editors appropriately state that there is already a large body of resources that highlight quantitative methodologies. They maintain that the particular qualitative methodologies that are included in this book have been used productively and extensively for dealing with a wide variety of issues, in a wide variety of settings, and for a wide variety of purposes. Many of the authors deal directly with the issue of investigating how to create classrooms in which understanding is promoted. Romberg and Collins, for example, pose eight research questions to help guide researchers investigating such issues. Several authors note that research methodologies need not be stagnant.
Authors cite various reasons for selecting a teaching-experiment methodology.
The authors and editors appear to be sensitive to these issues and attempt to deal with them head on. The point is repeatedly made that classic reliability measures must be reconceived when considering qualitative research. The same holds true for issues involving objectivity and involvement on the part of the researcher. The notion that researchers must remain independent and unbiased makes little sense when researchers move into schools, classrooms, and school systems. In fact, each chapter in this section offers distinctive and illuminating explanations, justifications, and implications for choosing different levels of involvement in the design that is selected.